IHEU CONGRESS

The 14th IHEU World Congress was held in Mumbai, India, from the 10th to the 14th January 1999. It was attended by some 600 people with about 150 participants coming from countries outside India. The first two days.

The largest foreign group at the Congress was from Norway with 23 participants. Countries represented included from Africa: Nigeria (1) and Uganda (2); from the Americas: Argentina (1), Costa Rica (1), the USA (several) and Canada (1); from Europe: the U.K. (8), the Netherlands, Sweden, France and Germany. Israel was also represented. South Asia was represented by delegates from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan (1) with the balance of participants being from the many Humanist groups in India. From Australasia four attended from Victoria, and one each from New South Wales and New Zealand.

The longest journeys were those made by delegates from the American Countries (up to 15,000 km) and New Zealand (12,000 kms) but the most arduous were those made by some of the South Asian delegates. Two delegates from Bangladesh spent two and a half days travelling more than 2,000 km overland on a motor bike, while delegates from Nepal spent a similar time making the 1,700 km journey by bus and train.

Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, the capital of Maharashtra state, is regarded as the financial and industrial hub of India and accounts for half the nation?s foreign trade. It is also the centre of the worlds largest film industry, referred to as "Bollywood". Built on seven Islands on the Arabian coast, that were originally the home of the Koli fisher folk who still live in Mumbai, the city began to attract migrants after coming under British rule in 1665 and its establishment as a port and trading centre. Early migrants to Mumbai included communities of Parsis and Gujuratis as well as South Indians, some fleeing Portuguese repression in Goa. In recent decades Mumbai has attracted considerable numbers of migrants, mostly from rural Maharashtra. Attracted by the apparent wealth they make the one way trip to the big city - often selling almost all they own in their villages to pay their way they are committed and become trapped through indebtednesses to those who control the hutments (shanty areas consisting of makeshift huts) - unable to return they have helped swell the cities population to 1.5 crore (15 million) resulting in a growth rate that may soon make Mumbai the worlds second largest city.

Statistics for Mumbai are appalling. While many people in Mumbai live a modern and comfortable life style the city features the worlds largest hutments, controlled by local Mafia and plagued by often indifferent, corrupt or religious, chauvinistic, and bigoted politicians. Half the inhabitants of a city unable to cope with the growth rate, have no electricity or running water. A research report on the slum areas prepared by Streehitakarini reported that 26 families may share one water tap and 40 families (more than 200 people) one toilet, yet these same people said that they were satisfied with their lot! Pollution, much of it generated by exhaust from the two stroke motor rickshaws, that clog the streets of the outer suburbs, fills the air - the motor rickshaws are banned in the central city area where traffic flows much more smoothly. Begging, once discouraged, is very evident. People can be seen living in the streets and families in makeshift tents formed by throwing a blanket over a fence or a string tied between a tree and a street pole.

The venue for the Congress was the partially built M. N. Roy Human Development Campus, situated on vacant land next to the Government development complex in the suburb of East Bandra. This Government development "colony" features low cost multi-storey apartments. The main congress venue was in a temporary cloth hall that survived well in the fine, calm and mild (22 to 33 degree) Mumbai Winter.

The Congress opened on Sunday 10th January with the Inaugural Plenary Session, PLENARY SESSION I - INAUGURAL, compered by Dr. Ramesh Potdar. Participants were welcomed with the song "My Song: This is the Song I sing on and off for a while" performed by a student group conducted by Shubhada Ranadive, a family counsellor of Mumbai. V M Tarkunde, president of the Congress Consultative Committee welcomed the participants. Greeting the participants, Levi Fragell, President of the IHEU said that in these days when the harm caused by the tobacco industry causes less dismay than a single cigar in the hands of Bill Clinton, Humanists are and ought to be in the front of Human Rights. He stressed the need for Rationalism and Secularism - as non religion, not anti-religion. He said this was understood by Indian leaders when Europe still had state religion and the US printed "In God We Trust" on its bank notes. In conclusion he stated "Those who don?t believe are those who are normal."

