Swami Agnivesh

TRIBUTE TO SWAMI AGNIVESH

By Denise Scotto, Esq

Swami Agnivesh is the recipient of the 2004 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (the Right Livelihood Award). In his early days, he studied Law and Commerce and became a lecturer in management at the St Xavier’s College in Kolkata. He also practiced law as a junior to Sabyasachi Mukherji, who later became the Chief Justice of India. Yet, he became a beloved Indian spiritual leader who worked on a number of social issues, including children and bonded labour, the inclusion of “untouchables” in Indian religious society, women’s rights, and religious tolerance and reconciliation.

Swamiji is best known across the globe and India for his campaigns against bonded labor and was founderChairperson of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labor Liberation Front). He was elected as the President of the World Council of Arya Samaj (Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha) in 2004.

In 1994, he was appointed the Chairperson of the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery building upon his work and his testimony before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Later, he created a new task for the emancipation of womanhood, which was a helpful factor in the Commission of Sati (prevention) Act of 1987. In 2005, he was part of a twoweek campaign against female foeticide that travelled across India. He was actively engaged in partnering with UN accredited NGOs on a number of issues and was a gracious guest speaker at many events during various Commission meetings including the Commission on the Status of Women.

At the same time, at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank, he stated that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.

Swami Agnivesh spearheaded the interfaith and interreligious movement nationally in India and globally. He was a proponent of interfaith dialogue serving as a Global Trustee of the United Religions Initiative (URI), continuing to play an active role in URI events after his Trustee term. He again, was a close friend to UN NGO faith based and human rights leaders joining in events at the Parliament of the World’s Religions always encouraging inclusion.