The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “There is greater need for non-violence today”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 29, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“There is greater need for non-violence today”

—Photo: R.Ragu

Sudarshan Kapur

Young people are always asking Sudarshan Kapur, founder of the Peace Studies department at Naropa University, Colorado, U.S., if he thinks there is an anachronism in today’s world; preaching peace in an era of violence. They ask: ‘In this age of terrorism, can non-violence work?’ In an interview to Ramya Kannan, he says the answer to them is: “Yes. If it was possible then, it is more possible today.”

“Today, the need is even greater. But it does not help to dismiss people as terrorists,” says Sudarshan Kapur, who is in India to deliver a series of lectures as part of the 50th year anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to the country.

“We need to look inward as a society and as individuals and find out if certain things that we might be doing contribute to rift, violence. Unless we face up to the mistakes we are committing, there is no hope for moving forward over issues of oppression.” He speaks as a disciple of the brand of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. advocated to win their battle against imperialism and segregation respectively.

It is the young that Prof. Kapur loves to interact with. “I try to connect with young people, because I feel there is much disillusionment and lack of hope, perhaps with good reason. Among the many things that Gandhi and King can pass on to us is the sense of hope and purpose.” He says they also had a way of moving through the morass that surrounded them and find a safe place to stay.

Does he have a set of strategies then to make his theories work today? “More than strategies, we need practices, and positive techniques,” he says.

Both Gandhi and King always nourished a concern for the welfare of the people they were struggling against. The idea was to convert the heart of the opponent, says Prof. Kapur who is the author of the book “Raising up a Prophet: The African American Encounter with Gandhi.”

That, he says, could be done today as well. “What people can do is to create circumstances whereby the powers-that-be can begin to see their responsibilities differently,” he explains.

In India, the key areas of intervention would be in the areas of improving public transportation, health care for all and adequate nutrition for infants. In the US, concerns are about health care and quality of education. Expenditure on military in both nations is yet another issue.

Inequities in society, lack of opportunities for people in India and the US are other concerns. “I don’t think any society is free of these fundamental inequities that lead to people giving up hope. We do need to create structures and institutions that will offer opportunities to live by our best values, rather than by our least values,” he says.

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

Tamil Nadu