(Image source from: timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Raj Kohli, a 63-year-old Indian-American realtor from Tucson, Arizona will ride a bicycle from New York to Washington DC to draw public attention to the ongoing gun violence in America. He is set to start the ride from the Trump Tower, near Central Park in New York City, on Memorial Day, May 28, 2018.
Kohli stated, "I want to highlight the fact that President Donald Trump, who promised to work towards stricter gun laws in the wake of the Florida massacre, has put the issue on the backburner after meeting with National Rifle Association executives in Washington, DC I. want to bring it up in front of the public. That's why I am doing this."
"About 35,000 people die due to the gun violence every year in the US. 3,000 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, in 2001. The US has spent over seven trillion dollars in foreign wars since then but is spending nothing at home to substantially reduce gun-related deaths," says Kohli.
With his bicycle ride, Kohli is requesting the people to boycott the National Rifle Association (NRA) as well as Amazon and Walmart for a day as they sell guns. He is also asking people to boycott Gun Stocks & Mutual Funds with gun-related stock in portfolios and retirement accounts worldwide.
Kohli, who was born in Uttar Pradesh (India), received his BS from St Xavier's College, Ahmedabad and his law degree from Meerut University. He completed his MBA from Arizona State University and his Masters in Finance from Thunderbird School of International Management (TSIM).
He has undertaken many bicycle rides for world peace over the last four decades. His first world peace bicycle ride was in 1981-83 when he travelled to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. His mission was to promote world peace.
In 2017, he rode from Tokyo to Hiroshima on the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of the two cities.
"I am planning on doing a ride against terrorism and extremism in Europe later this year if my health and finances allow. My goal is to focus on highlighting the lives of those who survived terrorist attacks in these countries, and how their loss has changed their lives. Media highlights the terrorists and the devastation they cause and gives them the publicity that they crave. I would like to stop that," he said about his future plans.
By Lokesh
