Students offer suggestions to improve ties with Pakistan, others

NEW DELHI: Alisha Priyadarshini, a class 12 student in Odisha, aspires to become an architect but keeps a sharp eye on Indo-Pak relations.
So when the Ministry of External Affairs offered an opportunity to express her views on the subject, she suggested a number of measures to improve India's ties with its neighbours, including through "youth ambassadors".

The MEA in its bid to reach out to the people in general and the youth in particular had organised an all-India essay competition for the Kendriya Vidyalas earlier this month, the results for which were announced here on Friday in which this 17-year-old-girl from a small town of Bargarh bagged the top prize.

"There were seven topics to choose from but I wrote on this subject because I see the Indo-Pak issue playing out on TV channels and read reports in newspapers, but I fail to understand why we have not been able to reach a cordial state with Pakistan.

"And, so I suggested measures that must be taken from both the sides. And, also how soft power like trade, tourism, and films can help better our relationship with perhaps our most important geographic neighbour.

"But, I also believe that young people like us can also play a role in that, and so 'youth ambassadors' would be another way to deal with this issue," Priyadarshini told PTI.

25 winners from each of the regions of the Kendriya Vidyalayas were picked through this competition which spanned "1,125 KVs and 12 lakh students", KV Sangathan Commissioner Santosh Kumar Mall said.

The top three winners from the 25 best entries were announced at the award ceremony held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, the MEA headquarters.

Girls outnumbered boys in the final 25 shortlist and all final three positions were also clinched by girls.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was present at the felicitation ceremony, had exhorted students to also consider taking up career in the field of foreign policy.

She also hoped that through this exercise, MEA has been able to expose students to think about the myriad ways in which "our foreign policy choices impact daily lives".

"We hope that through the competition, the MEA has been able to inculcate in young minds the importance of "our engagement with the world", and see the world through "your (students) eyes," she had said.

The seven topic were -- India's Soft Power; The International Day of Yoga; India and United Nations; India and Her Neighbours; The Indian view of Climate Change; The Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the Contemporary World; and India-Africa Ties - Partnership for the future.

S Harshitha from Kodagu under Bangalore KV Region walked away with the second prize for her piece on 'The Indian view of Climate Change'.

"There is so much talk of climate change and pollution control from Delhi to Paris, and in my essay I tried to explain the problem and suggested measures to curb the pollution menace for a better planet.

"All countries must come together for this endeavour, it cannot be achieved by just one or two countries," she said.

MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Kendriya Vidyalays was just the beginning of MEA's engagement with the people and youth in particular, and the ambit would be widened from here.

"KV was our natural choice when we were looking for this partnership... At MEA's public diplomacy we take a certain pride... And believe that foreign policy cannot remain behind closed doors or gilded chanceries," he said.

"Through engagements with universities and think-tanks and publications and films, we aim to demystify foreign policy and bring it closer to people," Swarup added.

Emphasising on the importance of external affairs, Swaraj told students, "I would urge you also to think about a career in public service and foreign policy. This century is going to be Asia's century, our century. India's engagement with the world in politics, economics, trade, security, technology, education and all other fields will intensify and deepen."

Students had the choice to write the essay in either Hindi or English.

"I am pleasantly surprised to see the incisive thinking displayed by them, especially on a critical and complicated subject like foreign policy.

"And, more so, they expressed their views with clarity on not just our relationship with Pakistan, but also Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Myanmar," said J K Sisugoswami, teacher from KV Bhubaneswar region.

The 25 students and representative teachers also met President Pranab Mukherjee and HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

They were also taken on a tour of Delhi for sightseeing to places like Red Fort and Lotus Temple.