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Temple, Mosque, Church, Gurudwar Have divided God up Divided the earth and the sea - Pray not divide humanity - -- Charul & Vinay, Ahmedabad In the wake of unimaginable suffering of thousands of our fellow-Indians in Gujarat in early 2002 in tragic incidents of communal violence, essential questions - what values we as a society espouse and what we want our society to be - have come to the fore. Keeping in mind that sustainable development of the nation rests on universal human values of peace, harmony and social justice (enshrined in all religions), AID volunteers are seeking and acting to help the Indian community (including ourselves) understand and practice these values. In this light, besides contributing to relief and rehabilitation efforts, AID is trying to building bridges among fractured communities both in India and the US through dialogue and sharing. A Peace and Communal Harmony Week was declared during March 4-9. This called to everyone distressed with the shocking events in Gujarat to share the anguish of the people affected by the violence, strongly condemn the violent acts and the actions of those who incited them, assert that peace and harmony among its diverse communities should be the basis for India, and that the government needs to uphold its responsibility for promoting peace for all its citizens. Seeking inspiration from Gandhiji, 480 people answered the call for a one-day fast for peace and communal harmony. This strong symbolic statement was timed to coincide with a peace march from the Kochrab Ashram to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad that united a spectrum of activists and organizations, and also with peace meetings in other cities in Gujarat. Also on March 9, volunteers of AID Bangalore gathered for a fast and show of solidarity to end violence and promote communal harmony across India, which was followed by a march with several other organizations. Further, AID volunteers designed a postcard to the Prime Minister, which called for a strong condemnation of the violence followed by demands for effective rehabilitation of victims, identification of perpetrators and commitment to pluralism. Printed in both Hindi and English, over 6000 copies were mailed to the Prime Minister by concerned people across India and the US. A version of the postcard can be viewed online. A significant event that had an AID-wide impact in terms of awareness was the Aruna Roy and Shankar Singh Lecture Series. This lecture series was flagged off by the lecture at the AID Conference 2002 in May 2002, which also featured meetings between volunteers on how to respond to communal violence in India, and the launching of the Eliminate Hate At All Levels Campaign. After the horrifying terror attack on the Akshardham temple in September 2002, many AID chapters and volunteers endorsed an appeal sharing the grief of the bereaved families, calling for swift action against the perpetrators, and appealing for the formation of peace committees to prevent more such incidents of violence. Finally, various chapters organized many local events. Resources for organizing events and carrying out activities oriented towards a harmonious, pluralistic India are also available. |
A.I.D
is registered with the US Federal Government as a non-profit charitable
association under the category 501(C)(3). Its federal Tax-ID is 52-1863480.
All donations to AID are tax-deductible in the *All receipts for the donations made through credit cards and checks towards Gujarat Earthquake Relief have been sent. If you have not received your receipt please call (888) TALK-2-AID. |
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