Feelings of insecurity, alienation and discrimination give rise to conflicts or catalyse existing tension. The peacebuilders of the Samvaad programme attempted to solve this problem by addressing these issues by uniting people from different communities under one banner.

Every first day of the month, all stakeholders, irrespective of any religion or caste, will gather at the city centre to profess their commitment by singing the national anthem. This was made possible by Meerut Seva Samaj, one of the Caritas India partners, after three years of rigorous efforts under the Samvaad Peace Building and Reconciliation Programme operational in Muzaffarpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The idea behind this gathering evolved to promote peace and harmony, leading to exemplary communal unity. This initiative arose from ongoing meetings with Muzaffarnagar stakeholders who used to attend Samvaad Program meetings to conduct peace dialogues, promote peace, and build friendly communities free of strife and violence. This notion of observing one day of every month as a day of hoisting the Indian tricolour and singing the National Anthem is one of the unique ways of uniting people and strengthening solidarity among people of different religions and cultures. The Samvaad programme aims to build an environment of communities that are empowered through awareness and sensitised so that social peace and integration can be created among all.

This intervention is considered one of the triumphs of the citizen forum members, who are the focused group formalised under the Samvaad programme about a year ago to promote peace and social integrity on the Samvaad peace-building programme team. In this event, different religious leaders and major stakeholders of the project area are invited to participate and witness the peace-building effort by hoisting the flag and chanting the national anthem.

Peacebuilding is not only the responsibility of the elders; it also lies with every citizen of the country, including students. On this special day, the schoolchildren who were part of this initiative dressed in the tricolour national flag to witness Caritas India’s peace initiative. This event fills the people with patriotism and a sense of unity and pride. People of various religions gathered and sang the National Anthem together. This is a continuous action in the area, and more than four events that were successfully conducted can be termed the best practice, and it can be said that the Samvaad programme has not only sensitised the citizens but has made every individual realise how peace and harmony will lead to a developed nation.

The continuous efforts taken by the Samvaad Program to promote peace are a result of this monthly action, which is initiated through the efforts of every stakeholder who obtained the permission of the district administration to conduct this event. This request was welcomed by the district authorities, and now without any hassle, people are gathering at different locations every month to commemorate the nation with the National Anthem and flag hoisting.

Some of the key stakeholders who are the citizen forum members of our Samvaad programme and are also eminent people in the city are Sarv Dharma Sabha President Manish Chaudhary, Muslim Rashtriya Manch representative Faiz Ur Rehman, Gurpreet Singh Brar, District Inspector of Schools Brijendra Singh, Inner Wheel Club representative Santosh Sharma, and Mahmoodia Madarsa Prabandhak Nadeem Tyagi, Qari Aas Muhammad, Mahmood Nagar ward member Wajid, and other major stakeholders of the area are regular participants in the event, along with community members and schoolchildren. This event is much appreciated by the local media, and it is anticipated to help unite the masses and remove barriers to unity.