Stand up for a world without poverty

New Delhi, Oct 14 (UNI) India will stand up tomorrow literally, to support the world's determination to end poverty, hunger and disease.

Millions of Indians are expected to take part in the global 'Stand Up' campaign to support the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations to end the misery of the poor by 2015.

School children, college students, office-goers, sportspeople, actors and many others will be rising together on the day, in the process hoping to create a Guinness World Record.

Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid, batsman Sachin Tendulkar, film star Aamir Khan and musician A R Rahman will join their fellow citizens in the solidarity act.

Spiritual guru Baba Ramdev, a special invitee to the UN conference on MDGs, will stand up at the Times Square in New York while thousands of his followers will do so in their villages and towns across the country.

''India is among the countries that promised at the UN to eradicate poverty, hunger and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria by 2015.

I believe that these promises can and will be delivered,'' says Aamir Khan.

''The 'Stand Up' campaign is open to everyone across the world.

People can stand up at their own initiative anytime during 1530 hrs tomorrow and 1530 hrs the next day,'' says Ajit Sahi, Communications Coordinator (South Asia) of the UN Millennium Campaign.

People will be standing up in malls, parks, town halls, schools, village squares and universities during the day in groups taking the pledge to achieve the MDGs, Mr Sahi adds.

''The MDGs have promised that every girl and boy will be sent to school well before 2015 and, in fact, complete most of their basic education by then,'' says Dravid. ''I am going to do that,'' says Tendulkar.

Major school networks like the Delhi Public School Society (DPS), which has 146 schools and 200,000 students, will read out the pledge on October 16. ''This is a very noble cause,'' says DPS RK Puram Principal Shyama Chona.

Even disabled people will be taking part in the campaign though they will do so by raising their hands in support of the MDGs.

''The Stand Up is a reminder that we have to deliver large sections of our populations from poverty, disease and hunger,'' says Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who will be leading a 'Stand Up' of about 50,000 people at Indore.

According to the UN's own surveys, several countries lag behind in achieving MDGs in education and health care. Experts have called for more vigorous intervention by States and have asked the rich countries to help the Third World in making the MDGs dream a reality, on time.

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