from Ancy D'Souza for Daijiworld News Network - Mumbai (MB)
Mumbai, Jul 19: All citizens of Mumbai including the college students will Wear white on July 26, white represening peace and also in memory of the dear departed.
Colleges and citizens' organizations of all hues and sectors have united to urge that all Mumbaikars observe July 26, the first anniversary of the floods in which 447 Mumbaikars lost their lives, as a day to say "Salaam Mumbai".
Every citizen is requested to wear white on July 26, whether at work or while going anywhere, in memory of those who lost their lives in the blasts as well and to express their commitment to peace.
On that day, students from more than 30 city colleges in the city will form a human chain from the Rajabai Tower to the Gateway of India. Thereafter they will gather at the Gateway at 5 pm, which was the site of a bomb blast on August 25, 2003, to take a Pledge of Peace at 6.25
pm.
Songs and prayers will be recited at the Gateway. Artistes including Suneeta Rao, Neela Bhagwat, Seema Saigal and others will sing songs for peace. Mumbai University Vice Chancellor Dr Vijay Khole will flag off the human chain.
The seven blasts on suburban trains on July 11 have shocked the city and the world. Yet, Mumbaikars not only kept calm, but they went out of the way to help the injured and the families of the dead.
Among the first to rush to the aid of the stricken trains were the city's poorest residents, who live in slums lining the railway tracks. They rushed to offer their bed sheets to be used as stretchers for the injured.
Later, thousands thronged hospitals to donate blood and comfort the families of the bereaved.
Despite Mumbai's inherently cosmopolitan and peaceful character, active measures need to be taken to ensure that this spirit of resilience and generosity endures. There are always communal elements who will try to vitiate the atmosphere by attempting to target the innocents.
Mumbai needs to stand together and defeat the attempts of terrorists and communal forces to grind down the city's sense of unity. The citizens need to ensure that no more innocent lives are lost.
Thus all colleges, organizations, NGOs, offices, temples, churches and mosques are requested to spread the word.
All are requested to come in thousands to be part of the human chain and the meeting at the Gateway of India, which should prove to be gateway to peace and solidarity.
From Daijiworld Archives: 2005