Civil rights groups and individuals longing for a strife-free sub-continent will meet in Kolkata in the middle of October. A forum for sub-continental peace and harmony, Bangladesh Bharat Pakistan People’s Forum (BBPPF), is organising a three-day conference in the city in October to initiate a “people-to-people contact” among south Asian neighbours, BBPPF's general secretary Manik Samajdar stated in press release.
Other than representatives from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the conference will see participation of about 200 members of secular, democratic and progressive organisations who have struggled for citizens’ rights.
“Many representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Maldives are also likely to join the conference, seeking to expand its scope beyond the three countries,” the release stated. A South Asian Youth Conference was organised at Hussaniwala village bordering Pakistan in Punjab on Indian side from March 22-24 this year to promote people-to-people contact.
A similar conference is planned in Kathmandu in November; the same time when the SAARC Summit would also be held.
The BBPPF is also planning to hold cycle rallies in 2015 from Kabul in Afghanistan to Moirang in Manipur and from Kathmandu to Kolkata “to bring together a region that was once united in the struggle against colonialism but has since been hopelessly divided and ravaged by violent conflicts.”