Letter: Celebration

Sir: Your leading article of 9 March states that "Commonwealth Day passed off yesterday with few celebrations". In fact, there were celebrations, but they were not widely reported in the print media.

Over 2,000 people, 1,000 of them school children from all over the United Kingdom, came to Westminster Abbey to hear the Queen's speech and readings from senior representatives of the world's major faiths. They heard music from Australia and the Caribbean and watched classical Indian Kathak dancing to the sound of the sitar and tabla.

The Royal Commonwealth Society and Commission for Racial Equality sent leaflets encouraging celebrations of Commonwealth Day to local authorities, libraries and every school in the UK. A CD-Rom illustrating the cultural diversity and political and economic importance of the Commonwealth is being distributed free to schools.

The Commonwealth Club just off Trafalgar Square is fast becoming London's premier multi-cultural meeting place. Fundamental to combating racism is understanding and experiencing other cultures and lifestyles. This is what Commonwealth Day is about. Perhaps, next year, the media, including The Independent, might bother to report it.

PETER LUFF

Director

Royal Commonwealth Society

London WC2