UN to screen 'Earth Anthem' penned by Indian diplomat

The United Nations will later on this day screen the 'Earth Anthem' written by an Abhay Kumar, an Indian diplomat. Kumar, who is currently India's envoy to Madagascar and Comoros, had penned the 'Earth Anthem' earlier in 2008 in Russia's St. Petersburg.

Explaining the need for a common anthem for the planet, Abhay Kumar said, "The global spread of the coronavirus has proved the need for our interdependence once again. Whichever country we come from, we can not remain indifferent to this crisis. Similarly, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change affect all of us. It does not matter whether we live in the global north, the south, the east, or the west."

He added, "All life is interdependent and until we understand this basic fact clearly and wholeheartedly, we will not be able to fight climate change, biodiversity loss, or even the novel coronavirus pandemic at hand."

Here is the "Earth Anthem" which will be screened at the event today:

The Civil Society Unit of the United Nations Department of Global Communications, which is hosting a youth-led live event to commemorate Earth Day will release the anthem in New York at around 6.30 PM IST. The Earth Anthem will be live-streamed globally on the Facebook page of the UN Department of Global Communications Civil Society Youth Representatives.

The anthem has been sung by Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam and Bindu Subramaniam and was released on April 22, 2020, to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Earth Day.