Friends sans borders Students of Roots School in Islamabad and DPS South in Bangalore, together try to go beyond the wounds of Partition

By Arunima Rajan
A school in Bangalore feels it is time young minds were freed from the hate that has led terror to plant bombs in the bodies of kids and send them to blow up peace.
Come September, about 20 students between 14 and 16 years from the Islamabad-based Roots International School will visit their friends in Delhi Public School (DPS) South in Bangalore. They met online at Skype in April, after their school managements decided to launch "Peace Connect", a project to end the atmosphere of hatred that youngsters of both countries have been brought up in since the Partition.

The friendship kicked off on a musical note, with 40 students of the heritage club of DPS starting an Antakshari session with their Pakistani peers online. "The session melted the barriers and washed away apprehensions from the young minds," says Chithra Sharma, Vice-Principal, DPS South.

The camaraderie has gone a long way since then and now the DPS gang is all set to welcome their Pak pals. They are researching topics like Sufi music, Bollywood, textile, cricket and soccer that both Indians and Pakistanis are equally crazy about.

The preparations have brought in a world of change in their attitude towards Pakistan, the DPS students say. They have noticed many similarities between Indians and Pakistanis.
"We like same cricket stars and film stars. While doing research on history of various games and music, we realised we have so much in common," says Shilpa Bhardwaj, a Class X student of DPS.
By all these, the managements of both schools want Indian and Pakistani children to know each other as friends. "The idea is to wipe out enmity from the minds of children. Students are also doing research about topics that are common to both countries. These projects will help to break stereotypical barriers and become receptive to the perception of others," says Manju Sharma, Principal of Delhi Public School.

A website is also being launched to upload peace messages, pictures, articles, videos and projects of the schools. The project will also be extended to the other branches of DPS soon. "We hope 'Peace Connect' will strengthen bilateral relationships between two countries," said Mansoor Ali Khan, a DPS trustee.

If the projects succeed, peace between the countries will no longer just be at the mercy of diplomats and politicians.
- Deccan Herald

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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