‘We’ve Created India, So Unequal’- Activist Harsha Mander during Talk at St Aloysius

‘We’ve Created India, So Unequal’- Activist Harsha Mander during Talk at St Aloysius

‘We’ve Created India, which is So Unequal’- Activist/Writer Harsha Mander during one of the Talk Series ” Manthana”- Harmony Through Dialogue held at St Aloysius College {Autonomous}- Mangaluru on Saturday, 30 June 2018.

Mangaluru: As part of the Talk Series, “Manthana”-Harmony Through Dialogue, two well-known activists Dr John Dayal, and Harsha Mander delivered talks and also interacted with the students during a question/Answer session, during the programme held on Saturday, 30 June 2018, organized by College Students’ Council. Seated on the dais along with the two speakers were Fr Praveen Martis Sj-Principal of St Aloysius College; Dr Alwyn D’sa- Director, College Administration Block; Ms Vidya Dinker- Social Activist and Miss Jini-III BA Journalism student. The programme was compered by Dr Ratan Tilak Mohunta-Associate Professor, Head of Department, Department of English.

Addressing the students, Dr John Dayal said, What are you praying for Today? Why do I call my self-unemployed journalist? How do we confront the challenges that face us? Do you know that there is no religion which preaches Violence- but violence still takes place in large in India. Because in India, every person takes simple issues very personal, thereby leading to hate, conflicts and violence. Freedom of faith, as enunciated in the Hague and UN documents, is quite a part of the Indian Constitution. There has been much tragedy and human suffering because the constitutional guarantees have not been fully practiced. And because some political groups have enjoyed immunity and government patronage and protection.”

He further said, “India has one of the most diverse cultural religious pallets in the world. We also tend to ignore the fact that the government has itself divided various Dalit communities. It has knowingly done the biggest conversion in the history of India by including Dalits, tribals, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and all those who are not Muslims or Christians, into the Hindu category. That has been the biggest blunder and conversion in the history of India and must be vigorously opposed as all these communities have their distinct cultural identities.”

“There need to be sustained and collective efforts to address the issues and concerns of the minorities in India. Today their plight and challenges were seemed to be more vulnerable and pliable than ever before. We need to multiply our efforts to balance the religious fanatics who has taking centre stage for peaceful co-existence of the communities in India. Challenges have soared up as the religious minorities are under threats in several parts of the world too; hence we need to be on guard ourselves as seemingly the discourse is not saner for the minorities in the continents” added Dr John Dayal.

Harsha Mander speaking said, “In India there are two great challenges tom be faced- one is Challenge of Inequality; and Challenge of Rising Hate. The more educated people get, there are chances of them becoming more negative -they’ll involve in violence, hate crimes, discrimination etc. We need to fight back against hate, jealousy, discrimination etc. We need to practice and follow the four clauses of our Constitution- Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Youth which forms the major population in India should play an active role in bringing changes in India. We are energetic, enthusiastic and always full of zeal to do the impossible. If we exclude the youth, the rest of the population of India will comprises of old people and children. They cannot be called the real manpower of the nation.

“So it is evident that if the youth of the country are not enthused to devote their energies to the task of national reconstruction, the whole Youth Power for India is wasted, or the other way why the youth should wait for someone to enthuse them to show the Youth Power of India. This is Your land, Your country and it totally depends on You (Indian Youths) how we take our country forward. The best and the first and foremost way to strengthen our youth are to provide them Education. Not just any kind of Education, but the right kind of Education which makes them scientific, logical, open-minded, self-respecting, responsible, honest and patriotic” added Harsha Mander.

He further said, “Have we forgotten that today India is Independent because of the youth power in our freedom struggle, we owe Independent India to the youth power of our past and to make it better for our future generation we must rise once again together. Youth of India must be able to come up with new ideas of Entrepreneurship which is very vital for the country’s growth. For a youth educated in India he/she must think about the development in India which now have utmost important for our country’s development. Let us focus on constructively using the power of the youth for the betterment of the nation. Let us frame such policies which aim at empowering our youth so that we can be assured of a better future and a brighter tomorrow.”

Fr Praveen Martis Sj delivering his presidential address said, “You are all born leaders. You need to make a change in India so that everyone can move freely in India. We need to move towards wellness. We need to change our ways. We need to critically think. Critical thinking is very important in India at the moment. We need to reach to the people, and not pass comments/criticisms. We need to create Equality and Morality. We need to engage on ourselves. Mangaluru which was once a peaceful town has turned the other way around. We need to make India for everyone. As Aloysians you need to stand up and go forward and bringing a change in India. Let you all be men and women for others”.

Both the speakers answered bunch of questions posed at them by the students in the audience.

