India Unites Convention on Non Violence and Harmony: Admiral L Ramdas

Описание: Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas served as Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. Admiral Ramdas served as Naval Attaché in Germany for three years. He held the appointments of Director of Personnel, Director of Naval Signals and Director of Naval Operations at the Naval HQ. Other notable appointments he held were Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations), Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DNCS) and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of both Southern and Eastern Naval Command before assuming Command of the Navy. For his efforts in trying to demilitarize and denuclearize South Asia, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace in 2004.

India Unites for Non – Violence and Harmony, a non-political, citizen led initiative organized a campaign in Mumbai from January 23- 30, 2019 to commemorate the 71st anniversary of Gandhiji’s martyrdom. Various civil society organizations, academics and activists came together on the anniversary of Gandhiji’s martyrdom to appeal to the nation to resist and confront the growing culture of violence facing the country.

Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead on January 30, 1948 at 17:17 hours as he headed towards a multi-faith prayer meeting. He was assassinated by fundamentalist forces opposed to his idea of Swaraj promoting nation-building on the principles of equality of all citizens, Hindu -Muslim unity and communal harmony. Gandhi's Swaraj focussed on the composite nature of Indian nationalism.

Under Gandhi's leadership, the freedom movement successfully mobilized and drew people into the struggle for independence against colonial rule: men and women, people from all faiths, regions, speaking different languages, having varied castes, traditions, customs, cultures, beliefs and inhabitants of both rural and urban areas. He dreamt of an India where people lived together and respected each other's differences; where interactions, protest and negotiations would be shaped by the principle of non-violence/ahimsa.

Today, 70 years after independence, we are witnessing a rise in hatred and prejudices based on religion, caste, gender, sexuality, region and class. Society is becoming increasingly intolerant and violent. Communal violence, caste based violence and hate crimes are on the upsurge. As citizens we can no longer be silent spectators to this growing ill will, hatred and violence. We must come together to protect the secular, pluralistic and democratic fibre of the country.

2 major programmes were organized in Mumbai to commemorate the 71st anniversary of Gandhiji's martrydom:

1. India Unites Convention on Non Violence and Harmony at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium on January 30, 2019 from 4pm 10pm at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium, Sophia College Lane, Breach Candy, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai. The convention was organized by Anhad, New Delhi, CPD (Mumbai), CSSS (Mumbai), India Inclusive (New Delhi), ICWM Mumbai, PUCL- Maharashtra, YWCA of Bombay.

The speakers included Antara Dev Sen ( journalist, editor Little Magazine), Justice Chelameswar (retd. Supreme Court Judge), Javed Akhtar (poet, lyricist & screenwriter), Kawalpreet Kaur (student leader), Admiral L Ramdas (former Chief of the Naval Staff), Meeran Chadha Borwankar (former DG, Bureau of Police Research and Development), Nayantara Seghal (writer) & Pradnya Daya Pawar (Marathi poet & fiction writer).

The speeches were followed by cultural performances on the theme by Dolly Thakore (theatre actress), Gauhar Raza (poet & scientist), Imaad Shah (actor & musician), Lynn D'souza (vocalist), Mannu Kohli (singer), Nazneen Shaikh (activist singer), Purva Naresh (playwright & dancer), Saba Azad ( actor & singer) and Vasu Primlani (internaional stand-up comedian)

The convention and performances have been shot and edited by Anhad Media, an independent group of filmmakers: Mohan Kumawat and Sania Hashmi.