Indo-Pak students plan bicycle rally for peace

A group of university students will cycle to Wagah to celebrate the Indian and Pakistani Independence Days with their counterparts from across the border. They will then ride all the way to Lahore University and Qaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. Thirteen students-12 from DU and one from Jamia Millia Islamia-have so far got the nod to participate in this unique cycle rally.

The convener, Praveen Kumar Singh, a student of MA Buddhist Studies at DU, said the idea is to promote peace, unity and love in South Asian region and tie up with student activists in the neighbouring country for the purpose of urging the two governments to come together to form an organization for economic cooperation. The bicycle rally will start from New Delhi on August 1.

As per plans, the Indian students will be joined by their Pakistani counterparts from Lahore University and Qaid-i-Azam University at Wagah on August 14. After celebrating India's Independence Day on August 15, the group, comprising both Pakistani and Indian students, will cycle to Lahore University. "If there is security clearance, we will then proceed to Qaid-i-Azam University on our bicycles," Praveen said.

"The idea is to bring the countries of the region together in a confederation on the lines of European Union. Weapons cannot be a substitute for food, medicine or education," Singh said.

Following their exams in June and July, the students will start a campaign in Delhi in which they will appeal to the new government and legislature as well as colleges and universities nationwide to take part in the joint Independence Day celebrations at Wagah. "Nations which had been at war with each other for centuries came together in 1957 to form European Economic Community, an organization for economic cooperation, which ultimately became the European Union. If they can do it, why not us?" Praveen said.

The group also wants India's political parties to include in their manifestos a promise to form a confederation with other countries in the region on the lines of EU. "South Asian countries share so many cultural similarities cutting across our manmade borders. A confederation is not unthinkable. All we need is some imagination," the DU student said.