India Unites Convention on Non Violence and Harmony on March 12 in Ahmedabad
India Inclusive, a non-political, citizen led platform and Anhad organised an India Unites Convention on Non Violence and Harmony on March 12 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to commemorate the beginning of the 90th year of Gandhiji’s Salt Satyagarh. The Salt March was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience led by Gandhiji to protest British rule in India. Britain’s Salt Act of 1882 prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in their diet. Indian citizens were forced to buy salt from their British rulers, who, in addition to exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, also charged a heavy salt tax.
Defying the Salt Act, Gandhi declared resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying theme for the mass civil disobedience. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi set out from Sabarmati ashram with several dozen followers to the coastal town of Dandi. By the time they reached Dandi on April 5, Gandhi was at the head of a crowd of tens of thousands. He spoke and led prayers and early the next morning walked down to the sea to make salt. Gandhi reached down and picked up a small lump of natural salt out of the mud—and British law had been defied.
The freedom movement under Gandhi’s leadership 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.
It was during the course of our freedom struggle that the ‘Idea of India’ further evolved and we bequeathed a modern Constitution unto ourselves. Today this very ‘idea’ is under threat from the forces of majoritarian religious extremism. Today, in India, we witness hatred and prejudices based on region, caste, gender, religion and class. Society is becoming increasingly violent. Communal violence, caste & gender based violence, hate crimes are on the rise. Farmers, students and other vulnerable groups are getting marginalized because of growing apathy.
It is to defend these very ideals, the ideals of an inclusive India, committed to a modern secular democracy, to social justice and gender equality, an egalitarian society – that some of us got together to organize the convention.
Speakers included: Air Marshal Vir Narain – Former Air Officer Commanding- in-Chief, Anjali Bhardwaj -social activist, founder Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Arfa Khanum Sherwani-Senior Editor, The Wire, Bhasha Singh -Journalist, writer, Dr Syeda Hameed-writer, social activist, Former Member Planning Commission, Fr. Cedric Prakash-Human Rights activist, Gagan Sethi -Development educator, Founder, Janvikas, Justice (Retd.) Kurien Joseph -Former Judge Supreme Court of India, Prof Gauhar Raza-Fprmer Prof AcSIR, Chief Scientists, ,poet, filmmaker, Prof Hemant Shah -Economist, academician.
