A medley of Indian and Pakistani national anthems has become a social media hit, bringing together thousands of people from the two countries who saw the mash-up as a message of love and peace amidst heightened acrimony between the rival nations.
The Peace Anthem features a series of artists from both nations singing the Indian anthem Jana Gana Mana and Pakistan’s Pāk Sarzamīn.
The video was published by the Facebook page Voice of Ram on Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, it raked up 330,000 views, was shared by more than 9,000 people, and at least a thousand commented on the video.
“Hope this goes viral in Pakistan. Some Of us Indians care for peace. The best “independence” day gift both countries can give each other. Peace,” reads a comment by Kalpesh Patel.
“This is gone viral already bro! Seeing it from Karachi, Pakistan :),” said Umair Hussain in response,
The video begins with the words, “When we open our borders to art, peace comes along” and closes with, “Let’s stand together for peace”.
{{/usCountry}}The video begins with the words, “When we open our borders to art, peace comes along” and closes with, “Let’s stand together for peace”.
{{/usCountry}}An earlier video by Voice of Ram, posted on Facebook on August 11, has scored 468,000 views. It features an Indian a capella group, Voxchord, singing Pakistan’s national anthem - which it calls “a song about faith, pride and grandeur, of power, progress and perfection”.
Voice of Ram is headed by filmmaker and activist Ram Subramanian.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been hit over the past years after a fresh violence along the Line of Control — the de-facto border dividing Kashmir.