Children draw colourful paintings to express solidarity with Kashmiris

Children from various academic institutions participate in spot painting contest.

A total of 30 school children from various academic institutions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad participated in a spot painting contest on Wednesday.

A press release issued by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and the Ministry of Culture said that the competition was organised by them to express solidarity with the Kashmiri struggle for independence.

The children were asked to represent their ideas on the life of Kashmiri people fighting for freedom through painting.

They employed water colours and pastels to paint a colourful array of paintings. Some of the paintings drawn by the children included a woman behind bars, to represent the oppression that the Kashmiris are facing in their homeland.

Another poster was a montage of different “typical” scenes in Kashmir: a group of people protesting, a man being seized by Indian troopers, two Kashmiris in jail, a woman weeping at a funeral and another woman praying in darkness.

The paintings of the students were displayed after the competition and will remain on display at the National Art Gallery till February 5.

Other events featured at PNCA on Wednesday included cultural shows, puppet shows, poetry recitation, tableaus and dance.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2011.