Note on SCH

Note on Society for Communal Harmony

Nation building happens with a continuous  and active participation of its citizens and their contributions. Japan, Germany and even Israel stands out as examples of nations that rose to eminence from ashes of war and holocaust, due to the positive contributions of their citizens in building societies which are prosperous and ethical with a strong moral fabric. India, with its rich cultural heritage, ability to assimilate people with diversities and different backgrounds has suffered but endured invasions and colonization. Coupled with the habit of hero-worshiping, its citizens have not performed optimally in Nation building. Most citizens prefer to form the silent majority either due to a cynical approach that their contributions would be immaterial or an apathy that it is not their job and accept fait accompli. All this, despite striking examples in their history of individuals who fought injustice and made a difference!

Society for Communal Harmony (SCH) is an effort to proactively facilitate and motivate people to contribute in their own way towards Nation building by strengthening the social fabric of the Nation. SCH provides a platform for individuals to raise their voice, collaborate with people  having common areas of interest and with joint efforts try to meaningfully contribute to  building the Nation’s social fabric.

Why is Communal Harmony important?

Communal Harmony in a nation, rooted in strong ethical and moral bearings, is a fundamental requirement in creating an enabling environment for industries to flourish and more importantly,  for people to live in peace and amity, for  teamwork, for a progressive society free from violence, hatred and fissiparous tendencies. When hatred and fissiparous tendencies become the new normal, history has recorded, what follows are dictatorial regimes or civil wars.

How do the aforementioned  negative approaches harm individuals or the Nation? How does silent disapproval  unwittingly support the myopic agendas of politicians?  Does destroying the present social fabric serve to reclaim lost heritage, culture or pride? The above questions need to be  critically analyzed and debated. Unfortunately, social media has mostly amplified hate and sensationalism so  false narratives and agenda-driven misinformation has  shaped opinions of masses. SCH aims to disseminate neutral, unbiased, source-identified and fact-based information as well as encourage citizens to voice their opinions and submit contributions to help strengthen the social fabric of society.

How can one contribute?

Dissemination of information requires more than researching for facts or writing articles. It requires targeted sharing and messaging, discussions in focused groups, debates in TV, organizing events ranging from social programs to academic lectures to partnering with others, in an effort to build a strong social fabric of the country. SCH and its portal provide the opportunity for all to participate in their areas of interest either remotely  or get physically involved in promoting its Nation building effort. Start by registering with SCH – it will take a few minutes to submit the online form.

Who are the people involved?

Spurred by these ideas, SCH was established in 1990 by founders – freedom fighter Bishambhar Nath Pandey, theologian scholar Ali Mian Nadvi, Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterji, Rabi Ray, Journalist, Kuldeep Nayyar, Sadiq Ali, Surendra Mohan, C.B. Tripathi, Subbarao, Abdul Kareem Parekh and Abdul Mannan and many other luminaries across the country.

The present effort to reimagine and relaunch the SCH initiative on a larger scale is being spearheaded by Prof Anand Kumar, Author and leading Social Activist, Dr. Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, Indian Social Activist and former Planning Commission Member, Shri Kumar Prashant, President Gandhi Peace Foundation, Dr. A.K. Merchant, Shri Ramesh Sharma, Shri Ram Dutt Tripathi , Dr. Prem Singh, Shri K Vijay Rao, Mr. Anil Nauriya, Lawyer & Author, Prof. Shashi Shekhar Singh, Shri Anand Vardhan, Prof. Arvinder Ansari, Shri Anil Srivastava, Shri Faisal Khan, Shri Randhir Gautam, Shri Shakeel, Dr. Medha and other academicians, lawyers, social activists, journalists, agriculturists, businessmen, authors, theologians and students.

 

If you are concerned about communal harmony and can contribute in any way to the purpose of the Society, please become its member by submitting this online form