About Dr John Dayal:

John Dayal (born 2 October 1948) is an Indian human rights and political activist. He is a member of the National Integration Council (NIC) of India, Secretary-General of the All India Christian Council and a past president of the All India Catholic Union. He has been outspoken in opposition to polarisation, in defence of church property and in support of churches.

John Dayal was born in New Delhi to Christian parents from South India. He studied Physics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi before deciding to become a journalist.He served as War Correspondent or Foreign Correspondent in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Europe. He became editor and CEO of the Delhi Mid Day, a small afternoon newspaper, and treasurer of the Editors’ Guild of India. John Dayal became a Christian activist in the early 1970s. In this role he has worked on such issues as displacement of tribal people, special quotas in jobs and college admissions for Christians, opposition to nuclear weapons, forced disappearances and impunity. During more than forty years he has investigated a great many cases of human rights abuse aimed at minority group of Christians.

Dayal was one of the founders of the ecumenical All India Christian Council (AICC) and the United Christian Forum for Human Rights. Dayal was National Secretary for Public affairs of the All India Catholic Union (AICU) during the presidency of Norbert D’Souza (1996–2000). In 2000 he was elected vice-president of the AICU and on 20 September 2004 he was elected AICU president, succeeding Dr Maria Emelia Menezes. He held that position until 2008 when he was succeeded by Dr. Remy Denis.

Dayal has been appointed to many fact-finding committees and tribunals In December 2007 he was one of a five-member Fact Finding Team that went Phulbani area of Kandhamal district in Orissa to investigate recent violence against Christians. According to his account, he was forcibly expelled by the police. In September 2008 Dayal won the Maanav Adhikaar Paaritaushik (Human Dignity Award) in memory of Professor M. M. Guptara. In 2010 Dayal was again nominated as a member of the National Integration Council. As of March 2012 Dayal was secretary general of the All India Christian Council, founded in 1999.

About Harsh Mander:

Harsh Mander is an activist, writer, who works with survivors of mass violence and hunger, as well as homeless persons and street children. He is the Director of the Centre for Equity Studies and a Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India in the Right to Food case. He is associated with various social causes and movements, and writes and speaks regularly on issues of communal harmony, tribal, dalit and disabled persons’ rights, the right to information, custodial justice, homelessness and bonded labour.

Harsh Mander formerly worked in the Indian Administrative Service, serving in the predominantly tribal states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for almost two decades. He is a founding member of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information. He was a Member of the Core Groups on Bonded Labour and Mental Hospitals of the statutory National Human Rights Commission; and also on various national official National Committees such as those for Social Protection and BPL. From October, 1999 to March 2004, he worked as Country Director, ActionAid India, a development support organization.

He is Founder-Chairperson of the State Health Resource Centre, Chhattisgarh, which established the Mitanin Community Health Programme, the fore-runner of the Asha Programme, and the Chairperson of INCENSE (The Inclusion and Empowerment of People with Severe Mental Disorders). He is also a member of the Working Group of the Project on Armed Conflict Resolution & People’s Rights, University of California, Berkeley.

He was appointed a Member of India’s National Advisory Council by the council President Sonia Gandhi in June 2010. He convened the working groups on the Food Security Bill, Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Bill, Child Labour Abolition, Urban Poverty and Homelessness, Disability Rights, Bonded Labour, Street Vendors and Urban Slums, and co-convened the groups on the Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, Dalits and Minorities and Tribal Rights, among others. His tenure was not renewed in 2012.

He is currently the Director of the Centre for Equity Studies, an autonomous institution engaged in research and advocacy on issues of social and economic justice and equity. He is also the founder of the campaigns ‘Aman Biradari’, for secularism, peace and justice; ‘Nyayagrah’, for legal justice and reconciliation for the survivors of communal violence; ‘Dil Se’, for street children; and ‘Hausla’ for urban homeless people. He has also been appointed the Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of all orders relating to the right to food (PUCL vs Union of India and others, Writ Petition 196 of 2001).

Harsh Mander teaches courses on poverty and governance in the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and St Stephen’s College, Delhi. Harsh Mander’s books include ‘Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives’, ‘The Ripped Chest: Public Policy and the Poor in India’, ‘Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre’, ‘Fractured Freedom: Chronicles from India’s Margins’,‘Ash in the Belly: India’s Unfinished Battle against Hunger’, ‘Untouchability in Rural India’ (co-authored), and, most recently,’Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India. He regularly writes columns for the Hindu, Hindustan Times and Dainik Bhaskar, and contributes frequently to scholarly journals. His stories have been adapted for films such as Shyam Benegal’s Samar, and Mallika Sarabhai’s dance drama, Unsuni.

Among his awards are the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for peace work, the M.A. Thomas National Human Rights Award in 2002, the South Asian Minority Lawyers Harmony Award in 2012 and the Chisthi Harmony Award in 2012.