Challenges before the Indian youth
(Speech delivered at the Youth Convention held in
Bangalore (Jigini) on 25 Feb. 2012)
I feel quite young when I am with young people. Mind you, I am 66 years old. But, I can definitely relate to the youth and connect with them effortlessly. I have always felt that young people in our country don't get enough seniors to engage with youngsters, open spaces where they can brainstorm about issues. They have many questions but nobody really is there to answer them. They are being influenced by all kinds of things -media, societal, family pressure etc. Whenever I get an opportunity to interact with young people I thoroughly enjoy it. The candidness with which the young talk, ask questions, share their dilemmas, and I share my experiences. I have always enjoyed that. And that’s why I am here today.
There is the fading away of idealism today. There was a time when idealism was seen as a good thing but today it's seen as a foolish thing to be. 'Nobody encourages idealism in India's youth today' . Idealism is what propels youngsters, motivates them. It's like wanting to dream. If you don't dream you have nowhere to go. In terms of idealism, and I don't want to give a very cynical picture because there are still a lot of young people. As the one in charge of public relations in an engineering college, I meet youngsters who are absolute gems, who in their own way are trying to make a difference. Though smaller in number but for that I don't think I need to blame them because it's just that nobody encourages idealism in the youth today.
The young people in India today are confused. They don't have enough forums where their questions can be answered to satisfaction. They don't have relationships with their parents, teachers, peers where they can really get answers to their deeper dilemmas. If there were some idealistic young people in India there would be 20 other people to pull them down.
The challenges India's youth face in the second decade of the 21st century are manifold. For instance, in the field of education, do we have enough institutes? Does the disadvantaged community get a chance to reach where the privileged are?
There is reservation but that again is a faulty system. We need more affirmative action where people who have been left out because of historical and social reasons need to come at par with others. A lot of rural youth do not want to do farming or rural work because there are less and less takers for it. Unemployment is a major problem with young people. So when we talk of Indian youth we talk of a spectrum of young people.
Many young people are attracted to the politics of chauvinism, language, caste and religion these days. The young would any day choose the more sustainable, life-giving option than getting into the politics of language, caste or religion. The reason they don't is because they are nameless, stateless people with no sense of identity. When you make them feel so miserable the only way in which they can grab attention is by asserting their identities. Many of them are brainwashed into believing that caste, religion, region and, language will give them some sense of self-worth.
By and large our young people are not communal. They just want to get along with their life and survive. But when there is that emptiness, when there is nothing to latch on to and they are given the bait that they have something to be proud of, they start getting communal.
Of course, we have a history of divide and rule. But we all are basically good people and instead of fighting against just the communal forces we should create more positive energy, understand the merits of a pluralistic society, which is what we are.
I am sure there is lot of youngsters out there in different parts of India who are driven, committed and who have the potential to inspire the country's youth. But they are not popular, not in the media gaze so we don't know they exist.
BANISH CYNICISM, CULTIVATE OPTIMISM
Are you not proud that we are a great nation, that we have so many amazing success stories in recent times? We are the first in milk production. We are number one in remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Pharmaceutical industry remains a growth story, with revenue growing at over 20 per cent a year. Software remains a stellar success story.
Winston Churchill once described India a mere geographical term no more united than equator. But isn't Bharat the Upanishadic universality, the Gandhian Hindu Swaraj and a composite, cultural heritage? Bharat is more profound than a geographical project. It is a political integration, a cultural synthesis, a beautiful blend of the finest thought humanity has, in its noblest vision, beheld. But have we surrendered this Tagorean perspective to the gory syndrome governed by a "barbarous philosophy, which is the offspring of cold hearts and muddy understandings?"
During the freedom struggle, young revolutionaries mounted the gallows singing Rabindranath Tagore’s memorable lines: “Blessed is my life that I am born in this land”. Thousands of known and unknown heroes perished or survived as physical wrecks in the Andamans and jails all over the country To be proud of belonging to our motherland was the constant injunction that the young generation of freedom fighters had to abide by. It was the same spirit, which could be suppressed neither by the bullet and the bullying of the British Raj nor by the incessant ideological refrain of the white man’s superiority.
