Thursday, September 21 was World Peace Day. And for a quirk, the Day was literally quiet and peaceful. Forgotten in the rigmarole of racism, hate crimes and hegemonic wars, there was no visible activity to make the Day conspicuous.
However, about 250 students from the Hyderabad Institute of Excellence (HIE) made World Peace Day known as they marched past to the drums played by their school band from the main gate of the Golconda Fort to the Qutub Shahi Tombs two kilometer away.
Ferried from their campus in Vicarabad, 75 kilometers from the city in a cavalcade of HIE buses to the historic fort. The walk was flagged off by Humairah Hyder, Principal of Springfield School, in the presence of CAO of HIE Col.(retd) Amitabh Dutta, Principal Prabhavati and the Director of HIE, Aliuddin Hyder.
Students as young as six years from class two to seniors of class 10th dressed in white and school uniforms walked past the busy streets as startled onlookers and traffic made way for the youngsters out to promote peace and protect human rights holding banners, with Peace Day Logos and candles.
The culmination of the Peace Walk at the tomb of Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah the V, whose reign was the longest, the most peaceful and prosperous was an apt forethought by HIE. Accordingly, the students formed themselves into human contours of the World Peace Day logo. Later Sajjad Shahid a globally recognized historian coordinating restoration and preservation works of the heritage treasures of Hyderabad gave a talk to the students about the importance of preserving heritage monuments and the history of the Seven Tombs and other heritage structures in the complex.
September 21 was declared World Peace Day by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1981 as a reminder to practice peace, sustain development, and build a world where humanity thrives in peace and harmony.
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