Happy Birthday Fidel: City Observed Fidel Castro's Birthday

Dear Yeshwant,

I saw your blog and thought that the members of Bhadas may like to know about the programme which was held in Indore on no party's banner. Yes, people who don't like the existing order of the world, who believe that capitalism is no answer, and people who respect to the effort to establish an alternate, egalitarian, socialist system; they gathered together and watched the one hour long video of one of the greatest revolutionaries of our times-Fidel Castro.
If you like it, you may send it to others an also put this news on your blog.

Pls respond
Vineet
Indore


Press Release 17/08/2008

Happy Birthday Fidel: City Observed Fidel Castro's Birthday

To mark the 82nd birthday of the revolutionary leader and former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, Sandarbh Kendra held a gathering in his honour here in Indore on 13th August, 2008. The gathering included a viewing of the 1990 interview of Castro by Saeed Naqvi, the first Indian reporter to ever be granted an interview with the First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party.

The interview was of importance due to its timing – taking place just after the collapse of socialist governments in Eastern Europe and just before the disintegration of Soviet Union leaving Cuba as a lone Socialist nation. With these events in mind, Mr. Naqvi asked Fidel,"Do you not feel lonely?" and Fidel responded with typically revolutionary passion, "No, I have my convictions to accompany me." Furthermore, Fidel's analyses of world politics remain troublingly pertinent today. He spoke of the danger of America becoming a uni-polar world power, and the urgent need for the United Nations to become a democratised institution. The film was a one hour reduction of the epic, four hour interview, which granted further insights into Cuban socialism, the importance of the Non-Alignment Movement and relations between Latin America, Asia and Africa. Yet amongst his self-assured proclamations, Fidel spoke of the need to retain one's sense of modesty. The history of the world, Fidel stated, teaches that the overt arrogance of certain world leaders will be remembered only as a footnote.

The meeting, held at the 'All India Bank Officers Association' Office at the State Bank of Indore Head Office, was attended by bank employees, writers, journalists, students and others. The showing of the film was preceded by an introduction given by activist and journalist Vineet Tiwari, in which he spoke on Castro's influence on social movements around the world and here in India. The film was translated into Hindi by Jaya Mehta, a prominent Indian economist and activist, who also gave additional insight into the background of the issues discussed.

'Sandarbh Kendra', who organized this meeting, is a collective that strives to raise the level of peoples' consciousness about different relevant political and social issues through different programmes and media projects. This showing was the finale of day of activity to mark the birthday of the legendary revolutionary by Sandarbh Kendra, which included a reading of Aijaz Ahmed's "The Practical Moralist", which was published in Frontline.