Our youth is not callous or for that matter indifferent to the various challenges facing the nation, be it Naxalism, terrorism, communal tensions, poverty etc. But the politics around them is so vile and banal that it is difficult for them to be charged with commitment, heroism and sacrifice.
We must learn to practise the art of banishing cynicism and start learning to cultivate positive thinking within us. “I live today in the hope that a Saviour is coming, that he will be born in our midst in this poverty-shamed hovel which is India. I shall wait to hear the message he brings with him, the supreme word of promise he speaks unto man from this eastern horizon to give faith and strength to all who hear. I look back on the stretch of past years and see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilization lying heaped as garbage out of history! And yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man, accepting his present defeat as final. I shall look forward to a turning in history after the cataclysm is over and the sky is again unburdened and passionless.” (Rabindranath Tagore- Crisis in Civilisation)
In an atmosphere surcharged with cynicism on the one hand and despair on the other, we would do well to go out anywhere, amidst the din and bustle of the factories, among the IT professionals or the vast expanses of the fields, in the beehive of busy offices or in the boisterous, crowded campuses – among men, women, the young and the old – you will hear a thousand and one questions why things have gone wrong and what’s the way out of it.
Dedicated men and women, sacrificing comfort and many allurements of the consumerist society are building a new India in the remote villages and hilly regions of this vast land of ours. There abound in this country today men and women of finest moral qualities, experts in their respective fields seeking to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to serve the community by disseminating it to the public. In the prevailing darkness they move about like figures in silhouettes; soon the sun shall arrive and identify them, and among them shall be seen new leaders with a new message of enriched patriotism. A new resolve to make this land of ours a better place to live in. The saga of such endeavours is hardly publicised by the media addicted to the burlesque of present-day politics. But they give us reasons for hope.
Finally, stand up for what you think is right: Too many of us are trying hard to be politically correct masking what we actually think is right. There is no harm or shame in saying what you think is right. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, he would always stand by and say what he felt was the truth and do what he felt was the right thing - even if the entire world was stacked against him.
Have pride in your culture and your roots. If you think you do not have an illustrious past to bask in, then you have the unique opportunity of being the torch-bearer of an entire family, perhaps community through your achievements.
JAI HIND
(Talk delivered at the three-day Yuva Bharat2020- A youth Convention
held Jigini, Bangalore on 25 Feb. 2012. More than 1000 young people from all over India participated)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
10th Stanley Samartha Memorial Lecture
Dr. David Frawley to deliver the 10th REV. Dr. STANLEY SAMARTHA MEMORIAL LECTURE organized by BIRD on 23 March 2012
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is happy to announce that the 10th annual Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial lecture will be delivered by Dr. David Frawley in Bangalore on 23 March 2012. He will speak on “Pluralism and Universalism in Hinduism”
BIRD, as you know, is a low profile organization formed in 2001, by a small group of Hindus, Muslims and Christians in Bangalore, to promote inter-faith amity in line with our native wisdom of promoting inclusiveness for preserving India's religious diversity.
BIRD organizes seminars, consultations, panel discussions and dialogues and an annual lecture series in memory of Rev. Dr Stanley Samartha, the first Director of the Inter-Faith Dialogue Programme of the World Council of Churches, Geneva. It is the signature event of BIRD’s inter-faith activities undertaken in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. It has organized nine such lectures so far.
It may be recalled that Sir Mark Tully, former BBC’s India chief delivered the ninth Samartha Memorial lecture on 7 October 2010 while Mr. Arun Shourie, the celebrated journalist and author, delivered the eighth Lecture in October 2009 . He spoke on “Rethinking Religions”. The seventh lecture was delivered by Mr. M.J. Akbar, well known journalist and author, presently editor of India Today. The theme was: “The Power of Religion vs. the Religion of Power”.
