Summing Up

A Resume of Conference Activities

A.   J. Srivastava

 

 

Mr. Srivastava, an electronics engineer, retired civil servant, and patron of the arts, served as a secretary of the Conference and was one of its principal architects.

 

REVERED SANT KIRPAL SINGH JI, Honorable Sri Swaran Singh Ji, Venerable Messengers of Faith, Delegates to the Conference, Ladies and Gentlemen: I have been requested by the President of the Conference to give you a short resume of the work that has been done at the Conference.  Before doing so, I should like to thank you for coming here this evening to attend this concluding session, notwithstanding your other pre-occupations.  Your attendance in such large numbers is indicative of the awareness aroused in the ordinary man of the problems standing in the way of world peace and unity today.  It suggests that he is determined to do something about it, and lends hope of ultimate success.

 

ATTENDANCE.  Over 400 delegates from all parts of the world, covering all six continents, and 2,000 from all over India have participated in the deliberations.  Attendance at the public sessions averaged 50,000.

 

ESSAY CONTEST.  With a view to arousing consciousness among the youth of the world, essays on Unity of Man were invited in English, French, Hindi, and Urdu, either in prose or poetry.  About 300 essays were received.  The standard attained was high, and many papers were thought provoking.  The results of the contest are:

 

FIRST PRIZE: Sri J.  J. Karam, New Delhi, for his essay written in English prose.  The writer has attempted to analyze the various problems from different angles. 

 

SECOND PRIZE:  Dr. Johd Haywood Lovelace, San Jose, U. S. A., for an excellent poem in English which is very moving.

 

THIRD PRIZE: Kumari Saroj Kumari, Delhi, for her very comprehensive and thought-provoking essay in Hindi prose.

 

Two consolation prizes have also been awarded, one for the best essay in Urdu prose and the other for another good essay in English prose.

 

PROCESSION: More than 100,000 people of different ages marched in a processions, led by the Deputy Mayor of Delhi, from Gandhi Grounds via Chandni Chowk, Red Fort, Darya Ganj abd Asaf Ali Road to the Ramlila Grounds to mark the opening of the Conference.  The enthusiasm and discipline of these soldiers of peace and unity was commendable; it was unbelievable that the very idea of Unity of Man could evoke such an enthusiastic and tremendous response from the man on the street.  Such conferences, organized at the level of man, in other parts of the world would also surely help awaken public opinion to the need for ONE WORLD consciousness.

 

PANEL CONFERENCES:  They highlighted not only the feasibility but also the desirability of different religions working together to promote Unity of Man.  Deliberations were held at some length on various problems besetting this unity, shedding light on the ills of the age.  What has emerged from those discussions, in which numerous learned speakers presented their views and suggested solutions, has been incorporated in the four Resolutions which I shall read presently.

 

Before I conclude I would like to pay tribute to Sant Kirpal Singh Ji who saw the need of the time and conceived the idea of convening the Conference.

 

I should also like to place on record the tremendous work done by the large number of devotees who have for a few weeks been working almost round the clock at great personal inconvenience in conditions which were far from ideals.  They certainly deserve to be congratulated for the measure of success which this Conference has achieved; it would not have been possible were it not for the hard work and cooperation which they gave so unstintingly.

 

Mr. Srivastava then read the Resolutions, formulated by the Subjects Committee, in response to recommendations from the panel conferences, as follows: