Indian cyclist on peace mission to spread Gandhi’s message

Singapore, Jun 16 (PTI) A 26-year-old Indian social worker has embarked on a three-year ‘Pedaling for Peace’ cycling expedition across the world to spread Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings among school children. Dnyaneshwar Yewatkar, who hails from Sewagram Ashram at Wardha in Maharashtra, said he has completed 8,642-km of 70,000-km of his global cycling expedition. His expedition will be completed on October 2, 2019, in Pakistan, on Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. “I have travelled over the last eight months through the Indo-China border and ASEAN, meeting beautiful people who have been very warm in hosting me and giving me opportunities to share my thoughts and knowledge about the teachings of Gandhi,” he told PTI. “There are challenging times in this solo-cycling tour, but there are moments I cherish as teachers gave me accommodation in schools or in their homes as they understand my mission,” said Yewatkar, who has also been hosted by Sikh gurdwaras in Thailand and Malaysia. “I am sharing with them the message of Gandhiji, which inspires many people like us, to work for peace…and take its new relevance today,” Yewatkar said. Sewagram Ashram is the place where Gandhi had launched the ‘Quit India’ campaign in 1942 against the British government. Yewatkar cycles for 120-km and speaks at about five schools on an average day. He uses Google translator to speak to the people in their native languages. Yewatkar said he was preparing to leave Singapore next week and will go to Indonesia and then would continue to travel across Taiwan, China and Japan. In November, Yewatkar aims to sail from Japan to the US, and he will travel across Africa and the Middle East. Yewatkar said his tour was supported by donations and from the people who hosted him while he met them on his way. PTI