National Campaign – India Unites for Non-Violence and Harmony

January 30, 2019 – Mahatma Gandhi’s Martyrdom Day

“The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of nonviolence does not dominate millions of men and women”

“We must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.”

                                                                                                                        Mahatma Gandhi

India Unites for Non – Violence and Harmony is a non-political, citizen led campaign being organized on January 30, 2019 to commemorate the 71st anniversary of Gandhiji’s martyrdom.  Various civil society organizations and individuals are coming 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.

We invite every citizen, who is committed to the cause of non-violence and harmony to join this national campaign, India Unites to Non Violence and Harmony which has three critical components –

1. A call to every citizen in the country to observe a minute’s silence wherever they are putting aside whatever they would be doing at 11.00/ 17:17 hrs on January 30, 2019 and to take a pledge for non-violence and harmony.
2. The organizing of activities/events such as peace rallies, awareness programmes, public meetings, interactions in schools/colleges and communities in the run up to the national campaign on January 30, 2019.
3. As part of the national call a Convention on Non-Violence and Harmony is being organized at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium, Breach Candy, Mumbai on Jan 30, 2019 between 4 -10pm. The programme which is open to the general public will have talks by eminent citizens, public intellectuals, media personalities, legal luminaries, etc. This will be followed by a cultural programme on the theme. The exact programme will be announced in a week’s time.

We appeal to all citizens to come together through this campaign to build resistance against the forces of intolerance and to take the message of nonviolence and harmony to millions of Indians through various networks, organizations, institutions and social media platforms.

                                                                                    Say yes to Non Violence, Justice and Harmony!

Jaago, Utho, Chalo Ahimsa ki Aur!

Signed by

Harshvardhan Hegde, India Inclusive, Leena Dabiru, India Inclusive, Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad and India Inclusive

Brinelle D’Souza, TISS, Mumbai, Irfan Engineer, Centre for Studies in Society and Secularism, Mumbai, Joycia Thorat, ICWM-Mumbai, Lara Jesani, PUCL-Maharashtra, Varsha Vidya Vilas, Sadbhavana Sangh, Mumbai

