An Indian woman, Sneha Biswas has shared a story of her friendship with a Pakistani woman, who was her classmate at Harvard University. The friendship story that has transcended all barriers, has taken the internet by storm. The story was shared by Biwas, CEO of Early Steps Academy, on LinkedIn, along with a few pictures of her good times with the Pakistani woman.
In the story, she mentions how she grew up with stereotyped notions about the India-Pakistan rivalry, especially in cricket, history books, and the media. Biswas said she met the woman on the first day of Harvard Business School, and towards the end of the first semester, they became the closest of friends. Our insight changes when we interact with people across borders, she added.
“Over multiple chais, biryanis, financial models, and case study preps, we got to know each other. Her stories of growing up in a conservative Pakistani backdrop, but being blessed with supportive parents who gave her and her younger sister the courage to break the norms and chase their dreams, resonated with me. Her stories of fearless ambitions and bold choices inspired me,” she said in the post.
The picture uploaded by Ms. Biswas showed both the women flaunting their national flags on the flag day at Harvard.
“Look at us on the famous flag day at #harvard – flaunting our flags and smiling away at the joy of, “breaking barriers” – not just literally between India and Pakistan, but also for the countless little girls from India and Pakistan who are scared to shoot for the stars,” she added.
The LinkedIn post got more than 43,000 likes, over 1,700 comments, and numerous shares.
One comment read “Such a lovely message,” while another wrote “This is what people must know… before anything else we are human beings and our nature has a different type of characteristic, it depends totally on us which one we wanna show the society… great going. All the best”