Ideas and views shared by
delegates before the commencement of the symposium:
For Gujarat delegates, this is an opportunity
to interact & share knowledge & experiences with activists from other
states. Raju Dipti, expressed his desire to interact more with secular
activists and share woes & grief of Gujarat people particularly after post
Godhra incident. He expressed sufferings of the people in Gujarat caused due to
the recent communal riots. He hoped that this symposium would strengthen their
morale and would also help them play a positive role in relieving psychosocial
trauma caused due to recent carnage.
Noorani Mohammed opined peace is like salt in
food. Without peace human existence is impossible. He further stressed upon
importance of secularism to strengthen the cause of human rights and peaceful
co-existence of both communities viz. Hindus & Muslims. He also explained
the role of Maitri Abhiyan (friendship movement) in restoring secular fabric of
Gujarat society.
Gujarat team is trying to bring together affected people from both the communities on a single platform and develop spirit of love, brotherhood and mutual confidence among them. They also explained about various activities conducted by them for restoration of peace and communal harmony in the riot torn areas of Gujarat. They also showed keen interest in holding similar seminars and symposium in their local areas. In general, the delegates opined that this symposium will be a ground for more learning and will also help them in continuing with social activities more effectively in the region of Gujarat.
“Knowing that this is a symposium particularly meant to focus upon
the issues like growing religious fundamentalism in India, we have decided to
attend it”, opined one of the teammate, Shri.Ranjeet Verma from Delhi group.
Miss Swati from Delhi also found this symposium as an opportunity to interact
with people from diverse social fields and also can help her write an article
on the symposium for Delhi based newspapers and periodicals. The group also
felt it necessary to hold such programmes in Delhi.
“Actually organising such events in conflict
prone zones like U.P., Delhi & Maharashtra is a necessity of today,”
stressed Shri. Ramesh Sharma. However, he further emphasised a peaceful place
like Goa is ideal to hold deliberations upon sensitive issues like Societal
Peace and Communal Harmony and then to go to conflict torn places with a
message derived from this symposium. Besides,
Shri. Sharmaji also opined that growing consumerism & corruption are
some of the core factors leading towards societal tensions.
Rajasthan Group, which is new to total Swaraj
process were of the opinion that they have come here to learn more about
Gandhian concept of “Total Swaraj”. They have come here to learn the strategy
devised during this 3-day Symposium to help them combat the growing communalism
in their own region.
A senior delegate from Tamilnadu Prof. S.N.
Nagarajan lamented that we have seen more killings of human beings than during
the Second World War since last 40 years. So, according to him, we have to look
into the root causes of these
wars & find out who are
responsible for the same to achieve lasting peace and think of the ways to
defeat this global enemy. He also commented that we should know who is
providing guns to the innocent people of the third world countries who don’t
have enough to eat. The group added further that they are also intending to
hold similar symposiums at their local level.
Shri.Dinkar Chowdhary opined that it would be
not better for any activist to work in isolation. We have come here to learn
from other social activists who are working in similar fields, in particular,
towards restoration of communal harmony. We wish to learn more about this
subject in this Symposium, was a general opinion of the Maharashtra group.
Shri.Balasaheb Pawar alarmingly expressed his concern over growing religious
fundamentalism even at village level and expressed his hope that a meaningful
strategy would be evolved during this ongoing Symposium to combat communalism.
INAUGURAL SESSION:
The symposium on ‘societal peace’ began with
an inaugural song on the subject of Swaraj at 4.00 pm in front of the campus
building of peaceful society. The delegates were asked to collect some unique
item from the campus & display it on a tray in the symposium hall symbolising
unity among diversity, which is a unique feature of India. Shri. Ramachandra P.
Desai initiated the inaugural session by singing a song on the theme of
communal harmony and national integration. After this, a play was presented by
the Gujarat group, beautifully conveying the importance of communal amity and
religious tolerance. The play depicted how one can look at one particular thing
from different religious perspectives and can still find unity in it. In the
end, the play summarised Gandhiji as a symbol of unity & national
integration. Then, a song was presented by Lukman Ansari highlighting
importance of religious tolerance. This song was followed by Swaraj geet.
