Back home after a global crusade against violence,Bhairavi Sagar is making plans for World without Wars and without Violence in city Mark Twain once eloquently put it,travel is fatal to prejudice,bigotry and narrow-mindedness. For Bhairavi Sagar of Mumbai,the message obviously got through. In a whirlwind experience lasting barely over two months,this 33-year-old entrepreneur recently travelled to a staggering 24 countries spread across continents as part of an unprecedented global crusade for peace and non-violence. For the past 15 years,Bhairavi has been actively involved in the Humanist Movement,getting citizens to network with each other and mobilising them to fight for civic amenities,ranging from getting streetlights to speed-breakers in their localities. Her company Onionsight Pvt Ltd offers customer experience measurement. World without Wars and without Violence,one of the organisms of the Humanist Movement,draws inspiration from the philosophy of Universalist Humanism and promoting and supporting ideas and actions aimed at bringing an end to war in the world. Its methodology of action is based on active non-violence. As part of this organisation,Bhairavi participated in the first World March for Peace and Non-Violence that covered a distance of 99,419 miles over 90 countries in 90 days. The march had a permanent team of 50 members,a million participants and 10 million virtual participants. Starting from Finland on October 26 last year,I travelled to 24 countries,returning home in mid-January. I could not travel to all 90 countries,since the entire travel had to be self-financed and there were visa issues that had to be sorted out. However,I managed to raise the funds for my travel,and this is an experience that I will always remember, says Bhairavi. In November last year,a summit of Nobel Peace laureates was held in Berlin,and they signed a Charter for a World without Violence,which they presented to the promoters of the World March for Peace and Non-Violence who were to act as emissaries of the document in an effort to raise the global consciousness regarding violence. During the campaign,Bhairavi visited Finland,Denmark,Sweden,Czech Republic,Switzerland,Hungary,Italy,Spain,the Canary Islands,Morocco,Senegal,Mauritania,the US,Mexico,Costa Rica,Panama,Guatemala,Honduras,El Salvador,Nicaragua,Brazil,Panama,Paraguay and Argentina. Bhairavi explains,Marches were held in different cities in the countries we visited,and institutional meetings with Presidents,Governors,Mayors,parliamentary members,and state-level legislature members were held to put forth our ideas and demands. Press conferences were also held wherever the march went to create awareness. We proposed five objectives global disarmament; reduction of military expenditure and redirecting funds towards healthcare,education,and alleviating poverty; retreat of invading troops; signing of peace treaties and renunciation of war as a means to resolve conflict. Asked which nation she had the fondest memories of,Bhairvai replies,All of them had a different culture,mannerisms and local rituals. I met a lot of indigenous people in Central America and Mexico and learnt of their ways. The best part was that a lot of youths were involved in the march,and this is a good sign. While leaders and politicians may be sympathetic to the cause,ultimately the change has to come from the grass-root level. Bhairavi was busy with the launch of World without Wars and without Violence in Mumbai last week,with an exhibition of the photographs of her tour on display at the Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi.