Endorsed by

Abdul Shakeel, activist – New Delhi, Abha Bhaiya, National Coordinator, One Billion RisingAbhimanyu Kohar, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Afroze Malik, President, Jai Ho Foundation, Akhilesh Dave, social activist, Ahmedabad, Akshay Naik, activist, Navi Mumbai,Amir Peje , Mumbai, Amita Buch, Gujarat, Anand Patwardhan, Documentary Filmmaker ,Aniket Navalkar, Anjali, AISF, Anwar-ul-Haq, activist – New Delhi, Archana Kaul, Arshad Ajmal, social activist, Patna, Arun Kumar, Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, Aruna Roy, School for Democracy, Augustine Pushpraj SJ, social activist, Karnataka, Aysha, activist – New Delhi, Beena, activist – New Delhi, Bhakti Ghatge, Student,Bhartendu Kashyap, Mocking Birds Theatre Group, Lucknow, Bhasha Singh, Writer & Journalist, Bipin Soni, Concerned Citizen – New Delhi, Brijesh Shivhare, Concerned Citizen – New Delhi, Brinelle D’Souza, TISS, BRP Bhaskar, Chennai, Chhotebhai, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Chhote Lal, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi, Com. Charul Joshi , IPTA (Mumbai),Com. Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, Com. Masood Akhtar,  IPTA (Mumbai), Deepak Kabir, Dastak ,Lucknow, Dev Desai, Social Activist, Gujarat, Dhananjay Shinde, Mumbai, Dharmendra Kumar, activist – New Delhi, Dilip Simeon, Dolphy D’Souza, Convenor-Police Reforms Watch, Dr Anil Pannikker, Consultant Psychologist, Hisar Haryana,Dr Harshvardhan Hedge, India Inclusive , Dr. Antima, Nainital, Dr. Denzil Fernandes, Executive Director,Indian Social Institute, New Delhi., Dr. Frazer Mascarenhas S.J., Educationist, Mumbai, Dr. Suresh Khairnar, National President, Rashtriya Seva Dal, Dr. Sylvia Karpagam, Public Health Doctor, Bangalore, Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre, New Delhi, Elizabeth Soreng, Jharkhand, Fahad Ahmad, TISS, Fahim, Kabir Festival ,Lucknow, Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar, Farah Ajeez, activist – New Delhi, Fr Cedric Prakash, Feroz Mithiborewala, Bharat Bachao Andolan, Fr. Jude Murzello , Mumbai, Geeta Devi, activist – New Delhi, Godfrey D’souza, Mumbai, Harpal Chaudhary, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh,Harsh Mander, writer, social activist, Delhi, Indira Unninayar, Advocate, Gurgaon, Indrashish, activist – New Delhi, Irfan Engineer, social activist, Mumbai, Isaac Gomes, Catholic Association of Bengal, Mumbai, Jagjit Singh, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Jatin Desai, journalist, Mumbai, Javed, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi, Jignesh Sengal, independent activist, Gujarat, JK Patel, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Joe Athialy, New Delhi, John Dayal, Journalist, Delhi, Joy Sengupta, actor, teacher, cultural activist, Mumbai, Joycia Thorat, Mumbai, Khairun, Parwaaz, Gujarat, Kishor Jagtap , Maitra Kul, KM Shrimali, Historian, Delhi, KNPanikkar, Historian, Kerala, KV Biju, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Lara Jesani, Mumbai, Leena Dabiru, India Inclusive, Mahadev bhai Vidrohi, National Convenor, Sarva Seva Sangh, Mahesh Pandya, Paryavaran Mitra, Mala Devi, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi,Mamta, activist – New Delhi, Manan Trivedi, independent activist, Gujarat, Manjula Pradeep, WAYVE Foundation, Marcia D’cunha, Mumbai, Mayank Saxena, Bollywood writer, Mumbai,Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Mohammad Samad, Concerned Citizen, Uttar Pradesh, N. Raghuram, Professor, New Delhi, Nadeem Ali, activist – New Delhi, Nadia D’souza, Mumbai, Nasim Ansari, Tarun Chetna Trust, Pratapgarh, UP, Nayan Patel, activist, Gujarat, Nazma, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi, Neeta Mahadev, Lok Samiti, Gujarat, Neha Shah, Ahmedabad, Nikhil Dey, School for Democracy, Niranjan Takle, Journalist , Maharashtra, Nisha, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi, Noel D’souza, Mumbai, Padma Velaskar, Academician, Mumbai, Pamela Fernandes, Commission for Justice and Peace, Mumbai, Parth Wagle, Mumbai, Pathik Arora, Legal counsel, Mumbai, Peeyush Mishra, Advocate, Lucknow,Pooja Badekar, President, Marathi Bharti , Pooja Uniyayl, activist – New Delhi, Poonam Devi, Concerned Citizen, New Delhi, Prof. Roshan D’Souza, Mumbai, Pushpa Devi, activist – New Delhi, Rajeshree Urf, Documentary Filmmaker , Rajkumar Gupta, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Rajni Dave, Sarvodaya Mandal, Ram Lal, activist – Uttarakhand, Ram Puniyani, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Ram Tarun, Ramnik Mohan, writer, Rohtak,Ranu Jain, academician, Mumbai, Rasal, President, Kalyan Vikasini , Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Ravi Bhilane, Friends of People, Ravindra Kumar Singh, Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, Nagpur, Rohan D’souza, Student, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Rohini Hensman, Writer and Researcher, Saba Dewan, Filmmaker, Gurgaon, Sabiha Hussain, Jamia Millia Islamia, Samatha Fernandes, Student, St. Xavier’s College, Samita Patel, Majur Mahajan Sangh Mahila wing, Sandeep Gidde, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Sangita, Kabir Festival ,Lucknow, Sanjay Kumar, Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan., Sannybhai, Lokmanch, Santosh Mudgil, retired principal Rohtak, Santveer Singh, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Saral Jhingran,Shabnam Hashmi, social activist, Delhi, Shanta Kumar , Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Sheba George, SAHRWARU, Gujarat, Shiv Kumar Kakkaji, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Simantini Dhuru, Documentary Filmmaker , Smita Pandya, Ahmadabad, Smita Salunkhe , President Vazir Graduate Forum, Sohail Hashmi, filmmaker, writer, historian, Delhi, Sr. Jyothi Fernandes, Mysore, Subhash Mendhapurkar, SUTRA Jagjit Nagar, Himachal Pradesh,Subhendu Ghosh, Pratidhwani, Delhi., Sunetra Deshpande, Ahmedabad, Swami Sachidananda Bharathi, Kochi, Tanushree Gangopadhyay , journalist, Gujarat, Uma Chakravarti, Historian,Varsha Vidya Vilas, Sadbhavna Sangh, Veena Rana, Kabir Festival ,Lucknow, Venita Fernandes, Mumbai, Vijendra Sharma, activist – New Delhi, Vijeta Bhonkar, President, Gandhigiri Abhiyan , Vineet Tiwari, National Secretary, All India Progressive Writers Association, Walter fernandes, North East Social Research Center, Guwahati, Yash Marwah, Let Mumbai Breathe, Yashodhan Paranjpe, Yohan Tengra

Organisations:

Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan, Act Now for Harmony & Democracy (Anhad), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), All India Federation of University and College Teacher’s Association (AIFUCTO), All India Kisan Sabha, All India Progressive Writers Association, Aman Biradari, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Friends of People,Gandhigiri Abhiyan, Gandhi Peace Foundation , India Inclusive , Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM), Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, Kalyan Vikasini, Khudai Khidmatgar, Majur Mahajan Sangh Mahila wing, Morche Pe Kavi, Mumbai, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), National Alliance for People’s Movements (NAPM), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Nishant Natya Manch, One Billion Rising, Paryavaran Mitra, Police Reforms Watch, Pratidhwani, Delhi., PUCL, Maharashtra, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, Rashtriya Seva Dal, Right to Education, Sadbhavna Sangh, SAHRWARU, Gujarat, Sarvodaya Mandal, School for Democracy, SUTRA, Himachal Pradesh, The Banned,Vazir Graduate Forum, WAYVE Foundation

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