Other speakers who delivered the lectures in the past included: Justice K.T. Thomas, former Judge of Supreme Court of India (2007), Dr. Hans Ucko, director of inter-faith dialogue division at the World Council of Churches (2006), Mar Thoma Metropolitan Bishop Philipose Mar Chrysostom (2005), Prof. M.V. Nadkarni, former Vice Chancellor of Gulbarga University (2004), Dr. C.T.Kurien, economist and Director Emeritus of Madras Inst. of Dev. Studies (2003).
They spoke respectively on: “The Right to Convert & the Indian Constitution”, “Towards and Ethical Code of Conduct”, “Courage for Dialogue”, “Religion in the 21st Century: A Perspective of Hope”, “Communal Harmony- A Societal Perspective”.
It was Mr. Francois Gautier, author and former political correspondent of Le Fegura , who inaugurated the lecture series and delivered the first lecture to a large gathering at the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in October 2001 . He spoke on “The Need for Inter-Religious Dialogue
Over 500 invitees generally attend the lecture, which will also be published as a booklet to help reach a wider community of academicians, students, thinkers and intellectuals, spiritual leaders as well as people involved in promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding.
BIRD is entirely dependent on small contributions from people of diverse faiths who are strongly convinced about the dire need to preserve inter-faith amity in the true and abiding traditions of India, which is a living symbol of religious diversity and inclusiveness.
May I take the liberty of asking you for a donation towards organizing the event? Your contribution may be sent by a cheque in favour of Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) to the following address:
Apt. No. 501, Indira Residency,
167 Hennur Road
Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore 560 043
Mobile: 09731182308
Res. 080 25435716
Yours sincerely
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious
Dialogue (BIRD)
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is happy to announce that the 10th annual Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial lecture will be delivered by Dr. David Frawley in Bangalore on 23 March 2012. He will speak on “Pluralism and Universalism in Hinduism”
BIRD, as you know, is a low profile organization formed in 2001, by a small group of Hindus, Muslims and Christians in Bangalore, to promote inter-faith amity in line with our native wisdom of promoting inclusiveness for preserving India's religious diversity.
BIRD organizes seminars, consultations, panel discussions and dialogues and an annual lecture series in memory of Rev. Dr Stanley Samartha, the first Director of the Inter-Faith Dialogue Programme of the World Council of Churches, Geneva. It is the signature event of BIRD’s inter-faith activities undertaken in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. It has organized nine such lectures so far.
It may be recalled that Sir Mark Tully, former BBC’s India chief delivered the ninth Samartha Memorial lecture on 7 October 2010 while Mr. Arun Shourie, the celebrated journalist and author, delivered the eighth Lecture in October 2009 . He spoke on “Rethinking Religions”. The seventh lecture was delivered by Mr. M.J. Akbar, well known journalist and author, presently editor of India Today. The theme was: “The Power of Religion vs. the Religion of Power”.
Other speakers who delivered the lectures in the past included: Justice K.T. Thomas, former Judge of Supreme Court of India (2007), Dr. Hans Ucko, director of inter-faith dialogue division at the World Council of Churches (2006), Mar Thoma Metropolitan Bishop Philipose Mar Chrysostom (2005), Prof. M.V. Nadkarni, former Vice Chancellor of Gulbarga University (2004), Dr. C.T.Kurien, economist and Director Emeritus of Madras Inst. of Dev. Studies (2003).
They spoke respectively on: “The Right to Convert & the Indian Constitution”, “Towards and Ethical Code of Conduct”, “Courage for Dialogue”, “Religion in the 21st Century: A Perspective of Hope”, “Communal Harmony- A Societal Perspective”.
It was Mr. Francois Gautier, author and former political correspondent of Le Fegura , who inaugurated the lecture series and delivered the first lecture to a large gathering at the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in October 2001 . He spoke on “The Need for Inter-Religious Dialogue
Over 500 invitees generally attend the lecture, which will also be published as a booklet to help reach a wider community of academicians, students, thinkers and intellectuals, spiritual leaders as well as people involved in promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding.
