URI India East Zone hosted a two days of assemblies in Ranchi, Jharkhand on the 9th and 10th August 2014. Both days were very significant as the 9th of August is World Indigenous Day and the 10th of August is Raksha Bandhan (tie for protection) Day.
Nearly 50 members from various Cooperation Circles participated in this conference, mainly focusing on a theme "Bridging religious and cultural differences to support the movement of saving the environment.”
We started our program by standing in a circle to honoring the martyrs of Samthal (the largest tribal group in the region), creating movements at a very sacred site in the ATC center, a place that is dedicated to supporting tribal activities. India East Zone Regional President Mr. Kisku began the session with tribal drumming followed by a musical performance by our special guest, singer & activist Mr. Madhu Mansuri.
Mr. Mansuri has recently come back into the spotlight by raising his voice against environmental destruction. Primarily, Mr. Mansuri is concerned about mining and development in Jharkhand state and Orissa state—areas where tribal communities are affected the most. For many years, local activists and other like-minded organizations have been fighting a long battle to protect the nature and the rights of tribal members: Jal (water) Zamin (Land) and Jungle (Forest).
The URI India East Zone Assembly was mainly focused on honoring CCs in those areas to support their movement to protect the environment. During the session, we also discussed the burning issues in the region (communication challenges). Small group activities helped us to come up with various ideas for new outreach and help sustain local programs to bridge religious and cultural differences.
Reverend Kisku introduced the work of the newly opened "Center for conflict resolution and peace building" in the district of Bankura, West Bengal and invited each CC to participate in a leadership training program that is planned for early 2015 in collaboration with TPA, South India.
Media and Publication head Mr. Biswajit Ghosh conducted a session on how to maximize the outreach and attract others to become a part of URI action in the region through media. He proposed to start a new URI Magazine that will be published quarterly and soon a new editorial board will be formed to promote activities in the region.
Mr. Biswadeb and Ms. Sunita Singh lead a very interactive session of group commitments to promote regional values. Each member participated, bringing out unique values to lead us to sustain a better URI India national platform, while Mr. Kaushik Chatterjee documented each session and later he announced Ektaan's new initiative, "CC Exchange Program" in the region, calling for applications.
On the 10th, we engaged in a session of tying a Rakhi to each other’s hands as a symbol of protection and fed sweets to each other. Fantastic pictures were taken where Hindus fed sweet to Muslim brothers and Muslim sisters fed Hindu brothers. Even tribal members fed Christians. It was very hard to know our religious boundaries, and the lines of the URI preamble became clear: "We believe that our religious, spiritual lives, rather than dividing us, guide us to build community and respect for one another."
At the end, Mr. Gopinath Ghosh and Nazir Hussain, as well as all members of Ranchi Peace Circle who helped organize this event, honored the regional leadership team and finally ended with a vote of thanks from the President.
