Why is Pak school reopening is as important as millions marching in Paris

Survivors of the deadliest carnage at Army Public School in Pakistan returned back to school in a country terrorised by Taliban

Swati Chandra | January 12, 2015




Dressed in school uniforms and carrying books and pens in their bags, school mates of 134 children, who were massacred on December 16 in Peshawar, returned to their school to resume their studies.  With this these tiny but bold individuals chose to send a message to the terrorists, who seem to have free run in Pakistan. Their act is as significant as millions who took out a rally in Paris on Sunday.

Last month's massacre killed 150 people including 134 students at an army-run school in Peshawar when Pakistan Taliban militants broke into Army Public School and methodically killed the children. As an aftermath of the attack, most of the schools across Pakistan had been shut until Monday.

And in Paris on Sunday, more than one million people assembled on the streets of Paris on Sunday and carried out solidarity march in protest against the terror attacks that killed 17 people including 10 journalists of French satirical Charlie Hebdo in the three-day bloodshed in France,

World leaders including more than 40 presidents and prime ministers of various countries were present on the occasion. People of all religions and races swarmed in central Paris.

French president Francois Hollande, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and families and friends of the victims led the procession followed by lakhs of people. The procession began from near the place where gunmen killed journalists of Charlie Hebdo and 2 policemen on January 7.

The procession is described as the largest in the modern French history. Rallies were also planned in London, New York, Sydney, Tokyo and Madrid.

The attack at the Charlie Hebdo is considered to one of the deadliest terrorists attacks in France.

People were carrying placards and flags bearing three words- “Je Suis Charlie” that has become popular as a slogan of unity and defiance.

“We are all Charlie, we are all police and we are all Jews of France,” French prime minister Manuel Vallas said.

Comments

 

Other News

A sustainability warrior’s heartfelt stories of life’s fleeting moments

Fit In, Stand Out, Walk: Stories from a Pushed Away Hill By Shailini Sheth Amin Notion Press, Rs 399

What EU’s AI Act means for the world

The recent European Union (EU) policy on artificial intelligence (AI) will be a game-changer and likely to become the de-facto standard not only for the conduct of businesses but also for the way consumers think about AI tools. Governments across the globe have been grappling with the rapid rise of AI tool

Indian Railways celebrates 171 years of its pioneering journey

The Indian Railways is celebrating 171 glorious years of its existence. Going back in time, the first train in India (and Asia) ran between Mumbai and Thane on April 16, 1853. It was flagged off from Boribunder (where CSMT stands today). As the years passed, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway which ran the

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to connect businesses with people

7 Chakras of Management: Wisdom from Indic Scriptures By Ashutosh Garg Rupa Publications, 282 pages, Rs 595

ECI walks extra mile to reach out to elderly, PwD voters

In a path-breaking initiative, the Election Commission of India (ECI), for the first time in a Lok Sabha Election, has provided the facility of home voting for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Voters above 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with 4

A fairly reasonable way to solve problems, personal and global

Reason to Be Happy: Why logical thinking is the key to a better life By Kaushik Basu Torva/Transworld, 224 pages

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter