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The following events were organized by Bharat Votes with the help of the respective Indian Students Association (ISA) at Arizona State University (ASU) and University of Massachusetts – Amherst (UMASS-Amherst). At both these events, Bharat Votes emphasized the need of bringing people together breaking all social barriers to create a better and secure environment for all our countrymen. Peace and Condolence Gathering for Mumbai Attack Victims Venue – Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Under the guidance of Bharat Votes, Indian Students Association at ASU conducted a prayer of peace for the families of the victims of the Mumbai attacks. Students and members of the community dawned white shirts and lit candles on Friday December 5th, 2008 in remembrance of the victims martyred in Mumbai. A peace march was held at the ASU campus with over 350 people participating. One of the co-founders of Bharat Votes, Mayur Jain, also addressed the gathering and emphasized on using our emotions, after the Mumbai attacks, for the betterment of India in every fashion. The message was clear that it’s time we as citizens should take responsibility and act so that the government which is predominantly reactive would become proactive or active at-least to take care of its people and work for their welfare. The presence of foreign citizens at the gathering clearly symbolized that the entire world is united against the fight with terror. The following article was published about the gathering in a local Arizona news paper: http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2008/12/09/20081209cr-india-mourn1210.htmlPictures of the event can be found at ibnlive.com: http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/1155-0.html#view_start
UMASS- Amherst Prayer Service Venue – University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA A Mumbai Prayer Service was held at UMASS-Amherst by Bharat Votes in association with UMASS-ISA. Through this service, we not only remembered the agony of the victims and sacrifice of the martyrs but also had a chance to introspect the reasons which led to such ghastardly acts of terror. Saurabh Saksena, co-founder of Bharat Votes, spoke at the gathering and conducted an informal group discussion on the importance of strengthening our resolve to improve all aspects of our democracy to achieve a better future for our beloved country. Pictures of the event can be found at IBNLIVE.com: http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/1177-0.html#view_start Beyond Debate – Debate Competition Venue – Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Beyond Debate is a first of its kind debate competition in the US that provides a platform to those citizens of India living in the United States who have always felt anguish and concern about the issues plaguing India. It gives a voice to their thoughts. It is aimed at providing solutions rather than getting caught in the complexity of the blame games that affect us and our beloved ones back in India. Unlike other debate competitions, “Beyond Debate” aims beyond the usual argument-counter-argument rhetoric as it looks for pragmatic solutions on a host of issues affecting India and the Indians. We plan to organize this competition across several US universities, cities, and states. We started this journey at Arizona State University on 25th of October, 2008 with the aim of finding solution to one of the major problems India is facing today – Terrorism. The topic of this inaugural debate competition was "Bringing tougher anti-terror laws will curb terrorism in India". This event not only marked the very first step of “Bharat Votes” as a team but it also helped us in finding other like-minded passionate individuals who want to do their bit for our beloved motherland. Our next debate competition will be held in New England. More updates to come soon. |
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