Nine Indians to cycle 3,000 km on peace mission to Pakistan
INDIA: Forty-seven-year-old Dhananjay Madan, an administrative
officer with India’s largest family-run business house Reliance
Industries, is keen to wipe out the past.
Troubled by the blasts almost two weeks ago which killed 68 people on
the cross-border “Friendship” train heading from India to Pakistan,
Madan and eight others on Thursday embarked on a first-ever cycling
expedition to Pakistan.
The outdoors enthusiasts Hindus keen to improve ties with their
Islamic neighbour will pedal 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) in 40 days
on a “Panvel to Pakistan” mission, aiming to spread the peace message
along the way.
“We, unfortunately, carry biases and prejudices about Muslims and
Pakistanis ... I feel it is important to go to Pakistan and bring the
rich experience back,” said Madan, before the group set off.
“People will be convinced about peace when (common) people like us
succeed with our trip,” he said. The team, which includes two women,
will travel through six Indian states and then cross over to Pakistan
through the Wagah border.
The nine will camp in temples, mosques and villages on the way,
cycling over 80 kilometres per day.
The New-Delhi based NGO Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and
Democracy is aiding the team with visa formalities.
Former Indian navy chief L. Ramdas flagged off the expedition early
Thursday morning from Panvel, 60 kilometres northeast of Mumbai in
western Maharashtra state.
This is the longest expedition the cyclists have undertaken, having
earlier traversed across the mountainous Konkan and Deccan belt to the
southern tip of the country.
“We are not worried about security, it is more important that we go,”
said Madan.
The two women, Shraddha and Rupali, are confident that they will be
able to handle any tricky situation that arises.
“The purpose is to talk to people along the way,” says Shraddha.
The team will carry a signature book with them, which will have
messages from different people they meet en route to Wagah border.
This will be presented to the people of Pakistan as a gesture of
friendship, said Madan.
Panvel, Friday, AFP |
