Mumbai: Though there was not a single placard or slogan against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) or National Register for Citizens (NRC), a group of over 200 students indirectly gave out a message that India is known for its ‘unity in diversity.’
Students from different colleges across the city formed a club, through which they participated in the Dream Run event of Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
In their run, these students held up placards reading Unity in Diversity. When asked, one of them said, “We did not want this marathon to be a platform to protest the CAA or the NRC or other such incidents.
Thus, we thought of giving out a clear message that we believe in unity in diversity and our country is known for its diverse population.”
‘Sporty Sikh’ creates history
The 17th edition of Mumbai Marathon was historic for city’s ‘Sporty Sikh’ who completed his 125th marathon run on Sunday, after running 21 kilometres half marathon.
Though 100 per cent blind, the Kandivali resident, Amarjeet Chawla, has set the benchmark for young athletes, the majority of whom were seen panting for breath even before completing their run.
Chawla, who is known for joyous and ebullient nature, was escorted by four Pinkathon runners along with his usual escort Rahul Brahme.
Speaking about Chawla and his pace, Pinkathon runners Neetu Kanojia said, “He is truly an inspiration for all. He walks at the pace we run. In our 21 km run today, there were points when I wanted to give up but it was only because of him, I was inspired to continue running.” –Narsi Benwal
Say no to acid attack
The stir before the release of Deepika Padukone’s film ‘Chhapaak’ surely made an impact on the Mumbai Marathon. This can be said so because a city-based family created awareness of acid attacks and how the same destroys the life of the victim.
“It destroys the life of a girl within a fraction of seconds. We cannot even imagine the pain the victim suffers and the trauma that she is subjected to. We think this is the most dangerous crimes against women and thus there must be a full stop to it,” said Miten Shah. –Narsi Benwal
