On October 25, 2015, an Indian Facebook user, Ram Subramaniam launched a hashtag campaign, #ProfileForPeace. He asked people of India and Pakistan to change their profile pictures and voice their opinion and get together as one. The campaign aimed to end the continuous state of war between the two countries and to promote peaceful negotiations. Indians uploaded pictures with the Pakistan Flag and many from Pakistan uploaded pictures with the Indian Flag to support the #ProfileForPeace initiative. In March, the #ProfileForPeace display pictures went so viral, that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post: “Fans around the world are ... using a profile frame to show support for their favorite teams. But fans from India and Pakistan are doing something different. Hundreds of thousands of Indian cricket fans are putting the Pakistani frame around their picture. And Pakistani fans are doing the same thing -- showing support for India. They’re using the hashtag #ProfilesForPeace. When we designed the profile frames feature, we just wanted to help people show support for their favorite teams or a cause they believe in. But this story shows that the more connected we are, the more we realize that what unites us is more important than what divides us.” #Profilefopeace - The hashtag resurfaced after Subramaniam shared a video on April 30, of 19-year-old Gurmehar Kaur, the daughter of a Kargil martyr. Kaur uses a series of placards to convey a strong message of peace between India and Pakistan. She lives in Jalandhar and lost her father Captain Mandeep Singh in the 1999 border conflict when she was only two.
Navin Joseph: “The daughter of an Indian soldier has sent out an important message about overcoming hatred and asking for peace. In a powerful video, Gurmehar Kaur asks for an end to war, state-sponsored terrorism and spying. #ProfileForPeace campaign, encourages people to post profile pictures with messages of peace between India and Pakistan.” Jitender Chugh: “It took 20 years of love and affection to make a man and it took only 20 seconds of war to destroy him. Pray for Peace. There shouldn’t be any place for hatred.” Amitoj Singh: “I wish our media had the guts to do what she just did in the video. She spoke the truth instead of selling faith to the corrupt government and corporations.#ProfileForPeace” Pawan Kumar: “If France & Germany can patch up after 2 world wars,
If Japan & US can put their past behind for progress, why can’t India and Pakistan do? This girl questions caliber of leaders of both nation.” Joe Bradshaw: “World peace is indeed possible and desirable. What a touching and inspirational message this young lady has chosen to share with us all...” Trisha Dhawan: “War does not make sense, love does and every life matters. It is not fair or humane to have soldiers posted in Siachin in treacherous terrain all year around and to waste money that can be used toward feeding the hungry, and for all the other reasons that war is WRONG.”
Vikram Jit Singh: “A Pakistani from Swat responds to Gurmehar’s video. He says he is also surrounded by thousands of Gurmehars who have lost their dads. He asks for peace and the oneness of humanity.”