Satyagraha conference begins Monday amid BJP criticism

Jan 28, 2007, 4:45 GMT

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) A two-day international conference on Mahatma Gandhi's historic Satyagraha movement organised by the ruling Congress beginning Monday is expected to spread the message of peace but has already drawn flak from the opposition parties here.

In the conference which will be attended by representatives from 85 countries, Nobel laureates and eminent personalities would discuss and deliberate on the relevance in the 21st century of Mahatma Gandhi's methods of truth and passive resistance that won India freedom and also empowered many marginalized communities around the world later.

The conference, to be held at the Vigyan Bhavan convention centre, will be chaired and addressed by Sonia Gandhi, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Congress party chief.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the conference Tuesday at the concluding session.

South African minister Essop Pahad would initiate a discussion on 'dialogue among peoples and cultures', while Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli would be the keynote speaker for the discussion on the non-violent approach to conflict resolution and peace building.

Among the luminaries who have confirmed their attendance at the event are Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African freedom fighter Ahmed Kathrada, Bangladeshi economist and Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, besides intellectuals like Lord Bhiku Parekh - who has been selected for the Padma Bhushan award this year - and Professor C.K. Prahalad.

Gandhian activists A.T. Ariyaratne, Gene Sharp and Chaiwat Satha-Anand are also expected to participate.

Former Polish president and leader of Solidarity Trade Union movement Lech Walesa, who also has accepted the Congress president's invitation to attend the conference, is excited.

'It will be a great occasion to discuss the Gandhian philosophy in 21st century in the context of peace and non-violence. The present century unfortunately has become bloody and the message of Gandhi once again very relevant for all of us,' Walesa told IANS in Warsaw.

Although Congress leaders claimed that the conference was meant to spread the message of peace and non-violence to the world, it has already created controversy with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing it of misusing the government machinery for arranging the programme.

'Although the Congress claimed that it was their party function and kept the opposition away from it, it is clear that the government is completely involved in it,' BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service