To begin with, there was an inaugural welcome
speech by Shri K. K. Mani, which was followed by the introduction of all
participants gathered from states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, Kerala,
Tamilnadu, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Goa. Shri.Mani
introduced Shri.Badal Da Sengupta and he was offered with items collected by delegates
as a token of unity among diversity. Then, Badalda took reigns as a facilitator
of the session. He explained the theme of the symposium and appealed the
delegates to contribute positively to arrive at a proper perspective of
societal peace. He further appealed the gathering to apply more heart than the
brain to arrive at various options to restore peace in its true spirit in
Indian society. He initiated the deliberations by asking delegates to express
their views on how well the major religious faiths adhere and advocate
universal principles and core values like
brotherhood, non-violence, human dignity, and reverence towards man and
nature. In reply, some of the delegates pointed out such reverential features
from various religious faiths like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism,
Buddhism and unorganised one like Adivasi way of life. Advocate Sk. Quraish
from Orissa and Dr. Yamin from Gujarat spoke on Islam. Advocate Sk. Quraish
stressed upon the principles of equality and brotherhood as understood from the
Islam point of view. Dr. Yamin highlighted on principle of tolerance, which is
precisely the need of today’s strife torn world. To substantiate his viewpoint,
he quoted some of the stanzas from Qur’an.
Goninder Singh from Delhi spoke on Sikhism.
He emphasized that the core principle of Sikhism to be peace and happiness of
all mankind. In Sikhism, we also adore and respect the preaching of great
saints from other faiths like Saint Ravi Das, saint Namdev (Vaishnav Saint),
saint Kabir and also some of the sufi saints .In our faith, efforts have always
been taken to eradicate caste and class prejudices from the society. In
particular, Guru Nanakji professed unity and universality of God.
Ulhas Arolkar from Goa spoke on Buddhism. He
emphasised upon how well Buddhism advocates non-violence, love, tolerance and
brotherhood and sisterhood. Stressing upon the importance of principles like
respect for nature, spirit of enquiry and scientific attitude, he stressed
Buddhism as the only religion nearer to these principles.
While initiating his views
on Christianity Comrade Christopher Fonseca, put up in nutshell the principles
of love and service towards the poorest of the poor. He highlighted in brief
the sermon of Jesus Christ on mountain and expressed that the preaching of
Jesus are also core principles enshrined in other religious holy texts like
Qur’an and Mahabharata. He proved his point by taking examples from other
religions, too. Shri. Soter D’souza from Goa also expressed his views on
principles of love, 7y highlighted the core principles of Hinduism by quoting
relevant verses from Vedas and Upanishads. He also brought home the concept of
“Aham Brahmasmi” (I am the universal spirit) and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (The
world is my family) in simple and lucid language. Shri Ghanashyam, in his
contemplation about Adiwasis way of life, explained the gathering about deep
affiliation and oneness of Adivasis with nature. “For Adiwasis, ‘Nature’ is the
only God, the protector and sustainer of their community” remarked Shri
Ghanashyam. Badal da applauded the way religions have positively contributed in
the growth of human civilisation. However, he also lamented on the darker side
of religions, in the sense that these religions have also been cause of social
unrest in the whole human history. And, here, he explained exactly why the
symposium has to concentrate on the concept of ‘Societal Peace’ from the
context of various organised and unorganised religions. The transaction was translated in Hindi for
better understanding of Non-Hindi groups by Shri Mani.
Evening
session:
Evening session began with a gathering
outside of the hall and stood around a magnificent lamp to have celebration of
light and music. Each participant with an earthen lamp glittering in hand, and
with heart and face glowing with love and compassion towards the humanity, was
a spectacular and hypnotising scene. The participants were more vocal and free
in their expressions. They shared their feelings and views about ‘Societal
Peace’. Many of the participants recited inspiring songs. The whole atmosphere
was charged with emotions of patriotism, national integration and love for
humanity. In a way, it was a prayer session, with colourful lights and ‘peace’
music adding effects at back ground. It was a memorable pledge taking ceremony
to work for achieving societal peace, love and brotherhood at individual as
well as collective and organisational level. This session was concluded with a
local presentation of folk art depicting Goa’s colourful Shigmotsav.
