GANDHIAN'S TO LAUNCH GANDHI PEACE MISSION 2015
Events

GANDHIAN’S TO LAUNCH GANDHI PEACE MISSION 2015

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New Delhi: Key peace exponents and Gandhians such as Dr N Radhakrishnan, Mr S N Subba Rao, Prof. Sankar Kumar Sanyal,Dr Anoopswaroop and others got together today to express their solidarity and determination to stand by and promote the importance of dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness as a concrete solution to end conflicts.

Taking inspiration from Gandhi’s heroic efforts to restore peace during pre-partition riots in Kolkata and Noakhali, Dr Radhakrishnan described in detail how Gandhi risked his life to reach out to both the riot-affected Hindus and Muslim communities alike in an effort to restore in them a sense of confidence and hope.

He said at the conference: “While it would be naïve to believe that violence could be totally eliminated, it would be suicidal to accept it as a fact of life and not respond with creative initiatives to contain this monster. Gandhi gave a magic touch to the most tense and violence-ravaged hearts of people in the wake of Calcutta carnage and Noakhali killings. If simple tenets like dialogue and reconciliation could change the heart of people subjected to the most brutal assaults then, then I feel they have a stronger relevance today.”

 

Today more and more people of all ages, religions and ethnicities are resorting to violence as a quick solution to end their conflicts. In an effort to alter this dangerous trend and sensitize people about the power of dialogue, the Himsamukt Bharat Campaign and Citixen’s Comission for Dialogue, Justice and Reconciliation (led by Dr N Radhakrishnan), Harijan Sevak Sangh( led by Mr Sankar Kumar Sanyal) along with Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) have taken it upon themselves to uphold and revive the Gandhian spirit of dialogue and reconciliation and spread this path as an apt alternative to conflict resolution. They plan to lead by example. By becoming Shantisainiks (soldiers of peace), they want to inspire more people to enable them to make a conscious choice to opt for the Gandhian way of dialogue and trust to solve problems rather than instinctively resort to violence.

 

In an attempt to highlight the power of dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness among more and more people, and especially the youth, this team of Gandhians have launched the Gandhi Peace Mission 2015 to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Gandhi’s heroic efforts for peace in Kolkata and his pilgrimage to Noakhali, Bangladesh.

This International Gandhi Peace Mission has a five-tier action plan, which was further explained by Dr N.Radhakrishnan, Prof.Sankar Kumar Sanyal,Dr Anoopswaroop, Dr Akash Ouchi and others at the  Press conference today.

  1. A Gandhi Peace Bus will  be flagged off from Sodepur Gandhi Ashram, Kolkata to Noakhali Gandhi Ashram. About 50 peace promoters (one each from 25 states of India and an equal number of foreign peace delegates) will undertake this journey as an effort to revive Gandhi’s heroic spirit andshow their commitment to peace and dialogue. ( 26 Jan 2015 – 5 Feb 2015).
  2. During this journey, the participants will also interact with people in villages, remembering Gandhi’s work in these areas.
  3. Nonviolent Community Building — an interaction will be undertaken at Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali, Bangladesh on 30th January 2015 with local peace activists, intellectuals and associates of Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali.
  4. A Peace Conference with the intellectuals and peace activists of Dhaka will be held at Dhaka
  5. On the teams’ return to Kolkota a Two day International Conference will be organized on the theme: Lessons from Gandhi’s Pilgrimage to Noakhali for Peace and his strivings in Kolkatta through Dialogue, Forgiveness and Reconciliation for sustainable Peace and development.

In addition to these programmes, nation-wide campaigns, awareness creation and sensitization programmes in schools,colleges and even among senior groups all over the country will be organised from 2nd October in order to highlight the importance of Dialogue,reconciliation and forgiveness to promote peace and development in society.Statelevel committees will be constituted to 0rganise these programmes.

Dr.S.N.Subba Rao and P.V.Rajagopal will be the mentors of these campaigns and programmes. Prof.Sankar Kumar Sanyal will be the Chairman of the Organizing Committee with Dr Anoop Swaroop as Co-Chairman.Surendra Choraria will be the Chairman of the Advisory Committee while Prof.Supriya Guptoo and Prof.Manoharlal Sharma will be joint Convenors of the Conference Committees. Dr Akash Ouchi will be the Chairman of the Planning Committee. Raha Nabha Kumar from Noakhlai will coordinate the programmes in Bangladesh. Prof.N.Radhakrishnan will be the Team Leader and General Convenor.

A National Advisory Committee with 70 prominent members of Gandhian organizations and public will be constituted to guide the various committees.