Babu Gogineni, Executive director of the IHEU, introduced the IHEU and pointed out that 2 of 6 IHEU awards had gone to India, home of more than 20 Humanist and Rationalist organisations. One had been awarded to Justice V. M. Tarkunde for his defence of democracy during Indira Gandhi?s emergency rule. The IHEU supports Humanism in 20 countries and the universal community is more important than nationalism. While stating that the future of Humanism lay in India he referred to India as "unfortunate India" where 15 years ago the BJP was no more than a fringe party, but now, thanks to media coverage, forms the government. He called the IHEU congress a defiant congress, held under the very nose of Bal Thackeray of Maharashtra state - unfortunate Maharashtra - and a challenge to him. Unfortunate that this intolerance should occur in the land of festivals. (Bal Thackeray, a Hindu fundamentalist and leading Maharashtra politician, has stated that he is now the Hitler of the whole of Maharashtra and would like to become Hitler of Indian and rid India of Muslims! During the congress he declared that the damage to the cricket pitch in Delhi was an act of patriotism.)

Dr. Indumati Parikh, president of the Indian Radical Humanist Union and the Congress Consultative Committee remembered M. N. Roy and described his dream of a Humanist Campus now being realised in the M. N. Roy Human Development Campus.

Dr Moegiadi, UNESCO?s representative to India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, read an address prepared by Dr Federico Mayor who was unable to attend.

Dr Vijayam, Director of the Atheist centre introduced the chief guest, Dr H Narasimhaiah, former Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University, who addressed and inaugurated the congress. Dr H Narasimhaiah described astrology as not only non-science but nonsense as well. "You can not find ten more stupid men than ten astrologers." Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. Referring to Universities he said that mental slums are more dangerous than city slums. "An educated fundamentalist is more dangerous than an uneducated one - education can turn an uneducated fundamentalist into an educated one." The god man, Sai Baba, had been challenged to prove his miracles but had failed to take up the challenge. Religion says "Believe or be dammed" but has sent the best to hell and the worst to heaven. He said that he believed in Spinoza?s god - the harmony of the universe. The inauguration was completed with the ceremonial planting of a sapling.

Professor Johan Galtung, the Honorary Congress President, was to have released the congress souvenir publication at this stage but was unable to attend due to his plane having struck a bird on take off forcing it to make an emergency landing.

Giving the Keynote address, Professor Amlan Datta pointed out that people all over the globe have an indivisible interest. Since Hiroshima we know that man has in his power the ability to destroy all of human civilisation. He did not have this power in the past. In the next century we will either survive or not. The possibility of an ecological disaster also exists. There are ideologies, such as Nationalism, Marxism, Fascism, etc. In Marxism the conflict of class interest achieved primary attention but it must be viewed none-the-less within the common interest of mankind. A nuclear conflict will not allow one class to survive and another to suffer. It will be a total disaster. The same will be true of an ecological disaster. The Indian continent has some of the poorest nations on the earth yet there is a competition for nuclear weapons. The Socratic spirit was one of Rationalism. We have an allegiance to all of mankind.

Dr M Younis Shaikh of Pakistan read excerpts from some of the replies he received to letters he wrote to world figures informing them of the congress. These included the president of Iran who saw Humanism as an alternative to religion. The president of Pakistan thought Humanism was OK as long as it was Islamic! The Vice-president of the USA said that he would like to be able to attend and the President of the Philippines said he wanted to see Humanism in the Philippines as he was having a lot of trouble with fundamentalists.

The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks moved by Dr Gauri Bazaz Malik, Chair of the Indian Renaissance Institute and was followed in the evening by the playing of Humanist Poems, a Marathi/English audio cassette, recorded by Marathi Poet Vinda Karandikar for the IHEU congress.