Citizens Initiative for a Nonkilling India established

June 1, 2009 Joám Evans Pim

The Citizens Initiative for a Nonkiling India (CIFNKI) will be launched on June 28th, together with a month-long program starting on June 15th that will include, seminars, discussions, peace festivals, youth assemblies, film screenings, book presentations and elocution competitions. CGNK Honorary Sponsor Professor Neelakanta Radhakrishnan is responsible for this historical initiative to promote the concept and practice of nonkilling across India.

Programed activities include:

June 15, “Towards a Nonkilling and Nonviolent Trivandrum City”. Discussion among members of various Civil society and NGO representatives to design various programs to be undertaken in the city. Venue: DING DONG (near employment Directorate, DPI junction), Trivandrum, Kerala. Time: 3.00-6.00pm. Resource persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; Prof. P.V. Varghese; Justice N. Haridas; Adv. V. S. Hareendranath. Book presentation to the Public Library, University Library and 12 city colleges. Film screening: “A Force More Powerful”.
June 22, “Nonkilling Themes in the Plays of G. Sankara Pillai”. Seminar & play presentation. Venue: Rangaprabhat Children’s Theatre, Venjaramoodu, Trivandrum. Time: 3-8pm. Resource Persons: Prof. N. Radhakrishnan; Prof. Vayala Vasudevan Pillai; N. C. Pillai.
June 24, “Nonkilling Global Political Science”. Discussion of the book by Glenn D. Paige (Hindi translation and Indian English edition). Venue: Gandhi Peace Foundation, Deen Dayal Upadyaya Marg, New Delhi. Time: 5.30pm. Resource person: Prof. Radhakrishnan (moderator). Panelists:
Dr. Y.P. Anand (Former Chairman, Railway Board and National Gandhi Museum); Dr. Akash K. Ouchi (Representative, Soka Gakai International); Ms. Sona Khan (Attorney, Supreme Court of India); Dr. Varsha Das (Director, National Gandhi Museum) Prof. N.P. Singh (Delhi University); Dr. Patanjali Bhatia(Translator of NKGPS); Dr. Kusum Chadda (Translator of NKGPS); T.K. Jain (Executive President, Anuvibha Global Organisation). Releases of: Global Nonkilling Leadership: First Forum Proceedings (N. Vasudevan); Special Issue of Journal of Peace & Gandhian Studies on Glenn Paige (Vinod Thyagi); Nonkilling Global Political Science (Babulal Sharma). Presentation of Books to select Libraries. Lighting of Candles in honor of Glenn Paige on his 80th Birthday.
June 25, “Glenn D. Paige’s contribution to the concept of Nonkilling Political Science”. Discussion. Venue: Anuvibha Headquarters, Jaipur, Rajastan. Time: 2.30-6.00pm. Resource persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; Dr. S.L. Gandhi; Dr. Anoop Swaroop. Elocution competition to the university students. Book presentation to the select colleges under Rajastan University.
June 26, “Glenn D. Paige’s contribution to the concept of Nonkilling Political Science”. Launch of the Indian edition of the First Global Nonkilling Leadership Forum Proceedings followed by discussion. Venue: Rajastan Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, Rajastan. Time: 2.30-6.00pm. Resource persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; Dr. Naresh Daddich; Dr. Asha kaushik. Elocution competition to the university students. Book presentation to the members of the Rajastan Institute of Public Administration.
June 28, “Launching of Citizens Initiative for a Nonkiling India”. Program: 3.45 PM – Arrival of three Harmony Flames from Three Different Places in Kerala (Three Batches of Peace and Social Activists will carry Harmony Flames from their respective villages to the conference site. The first group will be from Cheriyanad, a village 150 Kms away from Thiruvananthapuram. This village has been declared a Litigation-Free Panchayat. The second is in the Alleppy district which is 170 Kms away from Thiruvananthapuram where a Gandhian experimentation of Harmonious Neighborhoods has been going on for the last two decades. The third is from Beempally-Cheriyathura, a conflict-ridden costal suburb of Thiruvananthapuram where a few deaths occurred recently following communal frenzy. These three marchers before reaching the venue of the conference would have taken the massage of Killing-Free India to a sizable segment of Kerala population in the southern region of the State); 4 to 5: Music Programme by SEENA PALLIKARA; 5 to 7: Interfaith Prayer & Public Meeting; 7 pm: candle Lighting and Pledge-taking; 8 to 9.30 PM: Birthday Gathering and Friends Meeting. Venue: Gandhi Park, East Fort, Trivandrum (3.45-7.30pm); Gandhi Bhavan (8-9.30pm). Resource persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; P. Gopinathan Nair; P.Viswambaran; V. Ramdas.
June 30, “Seminar: Is a Nonkilling India Possible”. Venue: Valliammal Institution Hall, Madurai, Tamilnadu. Time: 10am (1st part); 3pm (2nd part). Resource persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; Prof. S. Jayapragasam; Adv. S. Pandiyan; Julian Matson (Canada); Dr.Ananthi. Book presentation to the select colleges under Madurai University.
July 1-14, “Is a Nonviolent and Nonkilling India Possible? Essay and Elocution competitions”. Venues: Yuvasatta (Chandigrah), Shobhit University (Meerut), VKMN College (Bombay), Gandhi Darsan Kendra (Chennai), National School(Pune), S. N. Institute of Management (Ranchi).
July 15, “Towards a Nonkilling and Nonviolent India: Stratagies Seminar”. Venue: Gandhi Bhavan, Trivandrum. Time: 11am-4pm. Resource Persons: Prof. Radhakrishnan; R.S. Panikar. Distribution of Prizes and Certificates to winners of competitions.