Details of the Programme

 

 

SOUTH ASIA INTER FAITH HARMONY
CONCLAVE-2007

 

 

 

Subject of the conclave

 

 

 

“Role of Religion & Spirituality in
Promoting Universal Human Values”

 

 

 

Organizer

 

Inter Faith Harmony Foundation of India

(A forum for Interfaith and Inter Civilization Dialogue floated by Indian Muslims)

 

 

In collaboration with

 

 

Indian Council for Cultural Relations

&

The Temple of Understanding (India)

 

 

 

Saturday-Sunday, 21-22 April, 2007

 

 

 

 

Venue

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

Jawahar Bhawan

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi

 

 

 

First Day of the Conclave

Saturday, April 21

 

Inaugural Session

9.30 AM to 1.30 PM

 

9.25 AM

Arrival of Religious Leaders

 

9.30 AM

Interfaith Prayer

 

Baha'i Faith         : Miss Sujatha Rath

Buddhism            : Venerable Kotugoda Dhammavasa

Christianity          : Father Dr. M. D. Thomas         

Hinduism             : Yogacharya Mahamantra Das

Islam                   : Maulana Jamil Ahmed Ilyasi

Jainism               : Muni Sri Udit Kumar

Judaism              : Rabbi Ezeikel Isaac Malekar

Sikh Religion       : Bhai Sahib, Sardar Charanjit Singh Khalsa

Zoroastrianism     : Ervad Cawas Bagli

 

 

9.55 AM

Arrival of Prime Minister at the Venue

 

10 AM

Arrival of Prime Minister on Stage

 

10.05 AM

Two minutes silence in the memory of
those killed in terrorist violence

 

10.10 AM

Welcome of Delegates

By

Chairperson Reception Committee

Shrimati Sheila Dikshit

Chief Minister of Delhi

 

10.20 AM

Presentation of Saropa to Prime Minister

By

Sardar Daya Singh

Head Granthi, Shri Nankana Sahib, Pakistan

 

10. 25 AM

Presidential Address

By

Dr. Karan Singh

Chairperson

South Asia Interfaith Harmony Conclave-2007

 

10. 35 AM

Inaugural Address

By

Dr. Manmohan Singh

The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India

 

10.50 AM

Vote of Thanks

By

Dr. Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmed

Convener, South Asia Interfaith Harmony Conclave

 

11 AM

Coffee Break

 

Plenary Session

 

11. 30 AM onwards

Blessings by Religious/Spiritual Leaders

1.   Mrs. Zena Sorabjee, Chairman, Baha'i House of Worship Committee  (Baha'i Faith)

2.   Venerable Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, Vice Chancellor, Sri Jayawardenapura University, Sri Lanka (Buddhism)

3.   His Eminence Cardinal Dr. Telesphore Toppo, President, Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (Christianity)

4.   His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Convener, Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, The Apex Body of Hindu Dharma (Hinduism)

5.   Maulana Syed Mohammad Abdul Khabir Azad, Shahi Imam, Badshahi Masjid, Lahore, Pakistan (Islam)

6.    Muni Sri Sumermal Ji, Rep. Acharya Shri Mahapraggya Ji  (Jainism)

7.   Chief Rabbi David Rosen, KCSG, President, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations( IJCIC ) and International Director of Interreligious Affairs, AJC (Judaism)

8.   Singh Sahib Gyani Joginder Singh, Jathedar, Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Sri Amritsar (Sikh Religion)

9.   Dastur Dr. Jamasp Asa, High Priest of the Parsis (Zoroastrianism)

10.  Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji, Chief World Nirankari Mission,       ( Universal Mission of Brotherhood)  

 

Closing at 1.30PM

 

Afternoon Schedule of Programme

3PM Onwards

 

Interactive Session-I (A)

 

Subject

 

Inter Faith Harmony
And the Role of Religious/Spiritual Leaders

 

Venue

Conference Hall I

India International Centre, New Delhi

3PM

 

Chairperson

Maulana Jamil Ahmed Ilyasi

President, All India Organization of Imams of Mosques, New Delhi

1.   Dr. Samani Mangalpragyaji, Vice Chancellor, Jain university (Jainism)

2.   Chief Rabbi David Rosen, KCSG, President, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations( IJCIC ) and International Director of Interreligious Affairs, AJC (Judaism)

3.   Dr. G. S. Negi, Bhai Bir Sadan, New Delhi (Sikh Religion)

4.   Father Dr. M. D. Thomas, National Secretary, National Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, New Delhi

5.   DR. Homi B. Dhalla, President of World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation

6.   Amrik Singh, Secretary, Sant  Nirankari Mandal (Spiritualism)

Interaction with Audience

 

Interactive Session - I (B)

 

Subject

 

 Inter Faith Harmony
And the Role of Religious/Spiritual Leaders

 

Venue

Conference Hall- II

India International Centre, New Delhi

 

Time

3 PM

 

Chairperson

Most Rev. Dr. Gali Bali, Chairman, National Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, New Delhi

1.   Mrs. Zena Sorabjee, Chairman, Baha'i House of Worship (Baha'I Faith)

2.   Venerable Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, Vice Chancellor, Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka (Buddhism)

3.   Rev. Dr. Father Cammilus Nihal Fernando, National Executive Director, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (Christianity)

