Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

‘Civil rights movements inspired by Gandhi’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Civil rights movements in the West and elsewhere were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Czech human rights activist and European Union Cabinet member Jan Jarab said on Sunday.

He was delivering a lecture on human rights organised by the Santhigiri Social Research Institute on the Santhigiri Ashram premises here.

Mr. Jarab said Darwin’s theory of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ existed only in the natural world. “As far as humans are concerned, there is no social Darwinism. In fact, man stands apart from other creatures because of his ability to consider his fellow beings.”

He said Mahatma Gandhi was an inspiration for human rights activists across the world. Mr. Jarab is Commissioner for Human Rights of the Czech Republic since 2001. A former medical practitioner and non-governmental organisation activist, he has translated works of fiction and non-fiction. He is also a founding member of the Czech organisation ‘Host,’ a group critical of racially-motivated crime.

Head of the Santhigiri Social Research Institute J. Ramachandran Nair participated.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Seminar on ethno musicology
‘Selfless service vital’
‘Civil rights movements inspired by Gandhi’
The ethics of environmental sustainability
Community policing from tomorrow
Order flayed
Applications invited
Government not responding to audit: CAG report
‘Address issues in farm sector’
IMA’s anti-vector road show concludes
Rescued boys to be sent home
Pushing for progress via watersheds
War of words precedes Corporation budget
Protective steps on at Aruvikkara
Transformer gutted
Ganja seized
Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu