Stars to show solidarity against terror at India Gate event Sunday

Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Nandita Das, singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan and sportspersons Sania Mirza and Abhinav Bindra are among the prominent people from various walks of life who will come together for an event, titled "A Nation in Solidarity Against Terror", at the India Gate here tomorrow.

The 60-minute event has been organised under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to express the nation's solidarity against terrorism.

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the final day when the 26/11 seige by terrorists in Mumbai last year ended.

An official press release said that India had been the target of terror attacks sponsored by external terrorist organisations at regular intervals. The attacks were meant to weaken the resolve of the country and challenge its capacity to remain a peaceful and democratic nation.

According to the release, the Home Ministry proposed, through the event, to send out a strong message that India had the capacity, the courage and the confidence to overcome the threat.

Others slated to participate in the event include violinist L Subramaniam, poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, singers Shreya Ghoshal and Shilpa Rao, journalist Shekhar Gupta and film maker Feroz Abbas Khan.

The event, produced and managed by Wizcraft International Entertainment, has a simple message: Terror has no religion. Solidary, courage and resoluteness are the answer to the threat of terror.

The event is being supported by several organizations including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Airtel, Steel Authority of India Limited, State Bank of India, Apollo Tyres, Mahindra, Amity University, Reliance Industries Limited, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, GAIL India, Aircel and Jet Airways.

Entry to the event will be free and various television news channels will telecast the event live, the release added.

NNN