By Jacob Peenikaparambil


Gurgaon, Feb. 1, 2019: Society expects women to console and love others, but it does not realize that women also need to be consoled and loved, a woman police officer has told a peace convention.

“Women have the right to be consoled and loved,” asserted Anuradha Shankar, additional director general of police of Madhya Pradesh, at the inauguration of the fifth national peace convention at Shofar Conference Centre Gurgaon, Haryana, on January 30, the 71st death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The police officer cited the example of Gandhi’s wife Kasturba who played a crucial role in India’s independence struggle. “Ganhiji became Mahatma because of the support of Kasthurba, Shankar said.

“While Gandhiji learned from the books, Kasturba learned from the book of life. Kasturba had the courage to organize protest of women in South Africa. Similarly she was leading the anti-liquor movement in Bardoli while Gandhiji was leading the Dandi March,” she explained.

The peace convention began with thought-provoking songs by social activist couple, Vinay and Charul Mahajan. Their songs compelled helped the audience to reflect on issues such as violence in the name of religion, need for peace and reconciliation, right to ask questions to leaders, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

The song session was concluded with singing of the values of the preamble of Indian Constitution by the audience holding lighted candles.

Father Varghese Alengaden, founder of the Universal Solidarity Movement, in his presidential address, said the convention held under the auspices of National Peace Movement is lighting a lamp in the darkness. “We have to believe that one person is a majority and we have to learn from the attitude of Ravindra Nath Tagore, “walk alone” while working for peace.

Father Alengaden had taken the initiative to start National Peace Movement in 2015. The first convention was organized in Indore in collaboration with Rotary International. The second National Peace Convention was held in Dimapur, the third in Goa and the forth in Kochi.

The convention concludes with an action plan to be carried out by the participants either individually or as a group. As a follow up the Kochi 2018 program, two state level peace conventions were held, in Coimbatore and Kannur, local level conventions in Mumbai and Bhopal, peace rallies at more than a dozen places.

In view of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi the movie Gandhi was shown in several schools.