Peace Caravan culminates in Delhi

New Delhi: A 'peace caravan' led by five women activists, which has been travelling across India since September 20 as part of a campaign to sensitise people about what they alleged was violence faced by women in the country "in the name of religious and nationalist sentiments", reached the national capital on Saturday.

A culmination event was held at Parliament Street amidst singing and dancing by people who converged on the occasion.

As part of the ‘Baatein Aman Ki' campaign, women activists travelled to various parts of the country and held public meetings.

They were joined by hundreds of organisations on each route with the pledge "to reclaim the Constitution and to restore peace, harmony and love in the country", the organisers said.

Activist Shabnam Hashmi said that the divisive forces have taken a toll on the cultural fabric of the country and "women have come together to bring the country back from the clutches of hatred, violence and lynchings".

"The position of women in India has deteriorated mainly because of religion being brought into politics, where the Hindu right-wing organisations are playing a leading role in deciding moral values and ascribing the role of women in society," Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women Annie Raja had alleged at the launch of the campaign.

"Through 'Baatein Aman ki' we will stand against all those forces which are trying to break the country in the name of religious or nationalist sentiments," she had said.