IIT-B launches diary for messages of unity
Having met Pakistanis during an international conference
in my school time, I realised people everywhere in the world are nice… Keeping hatred
is useless, but keeping love is fulfilling - Islahul Hussain. Lots of
misconceptions are still there in the minds of people; Awareness through educating people
is the only way forward to peace - Akshay Gupta.
Over the next two months, messages of peace penned by college students across the
city will find their way to a diary made by students of the Indian Institute of
Technology-Bombay.
Called ‘Ummeed-e-Milaap’ or ‘Hope for Unity’, the Indo-Pak diary campaign, started
by IIT-B as part of Techfest, the institute’s annual festival held in January, is
aimed at uniting students from India and Pakistan.
"Years of war and ensuing tension have distanced the two countries. We want to promote
exchange of thoughts between the countries through the youth and instill a sense
of fraternity," said Ronnie Philip, manager, media and marketing, Techfest. "Students
have to pen down their insights on the Indo-Pak peace process in the diary."
Around 350 students participated in the diary campaign, launched at IIT-B on August
30. The 20 best entries will be selected from each college and included in the diary,
before it moves on to the next college.
In Pakistan, a diary sent by IIT-B students will be circulated in colleges of Lahore
and Karachi from the second week of October. Over the next three months, the dairy
will move around 30 colleges across India and Pakistan - 11 from Mumbai, 10 from
Lahore and 11 from Karachi.
The Lahore University of Management Sciences and the Karachi chapter of the AIESEC
(Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales)
will carry out the campaign in the two Pakistan cities.
The diary will be unveiled and kept for public viewing at IIT-B during the three-day
Techfest between January 6 and January 8. It will also be kept on display at LUMS
during the scientific festival. IIT-B has also launched an online dairy - www.techfest.org
- where students can write their comments.
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
