Confronted with incidents of hate crime, the minds behind such acts used to intrigue him as a young IPS officer in Gujarat. Vinod Mall would think how such negativity could be controlled and the minds be shaped for spreading the message of peace and empathy.
Mall, a director general of police-rank officer, then came up with ‘Budh Se Kabir Tak’, a yatra that led him to travel through the hinterlands of his home state Uttar Pradesh spreading the message of peace and brotherhood. “Going for the yatra was completely my idea and in 2017, I discussed it with a few like-minded people. Together, we started a movement,” said the 1986-batch IPS officer.
“Having worked in the IPS for 30 years, I have seen hatred and violence very closely and I have been thinking about how to weed out the social menace. Social intervention was the only way out to promote acceptance and togetherness, well before it results into hatred and violence,” he said.
Mall has donned many a role in his career with one of his postings being at the Gujarat Police Academy in 2009 as its director. It was here that he got a chance to interact with many enthusiastic youths and thought of coming up with an idea to shape their future.
“Launched in 2018 in Gorakhpur, ‘Buddha se Kabir Tak’ is socio-cultural movement which uses teachings of icons like Buddha, Kabir, Gandhi, Gorakhnath and Mahavir to spread the message of peace, non-violence and togetherness,” Mall said.
Regarding the route of the yatra, he said, “Gorakhpur is located at the triangular point of Lumbini, Kushinagar and Maghar. Lumbini is the birth place of Buddha, Kushinagar is where he achieved nirvana, while Maghar is where Kabir attained nirvana. This historical land inspired us to take out first yatra in April 2018 between Kushinagar and Maghar. This was followed by annual yatras in 2019 and 2020. Many other programmes were organised in universities, colleges and other social platforms.
“In the process, ‘Buddha se Kabir Tak’ band was created with young talented members who mainly sing songs of Kabir and Gorakh Sufi social reformers to promote harmony in society. People from different sections of society, like academicians, musicians and social workers joined the group on a completely voluntary basis. The group is attracting talented people from all over the country.”
Speaking about the increasing membership he said, “Buddha se Kabir Tak is an open organization and no official membership is needed. Anyone who believes in its values and objectives, can join even remotely. We have been able to reach thousands of people in ground. Lakhs of people have been reached out through social media and other online platforms. The idea of love and peace is attracting the youth in large numbers.” He said the group is an apolitical one though it will welcome anyone with an open mind.
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