BIRD is entirely dependent on small contributions from people of diverse faiths who are strongly convinced about the dire need to preserve inter-faith amity in the true and abiding traditions of India, which is a living symbol of religious diversity and inclusiveness.
May I take the liberty of asking you for a donation towards organizing the event? Your contribution may be sent by a cheque in favour of Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) to the following address:
Apt. No. 501, Indira Residency,
167 Hennur Road
Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore 560 043
Mobile: 09731182308
Res. 080 25435716
Yours sincerely
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious
Dialogue (BIRD)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Vicky Nanjappa interviews BIRD Coordinator
FEBRUARY 6, 2012 REDIFF.COM
Abuse of Hindu Gods cause for backlash in Karnataka
In Karnataka there has been a waging battle over the attacks on Churches. Recently there was also a report which claimed that Karnataka is the number one rogue state for Christians as there have been over a 1000 attacks on both Christians and Churches.
The question now is whether this figure is exaggerated and is being put out for some ulterior motive. It is an exaggerated figure says P N Benjamin, who is the member of the Minorities Commission and Coordinator of the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD). A question that Benjamin asks is that if Karnataka is really the number one rogue state for Christians then why is it that not a single Christian fled the state. In this interview with rediff.com, Benjamin takes us through the entire issue while stating that merely exaggerating figures for ulterior motive is not the way out.
Some Christians claim that there have been over a 1000 attack on Churches and Karnataka has become the number one rogue state for them? Is this correct?
It is not correct. It is just exaggeration. I feel there are a handful of attacks which were instigated by some fringe Christian groups.
Why do you think it is being exaggerated?
I am not saying all Christians do this. Yes there is a fringe group which involves itself in such activities. They get a lot of money especially from the American fundamentalist and fanatic churches for this. The more they exaggerate the better for them. I have personally gone into many such cases and realised that most of them have been blown out of proportion and internationalised by a handful of leaders from the Christian community and by unscrupulous politicians. They are using ordinary Christians as pawns in their hands for their narrow selfish ends.
Why do you think the Hindus are so upset with the Christians? Why has this issue blown out of proportion?
For one there is a BJP government in Karnataka and it is aimed at destablising the government. Secondly there are a lot of fringe groups that have emerged which do not report either to the Catholic or Protestant Church. Small churches are being formed in houses at a very quick pace. These are the persons who have broken away from the main line churches. They sit and abuse Hindu Gods and this has not been taken too kindly by the Hindus and hence the agitation. These fringe groups in fact have gone uncontrolled and this is a danger in the making.
Tell us about the conversions that are taking place. Is the Church involved in this?
I would not say that the Church is involved in conversions. In fact both the Catholic and Protestant Churches are not involved in this. Again it is these fringe groups- the Pentacostals among others who are involved in this. There is a report which states that nearly Rs 10000 crore has landed here for the purpose of such activities. Recently we sent a team to Suratkal near Mangalore. We noticed that some poor people had been given a handful of money to convert. They are just given money and later not taken care of.
So what is the exact version regarding large scale conversions?
There are no large scale conversions happening. As I said the Church does not do this. It is those small elements. There are a handful of people who have been converted. But these people send reports to donor agencies stating that large chunks of people have been converted for they want of more funds.
There is a great deal of confusion over the recent attacks. There are two versions to this by both Hindus and Christians. Can you please explain this to us?
The attacks are just a reaction to aggressive faith marketing and mindless evangelism and conversions through unethical means indulged by Christian missionaries. Even Father Adolf Washington of the Archdiocese of Bangalore said recently that there are several groups of people doing the rounds in Bangalore adopting persuasive techniques not just to convert people but also to spread animosity against mainstream Christian denominations. They hurl invectives against the teachings of Christian denominations and even induce people to tender a written ‘resignation’ to the pastor or priest. Since some of these groups do not even accept the divinity of Christ, in effect, their conversion should not be understood as conversion to Christianity but to their organisation. Mainstream Christian denominations do not go on a conversion spree, only splinter groups and cultic groups do so probably for some self-gain.
