As the South-Asian sibling nations of India and Pakistan celebrate their respective independence days, a video of the fusion of their national anthems has gone viral on the internet, sparking calls for peace between the neighbours embroiled in acrimony and military conflict.
The Peace Anthem- sung by a number of artists from India and Pakistan- opens with the message “When we open our borders to art, peace comes along”.
The song begins with Pakistan’s national anthem, Pak Sarzamin which is sung by Indian and Pakistani singers and then transitions to India’s national anthem, Jan Gan Man.
The video has been produced by Ram Subramanian- a peace and equality activist who is the founder of ‘Voice of Ram’- a platform advocating peace between India and Pakistan.
An earlier video produced by him featured Indian artists who sang a Capella rendition of Pakistan’s national anthem.
The videos have moved people from both countries which are seeing conflict over Kashmir escalating and diplomatic relations deteriorating, to call for peace.