URI East India zone hosted a global peace meeting in collaboration with the Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust. The event was held to celebrate URI’s 16th Anniversary and recommit to a human rights agenda.
The one-day meeting at Sevakendra Tangra in Kolkata, West Bengal was attended by more than 100 people. The program started with the lighting of the lamp by Professor SARPV Chaturvedi, the Founder and Managing Trustee of the Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust in Chennai. In his keynote address, Prof. Chaturvedi spoke about protecting the environment and the rights of street children, encouraging promotion of humanism. He reminded the audience that “terrorism” has been looming large recently, attempting to destroy our peace, harmony, and fraternity. However, we should draw strength from our unity to bolster our determination to secure our earth at any cost, knowing that only mobilizing the global community can do so.
Invited guests included:
Chief Guest: Prof. Santi Nath Chattopadhyay LL.B., P.R.S. (Ph.D., D.Litt., President & Executive Director, ISISAR, Kolkata)
Special Guest: Mr. Partha Debnath: Advocate, President of Universal Human Rights Association, Kolkata
Mr. Sujato Bhadra: Human Rights activist, Kolkata
Mr. Arnab Chakraborty: PRADAN, Kolkata
Mr. Nanda Kumar: West Bengal UN Association, Kolkata
Dr. Suranjan Midde: Professor, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
Dr. Ahana Chakraborty: Principal, B.R. Ambedkar Institute of Education, Kolkata
Dr. Sudipto Chatterjee: M.D., D.N.B., Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, Kolkata
Mr. Kalyan Kumar Kishku: President of URI East India
Each person spoke of the importance of raising awareness for peaceful coexistence. Overall, the event was meant to focus on strengthening our voices for justice and leading our society in peaceful coexistence respectful of diversity, and build people’s awareness of their fundamental rights.
In his inaugural address, Mr. Kalyan Kumar Kishku, president of URI East India, expressed an optimistic view of the global community’s resilience and continuous pursuit of peace, for which rising humanism is necessary. He spoke highly of URI’s role in building bridges and strengthening local networks addressing peace and development for their communities.
