Sadbhav Mission Meetings

 

Sadbhav Mission Meetings held in

Atlanta, Birmingham, Houston, Chicago

 

Atlanta (May 27, 2022)

            Shri. Hasan Kamal, a pillar of Sadbhav Mission for the last 31 years, took upon himself the task of organizing meeting in Atlanta by himself and with the help of Prof. Aftab Ahmad and Dr. Farook Chandiwala in Birmingham. He received VK Tripathi at the airport and took to his home where he stayed overnight. Atlanta meeting was held in a hotel at 7 to 10 PM. 17 friends participated in the meeting, including Mr. Yadav, Mr. Anwar Khan, Mr. Siraj Muzaffar, Mrs and Dr. Umar Farooq, Mr. Mansoor, Mr. Naushad. VKT put up the exhibition, “India’s Mass Movement for Freedom” and explained its highlights. Shri Hasan Kamal stressed the need for harmony. VK Tripathi spoke about current challenges. He said that in the middle of polarization, fear and tension, there is an undercurrent of nonviolent movement in India, exemplified by 100-day Shaheen Bagh satyagraha and year-long farmers’ satyagraha. The former made the Prime Minister put on hold the countrywide NRC, while the latter made him withdraw the corporate centric agriculture laws. Both the movements stood for secularism and harmony. Among the NRIs, many people have been swayed by myth and misinformation. We should reach out to them.

 

Birmingham (May 28, 2022)

            Kamal Sahib took VKT to Birmingham, driving 200 miles. Prof. Aftab Ahmad arranged a luncheon meeting 11 AM to 3 PM in a hall in Indian restaurant with extraordinary zeal. 26 people participated in this meeting, including Dr. Farook Chandiwala, Shama Ahmad, M. Saleem, Mubeen Muzaffar, Amna Siddiqui, Afreen Ahmad, Kaleem Ahmad, Fahim Ahmad, Maroof Husain. Mr. Mirza Akhtar Beg drove down from Tuscaloosa. The display of freedom movement exhibition and brief commentary on it, generated much interest and set the tone for the meeting. Prof. Aftab Ahmad welcomed the participants on a positive note of strengthening bond of understanding across communities. Mr. Akhtar Beg introduced the theme of harmony in the context of current situation in India and outside. VK Tripathi spoke about two-fold challenges of communalism, one, spread of prejudices, intimidation, humiliation and violence in society and the other unjust laws and policies of the state. The former needs grassroots work of conscience building through education and constructive activities. Many groups are working on it but their reach needs to be enlarged. A significant effort is needed to bring humans and humanism at the focus of religion, when open calls for genocide are being given from the platforms of Dharam Sansad. We should recall the words of Jesus, Prophet Mohammad and Gandhi and tell the masses – don’t fight amongst yourselves, resist the state as all major injustices are supported or carried by the state. Starting February 2019, when a terrorist attack posed a serious loophole in our security system but it was manipulated to sabotage the elections, the state has pursued a divisive and anti-people agenda, be it cutting down the status of J&K, CAA or corporate centric agriculture laws. The nonviolent protests against the latter two legislations have shown us the way to rise. Youth is shivering with discontent due to the long closure of classes, bleak job opportunities and curbs on freedom of thinking. We should work among them. It was followed by heartening observations by Shri Chandiwala and others.

 

Houston (May 29, 2022)

After the Birmingham meeting, Prof. Aftab Ahmad drove VK Tripathi to the Airport from where he took a flight to Houston. At 7 PM, his sister Manorama and brother in law Pradeep Jain received him at the Houston Airport and drove to his home, where he stayed for 3 days. Next day, 3 to 6 PM, they organized a remarkable meeting at their home. It was attended by 18 people, including Dr. Anupama Dhodapkar, Shrikant, Srijna Bindlish, Rajen Patel, Parul, Alka Trehan, Dr. Nidhi Trehan, Sakeib Mashood, Abdul Quadir, K. Manjunath, Padmini Manjunath, Prof. Waris E. Warsi. Dr. Manorama welcomed the participants and said there is lot of prejudice all around but truth shall prevail we must focus on truth. VK Tripathi shared his concerns on polarization and corporate dominance over media, economy and polity. He said that state has responsibility towards the masses. Gandhi used the doctrine of nonviolence to resist imperialist policies of the state that bred fear, inequity, political dominance and economic exploitation. We need to employ it to counter injustice and violence. He put forth the freedom exhibition that drew deep interest, It was followed by an hour of in depth discussions.

 

Chicago (June 5, 2022)

            Prof. Imtiazuddin is an embodiment of humanism and reason. He organized the meeting on June 5, 2022, 2-5 PM at Daren Library Hall, working out every detail with precision. He, along with Poras Dadabhoy, Pratap Sampat, Shalini Gupta, Khajauddin and Raja-ullah Quraishi sent the invitation to various organizations and people. His wife Jameela Uddin, extended warm hospitality to VKT and made all the arrangements for meetings at home. Thirty people participated in the meeting at the Library Hall, including Dr. Khursheed Mallick, Poras Dadabhoy, Raja ullah Quraishi, Shalini Gupta, Moina Uddin, Mohi Ufter 1857, ddin, Sumra Khan, Shahhab Qureshi, MA Hai, Zia Hasan, Jameela, Avinash, A.R. Khan, H. Moiduddin, N. Hai, Khaja Moinuddin, Dr. Khalid A Sami, Amzad Hashmi, S. Ikram Khan, Khaja Basheer Ahmad, Syed A.Q., Kareem Irfan. Mr. Dadabhoy welcomed the participants with an appeal for interfaith understanding. Prof. Imtiazudden presented the theme. VK Tripathi spoke on Freedom from Prejudice and Injustice. He said that prejudice suppresses vision and sensitivity. Organized prejudice is an instrument of imperialism and exploitation. For 3000 years caste prejudices inflicted us. After 1857, British imperialism, in connivance with the native elite, promoted religious prejudice. Today our educated and affluent classes suffer from this disease. We need introspection. We must promote trust and understanding among the masses of different communities and resist unjust policies and polarizing tactics of the state. The talk was followed by an absorbing session of Questions and Answers with Ms Shalini Gupta as moderator.

At 5:30-9 PM ten friends gathered at Prof. Imtiazuddin’s home and debated the current situation in depth. Many constructive suggestions emerged.   Mr. Kareem Irfan suggested that Sadbhav Mission may plan to train the trainers to conduct science and freedom workshops across the country. Next day young Asif Mallick drove VKT to the airport.