Ved Prakash of Silchar gets inducted into India Book of Records for riding more than 13,000 kilometres

It is not something rare or unique for a biker these days to go out on a long trip across a region. Motorcycle biker gangs all over the globe do go for such long trips cutting across a country or a continent, but usually, they do so to explore unexplored or lesser-known places in the world. But for Silchar youth Ved Prakash, his ulterior motive of a cross country motorcycle ride is to bring notice to the issue of child trafficking and spread awareness to stop this inhumane menace in this country. And while doing so, Ved Prakash has managed to create history by getting into the India Book of Records as the fastest to cover a distance of 13,700 km spanning across more than 200 cities across India. Naturally, this record feat of noble intention is making not only Silchar proud, but the entire Barak Valley as well, as this feat has once again put Barak and Cachar district under the attention of mainland India.

As the character of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in the film ‘The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) claims – “The goal is to explore a continent we had only known in books”, Ved’s motorcycle ride across the country airs similar sentiment, albeit on a more serious issue specifically. Like Che, he too experienced and got to know several different cultures from state to state. But the underlying motive was to help the cause against the issue of child trafficking, which is more or less present all across the globe. Talking about his initial inspiration for this noble cause to the Barak Bulletin, biker Ved Prakash said, “A couple of years back, I was surfing through YouTube where I found a video on child trafficking. Although I was aware of this menace from before, I wasn’t aware of the extent of it. Those few YouTube videos opened my eyes to the evil world of child trafficking and I decided to do something about it.”

With that mission in mind, ambitious Ved Prakash set out for his All-India bike ride in March 2020. But due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown that was announced suddenly by the Union Government, he had to halt his journey in Delhi. He had to fly back home due to the impending travelling restriction that was soon to follow, leaving his motorcycle at one of his friend’s house in Delhi. After patiently waiting for 8 months in his hometown Silchar, Ved Prakash once again set out from Delhi on September 30 last year, after the lockdown restrictions were removed with the Covid situation getting under control. And on October 15, 2020, Ved completed his ride throughout the country as the fastest bike rider to complete a journey of such a mammoth distance.

“I knew that in order to grab the attention of the masses, merely travelling throughout the country wouldn’t be enough. So I decided to challenge the record of the fastest bike ride across the country and rewrite it myself so that it creates enough traction among the masses. I have a monetized YouTube channel named ‘Bikerved’ where I post my travelling related videos. The money generated through this channel will be used to raise funds for Child Safety and Protection from Child Trafficking. So, more views means more money generated for that fund to support this cause,” said Ved about the real motive behind his historic bike ride across the multi-faceted land of India. He also mentioned that throughout his travel across different states, he came across a multitude of cultures and traditions which he was previously unaware of.

Further adding, he said, “My town may be small but I have big aspirations in life. Most people prefer going abroad but I wanted to explore my own country. During my journey, the most difficult part was to communicate with people of different languages and the weather conditions of different places. As a solo rider I had to face many difficulties but my passion didn’t let me down.” He also said that despite facing many hurdles, he also faced different kinds of people who had been kind to him and helped him too in different capacities.

So after making getting his name inducted into the India Book of Records, what’s next on the horizon for Biker Ved? To this, he said, “Next, I’m planning to cover 21 countries in this way with the same motive in mind. Hopefully, that will create more awareness as well as funds for the protection of children from trafficking.” As citizens of the Barak Valley, we couldn’t have been more proud of Ved’s achievement and wish for his success in the near future.