MUMBAI, JANUARY 17 ‘‘No more war, no more war.’’ Amid choir singing set to African Njembe drum beats, Tokyo-based NGO Peace Boat touched Indira Docks on Friday. Peace Boat, a passenger ship, is an international educational organisation that is campaigning for, among other things, a nuclear-free South Asia.
Among the over-700 passengers, around 50 of whom are here to participate in the World Social Forum, is Satoru Konishi, assistant secretary general of the Association of Japanese A- and H-Bomb survivors.
The 74-year-old says the Indo-Pak nuclear rivalry is as dangerous as the Korean peninsula crisis. Konishi said: ‘‘There might seem to be a thaw, but all it takes is one isolated incident to spark off a nuclear war.’’
While its members are predominantly Japanese, the ship also had Filipinos, Koreans, Africans and Delhi-based Indian journalist Jawed Naqvi. The chip undertakes global or regional voyages every year inviting over 100 guest speakers and offers exchange and educational activities to over 2,500 participants.
The Peace Boat idea was born in 1983 out of revising Japanese history books that had erased even the slightest mention of the country’s imperialistic nature. ‘‘While we have achieved that goal, the ongoing process is to link up with Japan’s neighbours, to tell them more about the country and to learn more from them,’’ said Maria de la Fuente from the ship’s international team.