Are the Christians in Karnataka living in danger
The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handful of Hindu extremists but the self-styled saviours of Christianity who assert that they alone are the holders of valid visas to heaven and paradise.
What is the solution?
No civil society should condone violence. But mere condemnation is not a method to avert the repetition of violence. We have to find out if the violence is deliberate and unprovoked, or due to provocation. If it is the former, then there is one set of solutions, which mostly involves applying the law and severely punishing the perpetrators of the violence. However, if there is provocation, then we have to study the issue in greater detail. We have to understand why there has been a provocation for the violence, and who are the persons or organisations behind the provocation.
The Church is supreme. Do you think the Church is doing enough to prevent such incidents by fringe groups who you say are the core of the problem?
These fringe groups have been stealing the sheep. They steal people from main line Churches and are also engineering defections and are giving them important positions. The Church has spoken about this, but I am afraid has not done enough to prevent this. During the Bishop’s conference in Kerala there was an appeal to their members not to go in for conventions and revival meetings. In the year 2004 some members were also expelled. However I think they ought to do more and openly declare that they have nothing to do with such people. I feel that things would change for the better if a strong stance is taken and more regularly. Also I feel that the Church itself has become dead and people cannot look up to it for inspiration. The social work that the Church is doing is simply run of the mill and has become life less. All this needs to change soon.
Abuse of Hindu Gods cause for backlash in Karnataka
In Karnataka there has been a waging battle over the attacks on Churches. Recently there was also a report which claimed that Karnataka is the number one rogue state for Christians as there have been over a 1000 attacks on both Christians and Churches.
The question now is whether this figure is exaggerated and is being put out for some ulterior motive. It is an exaggerated figure says P N Benjamin, who is the member of the Minorities Commission and Coordinator of the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD). A question that Benjamin asks is that if Karnataka is really the number one rogue state for Christians then why is it that not a single Christian fled the state. In this interview with rediff.com, Benjamin takes us through the entire issue while stating that merely exaggerating figures for ulterior motive is not the way out.
Some Christians claim that there have been over a 1000 attack on Churches and Karnataka has become the number one rogue state for them? Is this correct?
It is not correct. It is just exaggeration. I feel there are a handful of attacks which were instigated by some fringe Christian groups.
Why do you think it is being exaggerated?
I am not saying all Christians do this. Yes there is a fringe group which involves itself in such activities. They get a lot of money especially from the American fundamentalist and fanatic churches for this. The more they exaggerate the better for them. I have personally gone into many such cases and realised that most of them have been blown out of proportion and internationalised by a handful of leaders from the Christian community and by unscrupulous politicians. They are using ordinary Christians as pawns in their hands for their narrow selfish ends.
Why do you think the Hindus are so upset with the Christians? Why has this issue blown out of proportion?
For one there is a BJP government in Karnataka and it is aimed at destablising the government. Secondly there are a lot of fringe groups that have emerged which do not report either to the Catholic or Protestant Church. Small churches are being formed in houses at a very quick pace. These are the persons who have broken away from the main line churches. They sit and abuse Hindu Gods and this has not been taken too kindly by the Hindus and hence the agitation. These fringe groups in fact have gone uncontrolled and this is a danger in the making.
Tell us about the conversions that are taking place. Is the Church involved in this?
I would not say that the Church is involved in conversions. In fact both the Catholic and Protestant Churches are not involved in this. Again it is these fringe groups- the Pentacostals among others who are involved in this. There is a report which states that nearly Rs 10000 crore has landed here for the purpose of such activities. Recently we sent a team to Suratkal near Mangalore. We noticed that some poor people had been given a handful of money to convert. They are just given money and later not taken care of.
So what is the exact version regarding large scale conversions?
There are no large scale conversions happening. As I said the Church does not do this. It is those small elements. There are a handful of people who have been converted. But these people send reports to donor agencies stating that large chunks of people have been converted for they want of more funds.
There is a great deal of confusion over the recent attacks. There are two versions to this by both Hindus and Christians. Can you please explain this to us?