4.   Rabbi Ezeikel Isaac Malekar (Judaism)

5.   Swami Gautamananda Ji, Chief, Rama Krishna Mission, Chennai (Hinduism)

6.   Dr. Abidullah Ghazi, Executive Director, Iqra International Educational Foundation, Chicago, United States of America (Islam)

 

Interaction with Audience

 

Cultural Programme: 7 PM

Dinner: 8 PM

 

Host

Dr. Karan Singh

President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations,
New Delhi

 

Venue

Rock Garden, India International Centre,
New Delhi

 

Second Day of the Conclave

Sunday, April 22, 2007

 

Two Parallel Interactive Sessions

(9AM to 11AM)

 

Interactive Session-II (A)

 

Subject

Inter Faith Harmony & School Curriculum

 

Venue

Conference Hall-I

India International Centre, New Delhi

 

Time

9 AM

 

Chairperson

Dr. Tom Kunnumkal, Former Chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi

1.   Dr. Mrs. Tasneema Khatoon Ghazi, Director, Iqra International Educational Foundation, Chicago, United States of America

2.   Professor Dr. Syed Anwer Hussain, Department of History, Dhaka University, Bangladesh

3.   Mrs.  Mahrukh Singh, Principal, Mother's International School, Delhi

4.   Shrimati Raj Vasdev Singh, Nirankari group of Schools

5.   Dharmacharya Shantum Seth

6.   Gaurav Sabharwal, Student at Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi

Interaction with Audience

 

Interactive Session-II (B)

 

Subject

 

Inter Faith Harmony And The Role of Civil Society

 

Venue

Conference Hall-II

India International Centre, New Delhi

 

Time

9 AM

Chairperson

Mr. Imran Khan, President, Movement for Justice, Pakistan

1.   Mr. Soli Sorabjee, Former Solicitor General of India

2.   DR. Jehan Perera, Executive Director, National Peace Council  of Sri Lanka

3.   Major General (R) Syed Mohammad Ibrahim, Former Director General, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Dhaka

4.   Dr. Enver Sajjad, Prominent Thinker and Intellectual, Pakistan

5.   Khwaja Abdul Muntaquim, Human Rights  Counsel and Professor, Amity Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NOIDA

6.   Dr. T. K. John, Professor Emeritus, Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi

 

Tea Break

 

Second Session

 

Three Parallel Interactive Sessions

11.30 AM onwards

 

Interactive Session-III (A)

 

Subject

 

Inter Faith Harmony And Conservation of Environment

 

Venue

Conference Hall-I

India International Centre, New Delhi

 

Time

11.30 AM

Conference Hall-I

 

Chairperson

Dr. Syed Zahoor Qasim, Former Member, Planning Commission

1.   Lt. General (R) J. S. Ahluwalia, PVSM, Director General, World Environment Foundation, New Delhi

2.   Mr. Pradeep Chaturvedi, Advisor, FAO

3.   Ms. Usha Dar, Chairman, Council for International Environment Relations

4.   Mr. Paritosh Tiyagi, Former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board

5.   Mr. Niranjan Khatri, GM, ITC Hotel Group

6.   Dr. Mrs. Janak MC Gilligan

7.   Major (R) J. D. Sharma, Member Incharge, Public Relations, Nirankari Mission

8.   Shernaz Cama, Director, Parzor Foundation, UNESCO

 

Interaction with Audience

 

Interactive Session-III (B)

 

Subject

 

Inter Faith Harmony And Role of Print/Electronic Media

 

Venue

Conference Hall-II

India International Centre, New Delhi

 

Time

11.30 AM

 

Chairperson, Mr. Pavan K. Varma, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi

1.   Mr. Arindam Sengupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Times of India

2.   Mr. Prabhu Chawla, Editor, India Today

3.   Mr. Pankaj Vora, Political Editor, Hindustan Times

4.   Mrs.Renuka Narayanan, Editor, Culture, Hindustan times

5.   Mr. Madhusudan Anand, Editor, Nav Bharat Times

6.   Mr.Pramod Joshi, Associate Editor,Dainik Hindustan

7.   Mr. Jehangir Patel, Editor PARSIANA, Mumbai

8.   Alia Nazeer, RAWA, Afghanistan

9.   Dr. Michael Gonsalves, Editor, South Asian Relegius News International

 

Interaction with Audience

 

 

Interactive Session-III (C)

 

Subject

Inter Faith Harmony And Role of Legislators

 

Venue

Auditorium

India Islamic Cultural Centre

 

Time

10.30AM

 

Chairperson, Dr. L. M. Singhvi, Member of Parliament

1.   Sardar Aseff Ali Daulia, Former Foreign Minister, Pakistan (Keynote Speaker)

2.   Mr. Tehmtan Andhyarujina, Former Solicitor General of India

3.   Mr. Bhaskar Roy, Editor; Politics Times of India

4.   Dr. M. P. Raju, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

5.   Ms. Priya Tandon, Coordinator, Media & International Affairs, IFHFI, San Fransisco (USA)/ Mumbai(India)

6.   Mr. Lesan Azadi, Director, Baha'i Academy, Panchgani

7.   Mr. Farrukh Sohail Goindi, President, Foundation for Democracy, Pakistan

8.   Mr. Zafarul Islam, Editor, Milli Gazette, New Delhi

 

1.30 PM

Lunch Break