17. 02. 2003
Morning Session
Session
started at 9.30 a.m. with a prayer by Shri. Goninder Singh. This was followed
by patriotic songs from different languages representing different states. Shri. Badalda initiated this days proceeding
by introducing purpose behind the symposium. He appealed the participants to
form different groups and have independent deliberations in order to reach to
appropriate, meaningful and effective actions tomorrow. For this, he provided
an exercise of having comprehensive, sound and in-depth discussions within
every group upon what “societal peace” stands for, besides the definition
highlighted in the resource work “Provisional Framework for the symposium on
Societal Peace”. According to framework, societal peace is not the absence of
war or overt violence but it is a state of the society also without latent or
manifest violence of any nature. The framework further says that societal peace
encompasses the values of justice, equality, fraternity, secularity, reciprocal
esteem, tolerance, mutual acceptance, social space and status. Here, Badalda
further incorporated three more points, viz. democracy, participation and
decentralisation. According to the above draft, societal peace also in no way
negates the space for and utility of constructive conflicts for the sake of
societal evolution or transformation as long as these are peaceful and not
overtly or covertly violent. Further, the draft says that societal peace means
peace between societies and nations, between geo-political entities (e.g. the
states in India), between ethnic groups, castes, classes, ideological or
political formations (capitalistic and socialistic pattern of governance),
language, cultural entities and genders.
The
next intellectual exercise for the delegates was to mutually develop
comprehensive, in-depth and sound collective understanding on the meanings of
societal peace. This was, in order to jointly workout a common understanding of
what we mean by societal peace. After going through the draft, with slight variations
/ changes / additions, the draft was unanimously accepted by all to be a
meaningful definition of the term societal peace. Shri. Badalda, further,
appealed the gathering to form groups to focus on following themes related to
societal peace. Here, Badalda urged upon the delegates to understand the
manifestations, effects, root causes, solutions, inter- linkages etc. to arrive
at proper perspective of what constitutes for the lack of societal peace. In
other words, Badalda wanted to know what is lacking in causing lack of societal
peace in order to further contemplate upon remedial measures for the same. He also explained how we find in our reality
as well as in many realities globally that there exists lack of societal peace.
“Therefore we need to understand according to each dimension, the
manifestation, the effects and the causes. When we know the manifestations,
causes and effects then we shall be in a position to articulate steps, actions
and areas for the future to promote societal peace in our society. This can
also help us address this issue and also can help us achieve societal peace one
day or the other. Further, this can also help us arrive at the conclusion part,
the Goa Declaration”, urged Badalda. For this, he put forward an exercise by arranging
following meditative – reflective- analytical- work groups:
1.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between societies and nations (group led by Shri.
Mani)
2.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between religions (group led by Shri. Raju Dipti)
3.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between classes (group led by Shri. Binod Mohanty)
4.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between ethnicities (group led by Shri.Ghanashyam)
5.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between ideological and political forces (group
led by Shri. Anil Chowdhary)
6.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between language and culture (group led by
Dr.Yamin)
7.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between genders (group led by Ms. Hema)
8.
Lack
or absence of societal peace between castes (group led by Shri.Shantaram Pandere)
Many
of the participants opined that there can be more than eight reasons for the
lack of societal peace. Shri Raju Dipti wanted to add ‘Lack or absence of
societal peace due to lack of cooperative coexistence between nature and human
kind’. Dr. Nagarajan from Kerala said that the concept of peace is deceptive
and unless the employment is guaranteed to our youths, the big talk on the
subject is futile. For him, empowerment of the youths is a pre-requisite for
initiating any talk on the subject of societal peace. One important view point
was put forward by Shri Pandere from Maharashtra. He wanted disempowering of
the oppressing group and in turn empowering of the oppressed one. He further reiterated that the concept of
conqueror and conquered should be removed from the human psyche for ensuring
societal peace in the real sense of the term.
With
these, and many other important suggestions, Badalda advised all the groups to
submit their report by going through the whole contents and doing necessary corrections
and / or additions to arrive at fair perspective from all the angles. These
groups were requested to submit their reports on the next day morning session
for further joint reading and reflections. Then, there was a variety
entertainment programme, in particular, depicting the indigenous culture of Goa
presented by students of a primary school.
18.02.2003:
Morning session began with songs in different
languages representing different cultures of various states in India. It was a
unique presentation of ‘unity in diversity’ of various cultures through
melodious folk songs from languages like Hindi, Konkani, Bengali, Oriya etc.
Shri. Sahantram Pandere presented an “Akhand” a poetic verse from the book of
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
To begin with, Dr. Yamin presented his comprehensive
conception about societal peace by adding valuable suggestions and reflections
submitted by the delegates in the earlier day evening session.
