The day was marked by songs, poetry reading sessions and a recital by Vidya Shah, disciple of Shubha Mudgal.

Nunu Ping, a member of the Women’s League of Chin (Burma) who moved to India in 2003 to escape the present military regime says, “I am very happy to see that women in India move around freely and know of their rights. Violence has crippled the economy in Burma and the plight of women is worse.”

Also featuring at the event were ten Afghan students from Jamia, who presented a traditional Afghan dance— Attan. “It is another way of getting the community together in Jamia Nagar, which recently saw the Batla House incident,” says a member.

To take the event to a wider platform, Geeta Bhardwaj from One World South Asia (OWSA), a nonprofit organisation promoting sustainable development and human rights through alternative media, would be doing a short film with people’s inputs on the Mumbai terror attacks and post it on Youtube.

People in Sargoda, Karachi and Islamabad, Sri Lanka, Bamiyan and Kabul, Dhaka and Kathmandu lit candles to reaffirm their South Asian identity.

In India, the Tibetan Women’s Organisation would be lighting candles in McLeod Ganj, Calcutta and several places in Madhya Pradesh.

The celebrations in Mumbai were stalled due to the terrorist attacks.