Fifteen speakers from India, America, Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Hawaii, Spain Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States, virtually came together on a common platform to share their ideas on “Creating an Affirmative Nonkilling World” at the global colloquium jointly organised by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS), New Delhi, Centre for Global Nonkilling, India and Centre for Global Nonkilling (CGNK) Australia on June 28, 2021. The global colloquium was organised as a tribute to late Professor Glennn D. Paige, Professor Emeritus of Political Science famous for developing the concept of nonkilling.
The speakers included: Prof. Anoop Swarup, Chairman, Centre for Global Nonkilling Governing Council, Australia; Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director GSDS; Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer, GSDS; Prof. Luis Botero, CGNK Latin America Regional Adviser (South America); Prof. N. Radhakrishnan, (CGNK Honorary Sponsor, India); Nobel Laureate, Ms. Mairéad Corrigan Maguire (Honorary Sponsor); Prof. Bill Bhaneja (CGNK Governing Council and former Diplomat, Canada); Ms. Glenda H. Paige (CGNK Governing Council); Shri A T Ariyaratne, (CGNK Honorary Sponsor and Founder President of Sarvodaya Movement, Sri Lanka); Prof. Francisco Gomes de Matos (Founder CGNK, Brazil); Mr. Chaiwath Satha –Anand, (CGNK Vice Chair, Thailand); Bishop Mavwe Lucien (Nonkilling Peace Activist, Africa); Prof. Thomas Fee (CGNK Senior Advisor, United States); Prof. Maorong Jiang (CGNK Treasurer, United States); Prof. Garry Prigg (CGNK, Ambassador, Australia); Prof. Joám Evans Pim (Director CGNK, Hawaii, Spain); Prof. David E Evans (Physician and Author, Australia); Prof. Rashida Khanam (Director, Centre for Nonkilling & Development, Bangladesh); Mr. Rich Panter (Nonkilling Activist, United States) and Prof. Koozma J Tarasoff (Nonkilling Activist, United States). Ms. Katyayani Singh (Secretary, CGNK, India) moderated the session.
A “Global Nonkilling Index 2021” was also released by the Gandhian scholar Prof. N Radhakrishnan on the occasion.
The speakers reiterated that killing is not the basic instinct of man. Nonviolence is the basis of a society. They advocated their commitment to nonkilling. While paying their tributes to Prof. Glenn D. Paige, the participants at the colloquium spoke of Prof. Paige’s journey which they said was a remarkable personal odyssey, from the role of soldier to scholar to global nonkilling institution-builder. They said that Mahatma Gandhi, who demonstrated the transformational nonviolent power of individual and mass action for truth, continued to be a guiding star for Prof. Paige who involved many others to work in this direction. They said that “Glenn D. Paige inspired and engergised a generation of students and others after Martin Luther King” and that he was able to what they said, “Do this through small creative and catalytic partnership towards an honest goal of zero killing”.
The speakers also spoke of the spiritual, moral, ethical, cultural transformation of people and society and research which sprung up because of Prof. Glenn D. Paige, which they felt is the key to achieving global peace.
Celebrating ideas of peace and oneness, the speakers stated their association with Prof. Paige which they said has helped them in their work with the ideas of compassion and universal humanism.
While some of the speakers focussed their discussion on different dimensions of violence such as honour killing and said that Glenn D. Paige shows that both violence – accepting politics and political science] in the last century have failed to suppress violence, there were others who paying their tributes, called Paige, the most optimistic giant and urged young people to join this mission.