Societal peace is not the absence of war or overt
violence but it is a state of the society also without latent or manifest
violence of any nature. Societal peace encompasses the values of justice,
equality, fraternity, morality, secularity, reciprocal esteem, tolerance,
mutual acceptance, social space and status, democracy, participation,
decentralisation, co-operative co-existence of mankind with nature. Societal
peace also in no way negates the space for and utility of constructive
conflicts for the sake of societal evolution or transformation as long as these
are peaceful and not overtly or covertly violent. Societal peace means peace
between societies and nations, between geo-political entities (e.g. the states
in India), between ethnic groups, castes, classes, ideological or political
formations (capitalistic and socialistic pattern of governance), language,
cultural entities and last but not the least genders. Youth empowerment and
freedom from the psychological concepts of “conquered and conquerors” are
needed to ensure societal peace. Societal peace also means flexibility and
liberality in ideologies, be it religious and political to accommodate future
revolutionary and reformative ideas, knowing their value in the precise context
of time and space we are living in.
Facilitator
advised the group leaders to submit their reports according to format explained
during earlier evening session. Most of the reports were excellent and
according to the expectations, remarked Badalda. A Task Force was formed for
the final consolidation and compilation of all the reports after taking into
consideration valuable suggestions from the gathering. The Task Force members
were as follows: Shri. Anil Chowdhary, Shri. Shantaram Pandere, Shri. Binod
Mohanty, Shri. Raju Dipti, Shri. Arun Vinayak, Ms. Hema, Ms. Dipti
Raju, Ms. Swati Mohanty and Shri. Ulhas Arolkar.
The meditative –
reflective- analytical- work groups presented their reports in a given format
as follows:
Theme: Lack or absence of
societal peace between societies and nations
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead/ Action Plan |
|
K. K. Mani Members: Maqbool Ahamed, Deepti Raju, Shahista Bakhari, P.N. Murugesan, Jeevan Jagannath, Ramchandran, Subhash Nimbalkar |
1.
Every religion using symbols more covertly. 2.
More clear & aggressive divide. 3.
Elections –Musharraf or Modi 4.
Language divide between- Hindus, Muslims & Christians 5.
Division in the market 6.
Colonies having population of minorities are seen with
doubt, suspicion and hate – e.g. .Pakistani, Bangladeshi Srilankan, Portuguese etc. 7.
Anger is growing due to economic sanctions and war 8.
The Gujarat experiment is a step towards complete Hindu
state 9.
Anti Muslim mission is going on 10.
Muslims are also gearing up against Hindu fundamentalism 11.
Crisis of faith between two religions 12.
Muslim parents who were earlier sending their children in
English medium schools have withdrawn back. 13.
Polarisation of Muslim community 14.
Neutralisation of liberal forces 15.
People are becoming more sensitive towards ritual
religions. 16.
There is a rise in temples and mosques which consequently
encourages the fanatic culture 17.
More budgets are allocated for the purpose of
militarization / defence than that of poverty alleviation. 18.
Irresponsible behaviour on the part of religions Division of families, partly in Pakistan and Bangladesh
and partly in India |
1.
Peace less society 2.
Rise of intolerance 3.
Militerisation and terrorism 4.
Process of change and reform slowed down / reversed 5.
Insecurity and instability between neighbouring countries
due to image of India as a big brother 6.
Insecurity Growing intervention of US or UK in South Asian countries Causes 1.
Domination of ruling class and castes in Indian politics 2.
Imperialistic intervention of western forces e.g. US and
UK 3.
Communal attitude 4.
Poverty, fear, hunger and corruption Interlinks
Religion 1.
Religious fundamentalism which is used for political gains
lead society towards violence. 2.
Disturbances among communities 3.
Ghettoization of communities Class 1.
Marginalisation of Dalits, 2.
Adiwasis and labourers
Language
and culture 1.
Homogenization of cultures 2.
Destruction of
languages of minorities and lower communities |
1.
To expose internal &external forces which are
sources of unrest in this
sub-continent 2.
Cultural and
political interaction and dialogue to develop confidence 3.
To work for growth of community having respect for all
religions 4.
Secularism should be the driving force |
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead
/ Action Plan |
|
Shri. Raju Dipti |
1. Lack of
trust in the people of other faiths [Feeling of insecurity] 2. Marginalization
/ pauperization of minority community 3. Lack of
basic amenities and education to minority community 4. Economic
boycott on the ground of religion 5. Ghettoisation 6. Genocide 7. Theocratic
state 8. Communal
carnage 9. Different
standards for different classes 10.Use of
black money in religion 11.Rise of
militancy / fundamentalist forces 12.Devdasi
custom 13.Divorce 14.Acceptance
of four wives in Muslims 15.Position
of widow 16.Exploitation
of married women 17. |
1. To look
down people of other religions as inferior 2. Campaign
and slogans creating hatred within different religions 3. To attack
on other’s religious views 4. To
distort history in favour of a certain religion in order to derive political
mileage from it. 5. Exploitation
of SC and ST communities on the ground of religion 6. Propagation
of superstitions like astrology and black magic in the name of religion 7. Self-proclaimed
protector of religion 8. Exploitation
of women in the name of religion Causes 1.
Superiority complex (We are the Aryans) 2.
Ego problem 3.
Organized form of religion 4.
Use of religion in politics 5.
Ideological differences, e.g. origin of universe, life
after death, reward and punishment and concept of God 6.
Fear of unknown 7.
Lack of rationality 8.
instinctual curiosity about future 9.
Greed 10.
Lack of scientific temper 11.
Patriarchy 12.
Power of wealth / status |
1.
Inter-caste and inter-religious marriages 2.
Debate / positive discussion within castes and religions
to seek harmonious relationship and co-existence among them 3.
Joint action committee and movement 4.
Long and short term planning to ensure societal peace in
the society 5.
To create and develop secular human force for ensuring
societal peace 6.
To establish a joint front / mission of social activists,
volunteers, journalists, advocates, trade union leaders and workers, doctors
and scholars 7.
To create funds from positive source Inter-relation
of religion with… 1.
politics 2.
Ideological formation 3.
Gender and social 4.
caste and class 5.
societies and nations like India and Pakistan |
Theme:
Lack or absence of societal peace between classes
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead/ Action Plan |
|
Binod Mohanty Other members: S. S. Kumar, A. Noorani, Vishwajit, Balasaheb, Narayan, Christopher |
1. Following conflicting classes are manifested in the
society: Capitalist v/s Working Majority v/s Minority Political v/s Non-political Land lord v/s Land less Civilized v/s Non-civilized Literate v/s illiterate 2. Agriculture and labour Unions and their movements 3. Emphasis towards various skills in offices and companies. 4. Lockouts of companies 5. Unequal sharing of resources e.g. land, water, power
and infrastructure facilities. 6. Caste and culture is also interlinked to class. 7. All the classes are inter-related. |
1.
Rising gulf among socio-economic status of various
classes. 2.
Rising social insecurity 3.
Rising unemployment 4.
Gender inequality 5.
Underemployment 6.
Differences in literacy status 7.
Deterioration of societal peace 8.
Poor production 9.
Weak economy 10.
Rallies, bandhs, stone throwing and slogans in the
streets. 11.
Loss of lives 12.
Social and economic boycott |
1.
The literacy status should be improved. 2.
Explaining the position of both conflicting classes. 3.
To adopt a positive strategy in order to eliminate existing
class system. 4.
NGO’s should address this class menace. 5.
Psychosocial techniques should be adopted. 6.
To create better and peaceful living conditions for
minorities. 7.
All social conflicts should be resolved in a peaceful
manner through mutual dialogue. 8.
To follow Gandhian principle of societal peace. 9.
Promotion of volunteers in every sector of society. 10.
To organize training camps, exposure visits, seminars and
workshops as a part of capacity building for such volunteers. 11.
To encourage people’s organization. 12.
To struggle for the right of information. 13.
To fight to prevent global terrorism. |
Theme:
Lack or absence of societal peace between ethnicities
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead/ Action Plan |
|
Ghanashyam |
1.
Means of production, technology and marketisation are
controlled by dominating classes. 2.
Competition forestablishing superiority of one religion
over another and consequent rat race to convert indigenous communities 3.
Rising consumerism is taking Adiwasis away from sense of
community ship to narrow individual interests. 4.
Inability of ‘left ideology’ to comprehend Adiwasis
issues 5.
Legal issues like common property resources and pwerless
Gramsabhas in Adiwasis community 6.
Dominant class and caste ‘claste’ co-opting the Adiwasis
leadership 7.
Change in diet and life style 8.
People are looking aged 9.
Change of place of worship and change in concept of God 10.
Community agriculture is taken over by cash crops 11.
Influence of caste system 12.
Shift from traditional medical / care systems 13.
Forest Act 14.
Intrusion of Non-Adiwasis culture 15.
Deforestation 16.
Health hazards 17.
Commercialization of forests (Eucalyptus and bamboos) 18.
Change in marriage system 19.
Increase in trafficking of women and rise in prostitution 20.
Increase in criminal activities and beggary among Adiwasis |
1.
Destructive developmental process 2.
Insensitive and adverse bureaucracy 3.
Unconcerned and unplanned industrial development 4.
The tendency of survival of the fittest is rising among
Adiwasis 5.
Rising neglect towards community development 6.
The attempts are on to conquer nature. 7.
Major projects are leading to displacement and migration. 8.
Domination of non-Adiwasis languages in education 9.
Non- implementation of Article 244 (5th
Schedule) of the Indian Constitution 10.
Intrusion of Hidutva 11.
Intrusion of caste system
12.
Adiwasis uprooted from their homes, hearths and homeland. 13.
Destruction of livelihood 14.
Destruction of self-governance system 15.
Erosion of nature and natural resources 16.
Intrusion of organized religion is destroying the world
view of Adiwasis. 17.
Adverse effects of public distribution system on
traditional food habits 18.
Destruction of indigenous medicinal systems 19.
Displacement, migration, and pauperization are on the
rise. 20.
Religious fanaticism is destroying Adiwasis consensus
living. 21.
Domination by
‘CLASTES’ 22.
Homogenization of languages 23.
Erosion and destruction of bio-diversity 24.
Intrusion of gender inequality in terms of ‘Patriarchal
system’ |
1.
To motivate
Adiwasis community all over the country towards greater alliance 2.
To accept the development processes through the
perspective of indigenous community 3.
To protect
indigenous rights over natural resources 4.
To protect and develop the pluralistic culture and diverse
languages of Adiwasis 5.
To protect and implement 5th Schedule of the
Constitution 6.
To protect the traditional self-governance system of
Adiwasis 7.
Counter the policies of ‘LPG’ and ‘CF’ 8.
To strengthen gender equality 9.
Oppose all types of displacements. Those who are already
displaced should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated. These people should also be provided with
employment. 10.
Protect nature and natural resources with the help of Adiwasis community |
Theme:
Lack or absence of societal peace between ideological and political forces
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead/ Action Plan |
|
Anil Chowdhary Other members: Renu, Sumi, Lukman, B. Bagi, R. Sharma, Nagarajan, Abdul Shafique, D. P. Sinha and K. K. Rai. |
1.
Deterioration of social and moral values in politics 2.
Weakening of four pillars of parliamentary democracy. 3.
Deterioration of ideologies for which political parties
were known. 4.
Weakening of opposition as a prominent force in the
parliamentary democracy. 5.
Misuse of public offices of Government of India. 6.
There is a marked distance between words and deeds. |
1.
Distancing of people from political process. 2.
The ill effects of neo-liberalism are visible upon welfare
process in the states of India. 3.
The ideologies in politics are becoming weak. 4.
In ideological and political thinking process, the concept
of societal peace is not addressed adequately. |
1.
To empower mass movement and encourage people’s
intervention for better results. |
Theme:
Lack or absence of societal peace between language and culture
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead / Action Plan |
|
Dr. Yamin |
1.
Language is a part of culture 2.
Language manifests class difference Hindi
belt 3.
Not speaking Hindi in public is sign of upper class 4.
Society patronises English 5.
Formation of provinces e.g. Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra 6.
Shrinking of regional languages 7.
Inability of lower class to develop their languages 8.
During freedom struggle, Hindi as well as Urdu united and
motivated countrymen. 9.
Despite Hindi being a national language, half hearted
efforts are seen in promoting it. 10.
Anti-Hindi propaganda Insecurity among regional languages 11.
Fund less Urdu Academies In Orissa 12.
Urdu reader reads books published in other states. 13.
Urdu reader has no awareness about Oriya culture 14.
Ultimately, these people are blamed for not mixing in
common stream and thus further leading to conflicts. 15.
Colour discrimination in language e.g. “Baba black ship” 16.
Language v/s survival e.g. Urdu writer ultimately shifts
to other languages. Culture 1.
Hindi movies depict Tamils as servants. This is derogatory
comedy. 2.
Hindi movies depict bearded Muslims as terrorists. 3.
Due to cultural influence, casteism is seen in Muslim
communities. 4.
Bihari Muslims in Sura wear Dhoti. 5.
Garba dance is prevalent in Muslim marriages in Gujarat. 6.
Participation of Hindus in Taziya and at Dargah. |
1.
Insecurity among people of certain regions about their
indigenous languages 2.
Lack of insight in policymaking and implementation among
politicians 3.
‘Sanskritization’ and ‘Persianization’ of Hindi and Urdu
e.g. use of so-called refined Hindi and Urdu by Newspapers. 4.
Language is used as a tool by political leaders. 5.
Foreign dignitaries bring their translator and Indians
resort to medium of English. 6.
