ABOUT SWAMI AGNIVESH

By Rev. Valson Thampu

For over 20 years, I watched with growing admiration the unique and distinguished work that Swami Agnivesh was doing in the field of religious and social reform as well as promotion of human rights, especially with reference to the voiceless and the marginalized. This inspired me -a Christian priest, professor and author- to align myself with this great man's socio-spiritual enterprise to create a noble society based on the ideals of justice and dignity for all. I did not know at that time that this was to prove one of the most significant decisions in my life. Since 1995 that I have been in active partnership with Swami Agnivesh, my understanding of, and appreciation for, his historic mission has grown steadily.

Swamiji's bold struggle -at times risking his life- to rid the Indian society of the pseudo-religious anathema of sati -the abhorrent practice by which widows are caused to be burned alive in the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands- is now part of the history of modern India. His relentless mission to abolish the production and sale of liquor -in view of the fact that poor women and children are its helpless victims- is a saga of spiritual perseverance and social action almost unparalleled in the India of recent times. What touched my heart most of all was his nation-wide mission to liberate and rehabilitate bonded labourers -of which 65 million still remain- in India. Nearly 200,000 people have seen the light of freedom and personal dignity, thanks to this great man's relentless efforts. This part of Swamiji's enterprise included, among other things, the establishment of various schools where the children of the poor and exploited workers can learn, but for which they will be condemned to life-long illiteracy.

The spectre of aggressive communalism and religious intolerance raised its head in India in the recent past. Right Wing Hindu Extremism threatened to tear apart the social and political fabric of India. Being part of the loosely strung Hindu society, it would not have been easy for Swami Agnivesh to stand up against this development that foreboded extreme anarchy for India. Yet he did it with courage and consistency, standing out as a crusader for religious tolerance and cultural diversity, affirming the very foundations of pluralism and democracy. Among this historic initiatives in this context are the multi-religious pilgrimage to Manoharpur in 1999 -the first of its kind in India- to take a stand against the criminalization of religion and to express solidarity with Gladys, the wife of the Christian martyr. Again, in 2002, when Hindu extremist, under the patronage of a partisan State in Gujarat, ventured into a 3 month-long genocide targeting the Muslims in that State, Swami Agnivesh took the initiative to organize a multi-religious pilgrimage of compassion to Gujarat. Besides this he has undertaken various marches and processions to raise awareness about the rights of Hindu widows, the rights of low caste Hindus to enter temples, the right of the neglected girl child and -in more recent times- the right of the female foetus to be born. Sex-specific prenatal testing and abortion are quite rampant in North India as a result of which the Male-Female sex ratio is now, alarmingly, 1000: 931. Swamiji is currently engaged in combating the evil of sex-specific abortion in various states. I respect him profoundly for the courageous call for religious reform, which is particularly risky in India. Human rights violations often seek spurious legitimacy through improvised and laboured scriptural sanctions. I do not know of any other religious leader of national standing, other than Swami Agnivesh, who has taken the stand that if any religious scripture or tradition countenances human rights violations in any form then the scripture or tradition in question must be discarded!

It is not only that this inspired son of India has been a tireless soldier for human rights and social sanity. It is equally noteworthy that he leads a lifestyle that lends authenticity to his spiritual mission. The NGO movement in India is less than above board at the present time and in many areas it has lost credibility. In the midst of it all, Swamiji stands towering above the rest as a role-model worthy of emulation.

I have been personally very moved by his child-like and spontaneous spirit that goes out, without any reservation, to all people, especially to the poor and the down-trodden. In the mist of the children of bonded labourers, he becomes a child perfectly at home with them. He becomes an ambassador of consolation among women distraught with grief and suffering. He also roars like a lion, in the face of legal and moral outrage, against its perpetrators.

Prof. Valson Thampu

Member, National Integration Council (Govt. of India)

Member, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Govt. of India)

Member, National Steering Committee for Curriculum Review (Ministry of Human Resource Development)

Chairman, National Focus Group on Education for Peace

Principal - OSD St. Stephen's College, Delhi.