.: GIVE NONVIOLENCE A CHANCE Dr Manmohan Singh lauds...

.: GIVE NONVIOLENCE A CHANCE Dr Manmohan Singh lauds...: Dear Dr. Karan Singh ji, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Shri Kunwar Shekhar Vijendra, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Dr. Anoop Swaroop,  Shri K.P.R. Nair,  D...

GIVE NONVIOLENCE A CHANCE Dr Manmohan Singh lauds the servies of Radhakrishnan in promoting nonviolence

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,

      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