The attacks are just a reaction to aggressive faith marketing and mindless evangelism and conversions through unethical means indulged by Christian missionaries. Even Father Adolf Washington of the Archdiocese of Bangalore said recently that there are several groups of people doing the rounds in Bangalore adopting persuasive techniques not just to convert people but also to spread animosity against mainstream Christian denominations. They hurl invectives against the teachings of Christian denominations and even induce people to tender a written ‘resignation’ to the pastor or priest. Since some of these groups do not even accept the divinity of Christ, in effect, their conversion should not be understood as conversion to Christianity but to their organisation. Mainstream Christian denominations do not go on a conversion spree, only splinter groups and cultic groups do so probably for some self-gain.
Are the Christians in Karnataka living in danger
The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handful of Hindu extremists but the self-styled saviours of Christianity who assert that they alone are the holders of valid visas to heaven and paradise.
What is the solution?
No civil society should condone violence. But mere condemnation is not a method to avert the repetition of violence. We have to find out if the violence is deliberate and unprovoked, or due to provocation. If it is the former, then there is one set of solutions, which mostly involves applying the law and severely punishing the perpetrators of the violence. However, if there is provocation, then we have to study the issue in greater detail. We have to understand why there has been a provocation for the violence, and who are the persons or organisations behind the provocation.
The Church is supreme. Do you think the Church is doing enough to prevent such incidents by fringe groups who you say are the core of the problem?
These fringe groups have been stealing the sheep. They steal people from main line Churches and are also engineering defections and are giving them important positions. The Church has spoken about this, but I am afraid has not done enough to prevent this. During the Bishop’s conference in Kerala there was an appeal to their members not to go in for conventions and revival meetings. In the year 2004 some members were also expelled. However I think they ought to do more and openly declare that they have nothing to do with such people. I feel that things would change for the better if a strong stance is taken and more regularly. Also I feel that the Church itself has become dead and people cannot look up to it for inspiration. The social work that the Church is doing is simply run of the mill and has become life less. All this needs to change soon.
Friday, February 3, 2012
10th Stanley Samartha Memorial Lecture
Dr. David Frawley to deliver the 10th REV. Dr. STANLEY SAMARTHA MEMORIAL LECTURE organized by BIRD on 23 March 2012
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is happy to announce that the 10th annual Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial lecture will be delivered by Dr. David Frawley in Bangalore on 23 March 2012, . He will speak on “Pluralism and Universalism in Hinduism”
BIRD, as you know, is a low profile organization formed in 2001, by a small group of Hindus, Muslims and Christians in Bangalore, to promote inter-faith amity in line with our native wisdom of promoting inclusiveness for preserving India's religious diversity.
BIRD organizes seminars, consultations, panel discussions and dialogues and an annual lecture series in memory of Rev. Dr Stanley Samartha, the first Director of the Inter-Faith Dialogue Programme of the World Council of Churches, Geneva. It is the signature event of BIRD’s inter-faith activities undertaken in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. It has organized nine such lectures so far.
It may be recalled that Sir Mark Tully, former BBC’s India chief delivered the ninth Samartha Memorial lecture on 7 October 2010 while Mr. Arun Shourie, the celebrated journalist and author, delivered the eighth Lecture in October 2009 . He spoke on “Rethinking Religions”. The seventh lecture was delivered by Mr. M.J. Akbar, well known journalist and author, presently editor of India Today. The theme was: “The Power of Religion vs. the Religion of Power”.
Other speakers who delivered the lectures in the past included: Justice K.T. Thomas, former Judge of Supreme Court of India (2007), Dr. Hans Ucko, director of inter-faith dialogue division at the World Council of Churches (2006), Mar Thoma Metropolitan Bishop Philipose Mar Chrysostom (2005), Prof. M.V. Nadkarni, former Vice Chancellor of Gulbarga University (2004), Dr. C.T.Kurien, economist and Director Emeritus of Madras Inst. of Dev. Studies (2003).
They spoke respectively on: “The Right to Convert & the Indian Constitution”, “Towards and Ethical Code of Conduct”, “Courage for Dialogue”, “Religion in the 21st Century: A Perspective of Hope”, “Communal Harmony- A Societal Perspective”.
