Protesters March 1,000 Miles for Peace.

• Author: PAL, AMITABH
• Position: Anti-nuclear protest in India - Brief Article

Khetolai, India

Indian anti-nuclear activists are walking 1,000 miles for disarmament.

The three-month Global Peace March began on May 11, the Buddha's birthday, in the village of Khetolai in the state of Rajasthan, near the site where India conducted its nuclear tests exactly one year before. It will conclude in Sarnath in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the location of the Buddha's first sermon.

"I was disturbed by the support among the middle class and the upper middle class for the tests," says Sandeep Pandey, the main organizer. "A person like my mother, who's never committed any violence, was in favor of the tests."

The march works as a relay. Although Pandey plans to walk the entire route, most people join in for a few days or so. A group typically starts marching early in the morning, often as early as 4 A.M. They stop at about 10 A.M. to escape the oppressive summer heat. The marchers, who number between ten and forty, cover between six and twelve miles a day.

Prominent personalities are joining in, including Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, chief of the Indian naval staff from 1990 to 1993. The Dalai Lama has also extended his support.

In the first week, the activists say, opponents in RamDeora threw stones at the participants. Other Indian citizens are questioning...