Suggestion for IFAN Meet 2008

K ABBAS DODHIYA


Hi all,

It gives me great pleasure to know that our network of liberal thinkers in the form of IFAN is alive and wants to spread the liberal message through a convention. