Bridging borders through art – students create joint Indo-Pak peace calendar | India News – The Times of India
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Bathinda: The peace initiative
Aaghaz-e-Dosti
Sunday released the 13th
Indo-Pak peace calendar
. Peace calendar included 12 peace paintings by Indian and Pakistani students with 6 each from India and Pakistan themed ‘Sharing of hopes for a peaceful co-existence’. Besides paintings, the peace calendar also includes messages from eminent persons who support the cause of peacebuilding and co-existence.
India and Pakistan, being two nuclear powered nations and with a history of war and skirmishes, are always being considered vulnerable because even when these countries are not involved in any direct conflict, skirmishes, ceasefire violations and indirect effects of conflicts are visible and can be felt.
Devika Mittal, convener Aaghaz-e-Dosti stated the importance of this calendar, “The calendar with the paintings of an innocent and apolitical mind will remind us that mindsets have been constructed. Calendar also carries messages from people who have been actively working to nurture these dreams. This calendar is a collection of shared dreams of peace and friendship.
A Annamalai, Director-National Gandhi Museum, talked about the relevance and necessity of peacebuilding through people-to-people relations. He emphasized on how Gandhi’s path of non-violence, forgiveness and introspection are important in process of peacebuilding anywhere.
Environmentalist Rakesh Khatri talked about how environment connect everyone across boundaries and that we must work towards its conservation.
Amit Kapoor, president of IWS India, emphasized upon bringing more and more youths in such creative works wherein they can pour their pure thoughts to create diverse paintings.
“Working since 2012, Aaghaz-e-Dosti has already released thirteen such calendars. Our aim is to work with school students because they are responsible citizens of the future and their future should be hatred free- violence free and war free. When students create an art, it brings their emotions, their thoughts and their dreams.” said Nitin Mittoo, coordinator Aaghaz-e-Dosti.
