A bronze statue of Mahatama Gandhi during its unveiling ceremony. (Press Trust of India)
The Gandhi Global Family (GGF), an organisation spreading ideology of Mahatma Gandhi across the world, on Monday batted strongly for the strengthening of people- to-people ties between India and US.
"There is a need for strengthening of people-to-people contact between India and US," GGF vice-president S P Varma, who headed a delegation to US on invitation of the Zion Evangelistic and Care Ministries based in Chicago, said on his return to Jammu on Monday.
The purpose of US trip was to host a "Peace Conference" in Washington DC and set up a close knit network with various institutions and individuals fostering global peace at state and national levels in the US as the team visited Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Virginia and Maryland.
Outlining the goal of GGF, Padma Shri awardee Mr Varma said the mission was to promote international understanding and cooperation by strengthening people-to-people contact for world peace. During his US visit, Mr Varma laid emphasis on the role of youth to act as peace bridges between the countries.
"Only the youth can bring down tensions and resolve differences between rival countries," Mr Varma said.
He also emphasised on the role of education in inculcating the spirit of competition among the youth which help ushering entrepreneurship and competitive capabilities.
He further stressed on the role of the United Nations to identify the right NGOs and individuals and then encourage them to reach to the masses and help build awareness against anti-social activities.
He laid stressed on nourishing the relationship between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh through confidence building measures.
"So its the moral responsibility of these three countries to shed their differences in effort to promote peace and cooperation between them," he said, adding that "then only we can look for peace in other regions".
The Gandhi Global Family was founded by Didi Nirmala Deshpande whose primary concern was to develop a channel of communication and understanding among the constructive organisations of youth and women in order to enable more harmonious relationships throughout the world.