Indian languages are confined to literary works like
poetry and novels. 7.
The medium of instruction is English for higher education
like I.I.T. 8.
The growth of Indian languages has become static. 9.
There is growth of separatist movements due to negligence
of Indian languages. Culture
10.
Cultures are clinging to orthodox forms. 11.
Languages are leading to cultural conflicts. 12.
Kabir’s Boli (Dialect) was a threat to erstwhile rulers 13.
Today, rulers simply celebrate Kabir’s anniversary. 14.
The process of classifying various cultures has
deteriorated in to fundamentalism. This has further led to conflicts among
cultures. |
1.
To uproot conditioning from the Indian psyche that English
is the only International language 2.
Advocacy for provision and promotion of local languages in
Govt. policy making. 3.
To accept wherever necessary terms like “Agnirath Viram
Sthan” from rich and alive Indian languages. This can help develop mutual
respect and tolerance for Indian languages 4.
Avoid associating community and religion with language 5.
To encourage composite culture, i.e. people’s culture
(Janasanskriti). 6.
To care other’s cultural feelings by adopting principles
of equality, justice, mutual respect and tolerance. |
|
Facilitator |
Manifestation |
Effects |
Way Ahead/ Action Plan |
|
Shantaram Pandere Members
B. P. Baiju, Rosalia, Vaikunth Bhai, Ram Narayan, M. P. Chandran, Thomas, B. Harinath |
1.
Caste differences in society 2.
Dominance of upper castes 3.
Reservation 4.
Land disputes 5.
Disputes in economical, social, cultural, religious and
political fields 6.
Differences in life styles and eating habits 7.
Non-availability of water and electricity for certain
lower castes 8.
Scarcity of education 9.
No proper documentation of the history of struggling
castes and Adiwasis 10.
Differences in various religious faiths 11.
Deficiency of mass awareness 12.
Deficiency of confidence 13.
Deficiency of unity 14.
Deficiency of organization 15.
Deficiency of education 16.
Deficiency of legal information 17.
Deficiency of resources 18.
Deficiency of able leadership 19.
Deficiency of mass awareness in the social, political,
economical and cultural fields 20.
There are mutual differences 21.
Deterioration of the community set-up of society 22.
Caste bondage 23.
Conservatism and religious bondage in the society 24.
Foreign policies and privatization have adversely affected
lower castes 25.
Globalisation has adversely affected lower castes 26.
Education policies have adversely affected lower castes 27.
Western culture has adversely affected lower castes 28.
Deterioration of environment has adversely affected lower
castes 29.
Religious fanaticism has adversely affected lower castes |
Positive effects
1.
Awareness is rising among castes. 2.
Confidence is rising among castes. 3.
Assertion of self-identity is rising among castes. 4.
Political awareness is rising among castes. 5.
New leadership is rising among castes. 6.
Women reservation 7.
Rising understanding about water, forests and land 8.
Steps in the direction of self-reliance 9.
Efforts to establish economical equality among castes 10.
Rise in inter-caste marriages Negative effects
1.
Anger, hatred and violence is rising among castes. 2.
False propaganda in the society 3.
Misuse of the OBCs, STs and BCs 4.
Rise in middleman ship 5.
Atrocities on women in power |
1.
Documentation 2.
Establishment of study centres 3.
Development of leadership qualities 4.
Coordination among castes 5.
Mass awareness campaigns 6.
Reformation in political, social and educational
ideologies 7.
Formation of organizations 8.
Emphasis on having own mass-media 9.
Political power 10.
Opposing anti-people policies 11.
Evaluation of the activities |
While reflecting upon the above submitted report, many
participants shared their valuable views and opinions. One such point was how
badly a concept of secularism is used by politicians for their gains and how a
common man is fully confused about such terminologies. Shri, Mani in his
contemplation, explained how the concept of secularism is wrongly put before
society to mislead a common man. He explained further that the welfare and
stability of any society can be assured only if there is secularism. For this,
he cited examples of the changes in Government on the Ayodhya issue and the
consequent losses not only running in millions of Rupees but also in the form
of losses of thousands of human lives. “The destruction of common places of
worship was the greatest threat to the secular fabric of India”, opined Shri
Anil Chowdhary. He further urged to take every possible step to protect such
places of common worship where people of different faiths pray with equal
reverence. He disclosed that in Gujarat during recent carnage, several hundred
Majars (places of common worship) were deliberately destroyed by anti-social
elements. Shri Mani urged the committee
formed for framing the Goa Declaration to work hard and submit within given
time frame an all comprehensive Declaration by incorporating all the relevant
points revealed during the open discussion forum along with the above submitted
report. He felt earnestly that the document should become a manifesto of
secular India in its truest sense. He also appealed the delegates representing
various states to see that the Goa Declaration is translated in their regional
languages for the sake of understanding and follow-up by the common masses in
their respective regions.
