Human rights are not in the past or present, but they are in the future, still waiting to be conquered, according to Jean Belle, member, International Humanist Movement, France, at the Human Rights Day celebrations held at Gandhi Museum here on Sunday.
“If we awaken the non-violent and non-discriminative sensibility, it will grow and become universal. Peace force and joy are the three pertinent forces that can bring about a change in the society”, he added. Speaking at the function, T. Ravichandran, Professor, Gandhigram University, Dindigul said that the train incident, where Mahatma Gandhi suffered humiliation at the hands of the whites in South Africa, had sown the seeds of Independence. “As the Father of our Nation said if we perform our duties, rights will naturally follow”, he added.
A group of students from the American College performed a Tamil drama titled ‘Thiruppi kodu’ which highlighted the plight of students today and also depicted educational institutions as money-minded.
Sharing the sufferings of visually challenged people like him, M. Pazhaniappan, founder of Agavizhi trust for the blind, sought proper implementation of three percent reservation for the differently-abled in the country.
Ari Babu, Professor, Department of Tamil, The American College and transgender Swapna were among those who spoke at the function organised by Institute of Gandhian Studies and Research in association with World Without Wars and Violence, Madurai Chapter.