It was Mr. Francois Gautier, author and former political correspondent of Le Fegura , who inaugurated the lecture series and delivered the first lecture to a large gathering at the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in October 2001 . He spoke on “The Need for Inter-Religious Dialogue
Over 500 invitees generally attend the lecture, which will also be published as a booklet to help reach a wider community of academicians, students, thinkers and intellectuals, spiritual leaders as well as people involved in promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding.
BIRD is entirely dependent on small contributions from people of diverse faiths who are strongly convinced about the dire need to preserve inter-faith amity in the true and abiding traditions of India, which is a living symbol of religious diversity and inclusiveness.
May I take the liberty of asking you for a donation towards organizing the event? Your contribution may be sent by a cheque in favour of Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) to the following address:
Apt. No. 501, Indira Residency,
167 Hennur Road
Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore 560 043
Mobile: 09731182308
Res. 080 25435716
Yours sincerely
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious
Dialogue (BIRD)
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is happy to announce that the 10th annual Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial lecture will be delivered by Dr. David Frawley in Bangalore on 23 March 2012, . He will speak on “Pluralism and Universalism in Hinduism”
BIRD, as you know, is a low profile organization formed in 2001, by a small group of Hindus, Muslims and Christians in Bangalore, to promote inter-faith amity in line with our native wisdom of promoting inclusiveness for preserving India's religious diversity.
BIRD organizes seminars, consultations, panel discussions and dialogues and an annual lecture series in memory of Rev. Dr Stanley Samartha, the first Director of the Inter-Faith Dialogue Programme of the World Council of Churches, Geneva. It is the signature event of BIRD’s inter-faith activities undertaken in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. It has organized nine such lectures so far.
It may be recalled that Sir Mark Tully, former BBC’s India chief delivered the ninth Samartha Memorial lecture on 7 October 2010 while Mr. Arun Shourie, the celebrated journalist and author, delivered the eighth Lecture in October 2009 . He spoke on “Rethinking Religions”. The seventh lecture was delivered by Mr. M.J. Akbar, well known journalist and author, presently editor of India Today. The theme was: “The Power of Religion vs. the Religion of Power”.
Other speakers who delivered the lectures in the past included: Justice K.T. Thomas, former Judge of Supreme Court of India (2007), Dr. Hans Ucko, director of inter-faith dialogue division at the World Council of Churches (2006), Mar Thoma Metropolitan Bishop Philipose Mar Chrysostom (2005), Prof. M.V. Nadkarni, former Vice Chancellor of Gulbarga University (2004), Dr. C.T.Kurien, economist and Director Emeritus of Madras Inst. of Dev. Studies (2003).
They spoke respectively on: “The Right to Convert & the Indian Constitution”, “Towards and Ethical Code of Conduct”, “Courage for Dialogue”, “Religion in the 21st Century: A Perspective of Hope”, “Communal Harmony- A Societal Perspective”.
It was Mr. Francois Gautier, author and former political correspondent of Le Fegura , who inaugurated the lecture series and delivered the first lecture to a large gathering at the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in October 2001 . He spoke on “The Need for Inter-Religious Dialogue
Over 500 invitees generally attend the lecture, which will also be published as a booklet to help reach a wider community of academicians, students, thinkers and intellectuals, spiritual leaders as well as people involved in promoting inter-religious harmony and understanding.
BIRD is entirely dependent on small contributions from people of diverse faiths who are strongly convinced about the dire need to preserve inter-faith amity in the true and abiding traditions of India, which is a living symbol of religious diversity and inclusiveness.
May I take the liberty of asking you for a donation towards organizing the event? Your contribution may be sent by a cheque in favour of Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) to the following address:
Apt. No. 501, Indira Residency,
167 Hennur Road
Kalyan Nagar
Bangalore 560 043
Mobile: 09731182308
Res. 080 25435716
Yours sincerely
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious
Dialogue (BIRD)
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