The three-day symposium was well concluded with an
all comprehensive Goa Declaration which is expected to go a long way in guiding
and inspiring all secular and humane forces in India working sincerely for
restoration of societal peace and well-being.
We the delegates comprising social activists, journalists, intellectuals,
professionals, trade unionists, representatives of CBO’s, VO’s and NGO’s from
different States of India including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Andhra
Pradesh met at the Peaceful Society Campus at Kundai in Goa for a three days
Symposium from February 16th to 18th, 2003 on the theme
“Societal Peace – The most urgent need of today’s India”.
We mourn the lack of societal peace prevailing in various domains of life
by an in depth analysis of the manifestations and its effect on vulnerable and
marginalised sections of society. We also explored root causes and
inter-linkages contributing to the lack of societal peace in various fields and
strived to find a way forward.
On the conclusion of this three days deliberation we hereby adopt the
following declaration.
“We feel that lack of societal peace worldwide and particularly in
India has reached a critical stage today and is being manifested as under;
Ø
Snatching
away the common property resources and further discrimination of the poor
marginalised section of societies especially the dalits, adivasis, Muslims,
Christians, and other vulnerable sections in the name of privatisation and
development.
Ø
Withdrawing
of States from social welfare schemes for the marginalised sections and
diverting the funds towards providing infrastructure facilities that benefits a
privileged few.
Ø
Suppression
of people’s movements from protecting their environment, basic rights, and
livelihood.
Ø
Driving
people to loose faith in governance due to absence of morality, serious levels
of corruption, lack of political will, and failure to deliver the expectations
of the people. This has also led to the
dominance by the bureaucrats.
Ø
Suffering
to women and children due to unabated exploitation and oppression resulting
from the displacement and migration of bread earners leading to the splitting
of communities, joint families as well as nuclear families thus contributing to
individualism.
Ø
Criminalisation
of politics, lack of ideology among political party’s, politics of revenge and
opportunism at the national level has down graded the democratic system of this
Country. The four pillars of our parliamentary democracy viz, legislature,
judiciary, bureaucracy and media have been systematically weakened by such
forces.
Ø
The
government is selling public assets at throwaway prices to private and
multinational companies in the name of liberalisation and privatisation leading
to retrenchment, lack of employment opportunities, impoverishment and
vulnerability to anti-social elements.
Ø
Draconian
laws like POTA are being enacted under the guise of protecting internal
security and threat from terrorism.
Ø
Emergence
of new caste and classes with a new identity of violence and brutality. These identities have been reformed by the
dominant castes in order to suppress and oppress the dalits and adivasis and
use them for their vested fanatical agendas.
Ø
Impact
of religious fanaticism for over a decade has resulted in ghettoisation of the
oppressed Muslims, Christians, dalits and adivasis resulting in communalism and
genocide like that recently witnessed in Gujarat. The situation has reached a
point wherein the oppressive religious fundamentalist and fanatics are seeking
to establish a theocratic state.
Ø
The
political systems and rulers of the Indian sub-continent have failed in
creating conducive and cooperative atmosphere to enhance societal peace leading
to militerisation at the cost of poor and marginalised sections of society. This is one of the biggest sources of lack
of societal peace in the Indian sub-continent.
Ø
At
the international level, in the name of globalisation and anti-terror campaign,
the United States and other imperialist forces are trying to destabilise third
world countries and grab their resources for protecting their own interests.
Ø
The
Bretton Wood’s institutions (IMF, World Bank, etc.) and the World Trade
Organisation are actively engaged in pushing destructive development models and
negating the alternative model of people’s development.
In light of the above scenario we the delegates feel an urgent need to
form new and extensive alliances of people’s organisations and support
grass-root initiatives. We further see the need to create mass awareness for
mobilising youth for combating the communal, fanatic, fundamentalist and
imperialist global market forces.
We hereby resolve and pledge to establish a “Forum for
Secular and Peaceful India” in order to protect and preserve for future
generations, our rich and traditional peaceful social fabric and cultural
heritage from being destroyed by these destructive forces.” Report by : Miss Swati
Mohanty , Ulhas Arolkar
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