Human Rights Forum is organizing a day long workshop for its activist on social welfare legislations in Hyderabad on 27th June.
For details contact K. Murali 9866479775 and M. Sridhar 9492609054.
Human Rights Forum is organizing a campaign against destructive power plants in Srikakulam district on Dec 25, 26 and 27 2009. All those concerned with life and livelihood of people and environment can join the campaign.
Click Oppose Nuclear Power Plants and Campaign in Srikakulam for two pamphlets for details.
For details you may also contact: VS Krishna: 9440411899 or Jagannada Rao: 9440112551
3 State Conference of Human Rights Forum on 2 & 3 October 2009
Human Rights Forum completed 10 years of its formation. It is going to organize its 3rd State Conference in Anantapur town on 2 and 3 of October 2009. First day is open for all. Prof Ram Punyani, Mumbai; Harsh Mandar,retd IAS officer; Prof. D. Narasinha Reddy, Economist; Prof. Jon Dreeze, Economist and V. Geetha, writer will deliver talks on themes of RSS' attack on Democracy, Food Security, Impact of Financial Melt Down on Developing Countries, Future of SriLankan Tamils etc.
Second Day is exclusively for HRF activists.
Venue: Krishna Kala Mandir, Near Tower Clock, Anantapur, AP
Time: 10 am to 5 pm
Dates: 2 and 3 October 2009.
To read the Pamphlet in Telugu click Do not be silent and Be More Alert.
Remembrance
Gorrepati Narendranath, vice-president of Human Rights Forum, passed away at the age of 56 on 5 July 2009 in Hyderabad. Known as Naren to friends and fellow activists, he was battling with brain cancer for the past one year. He is survived by wife and fellow activist Uma Sankari and daughters, Samyukta and Laxmi.
A Gandhian to the core, trained in Sociology from Delhi University, Naren gave up his comfortable banking career in early 1980s and returned to Hyderabad and thence to his village Venktramapuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. He began his human rights activism with Lokayan, Delhi and consolidated his understanding of dynamics of society with research on the displacement in Srisailam Project in Kurnool district in 1982 and 85. Then he became member of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, (APCLC). He experimented with organic agriculture. Mobilized all socially concerned against untouchability practices in Chittoor district. He discovered 56 forms of untouchability and brought them to the notice of concerned authorities. Then he resolved in 1994 to start constructive movement for land distribution to the poor, which set a pattern for land struggles, meaning of which is yet to be fully comprehended in all its dimensions. He was deeply associated with farmers' movement, reforms in electricity regulation and National Alliance of People's Movement. Click Remembering Naren for pamphlet in Telugu.
Tributes
On 13 August 2009 a meeting remembering Narendranath was organized in Hyderabad. 100 People from diverse walks of social life attended it and fondly remembered their attachment with him. They paid rich tributes and remembered his contribution to various social causes. Some of the speakers are KG Kannabiran, SR Sankaran, MV Sastri, Haragopal, Kesav Rao Jadav, Umashankari, Jeevan Kumar, Vittal Rajan, K. Balagopal and Varavara Rao etc. A message from Medha Patkar was read out to audience. The following are some of the views expressed are summarized here.
Narendranath’s life is his message. It is not important how long he lived but how he is remembered by the community and posterity. Despite all the gloom we read in the newspapers everyday, there is a hope for humanity.
Even without invitation, he used to attend and contribute in all meetings wherever there was a people’s cause. He believed social activists do not work by invitations. One should do social work by choice to satisfy ones social consciousness. One cannot lay claim to anything for ones social work.
He left unparallel standards of social practice for every one of us. He was setting standards for himself, therefore for others. He erased the gap between idealism and practice through his life. His journey in life is against the tides of time. He always believed in ordinariness of life and working closely with ordinary people and had great faith in their commitment for better world. Their simplicity and self-reliance were sources of inspiration for him. He was deeply committed for peoples’ causes.
20 years back, Naren’s life and work would not have attracted so much of attention among social activists and people in general. For him life style, nature of work and understanding of world are not different but one and the same. He never raised discussions as part of tactics or strategies. He saw issues from people’s point of view. He never approached any problem from political theories point of view. Not because he does not know them. He knows that the truth always unfolds partially. This dimension of his personality made him acceptable to social activism of various hues. His involvement in wide variety of issues was seen by some 20 years ago as lack of focus but now as plurality of social practice. He appeared to have no commitment for any particular perspective. But we understand it today as openness to diverse views of social activism. Fellow travelers were peeved when he was too particular about his simple style of life, but we later realized it as a value. He had the personality to put in practice his ideas of social and human causes. We can follow his standards, attempt to complete his unfinished social tasks but the challenge is to internalize his personality into movement for social change.
Screening of Film on Kashmir and Release of Joint Fact Finding Report
Human Rights Forum (Hyderabad City Unit) screened Jashn-e-Azadi (How we celebrate Freedom), a film on Kashmir, directed by Sanjay Kak on 9 February 2008 (Saturday) at 6.00 pm at the Press Club in Basheer Bagh, Hyderabad.
More than two years in the making, Jashn-e-Azadi [How We Celebrate Freedom], is a feature length documentary by film-maker Sanjay Kak, which explores the implications of the struggle for Azadi, for freedom, in the
A Report published by the HRF, APCLC and PDF - Kashmir - Will the pain never end? was also released by prominent civil rights activist M.T. Khan.
Backgrounder of the Film - Jashn-e-Azadi