“To celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and spread his message of peace, we will have planned a march from India to Switzerland and conduct a meeting in Geneva which houses the UN,” said P.V. Rajagopal, member, International Advisory Committee, Jaijagat 2020, a march for peace and justice.
Addressing media persons here on Monday, he said the march would take place over a year with a contingent of 150 members from countries across the world. He said they had prepared a manifesto of demands regarding issues such as climate change, poverty, violence and exclusion in the form of a booklet.
“These issues will be discussed in Geneva which houses the United Nations. We hope to engage with members of World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other agencies,” he said.
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The UN’s sustainable development goals needed a re-haul because the developmental, educational and economic models were all wrong as priorities had been misplaced. “Since Gandhi’s ideals on peace align with UN’s charter on international peace and security, the Geneva meeting will be fuelled by such discussions,” he said.
The march would be taken out from New Delhi on October 2 and travel through 11 countries such as Iraq, Armenia, the Balkan nations and Italy before reaching Switzerland.