Dear Dr. Karan Singh ji,
Dr. Radhakrishnan, Shri Kunwar Shekhar Vijendra, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Dr. Anoop
Swaroop, Shri K.P.R. Nair,
Dear friends, Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends, Ladies and gentlemen,
I am
extremely happy to be here with you all on the
invitation from Dr.N.Radhakrishnan Golden Jubilee felicitation committee
to release the book, Give Nonviolence a
Chance: the Journey of Neelakanta
Radhakrishnan for Nonviolence,
written to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Radhakrishnan’s
extraordinary efforts for peace and his association with the Peace Brigade
Movement, and the emergence of the Shantisena.
I distinctly remember the services Dr. Radhakrishnan has been rendering
to promote Gandhian philosophy and training in Nonviolence. In recognition of his work in consonance with
the vision of Shri Rajiv Gandhi and the everlasting principles of Sadbhavana,
the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award was presented to him in 2008.
Professor
N. Radhakrishnan has dedicated his life in promoting the ideas and ideals of
Mahatma Gandhi. In the true lineage of
the Gandhian traditioin, Dr. Radhakrishnan undertook the task of organizing and
institutionalizing the Shanti Sena programme at the Gandhigram University. He has carried his work into the field in the
naxalite affected Dharmapuri district.
He has worked to restore peace in areas characterized by communal
tensions and conflicts in Tamilnadu and Kerala.
He has mobilized youth for creative social reconstruction in Hoshiarpur
in Punjab, Tripura and Assam.
As the
Director of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti for more than a decade he has been
instrumental in introducing many innovative programmes in educational
institutions for educating younger generations about Gandhian values. He led the campaign called "Himsamukth
Bharat Andolan" which motivates families to become foot soldiers in a
campaign for peace and sustainable development.
I am happy
to see that the present volume “Give Nonviolence a Chance: the Journey of
Neelakanta Radhakrishnan for Nonviolence”,
edited by a distinguished Gandhian scholar and educator Dr. Anoop swaroop
offers very valuable insights on the various campaigns Radhakrishnan has
designed and led with convincing success during the last 50 years. He has proved to be one of the few practicing
veteran Gandhians of our time who remains rooted to the idea of nonviolent
change at the grass root level. He has focused his activities towards the
youth, and has been organizing for them regular training programmes, campaigns
and workshops, both in India and abroad.
The book I
have the honor to release today encapsulates several campaigns, workshops,
training programmes in Shantisena, Youth Assemblies, Gandhi Festivals, Gandhi
Peace Bus programmes Radhakishnan organized in order to involve and educate
Youth particularly on the imperative need to effect Nonviolent social change
through individual transformation.
On perusal
of the book I have found that the editor Dr.Anoop swaroop and the publisher
Shri KPR Nair have done a signal service to the corpus of scholarship on Gandhi
as well as Gandhian activism for social change. Several complex aspects of
youth mobilization for peace and communal harmony are being made available in
this book. Let me congratulate your team and I hope that the younger generation
and others who are involved in Gandhian activism and Nonviolence will have
lessons to learn from the leadership provided by Dr. Radhakrishnan. Jai Hind.
Text of the speech of Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister, at the Book Launch of GIVE NONVIOLENCE A CHANCE: THE JOURNEY OF NEELAKANTA RADHAKRISHNAN
at India International Centre,New Delhi
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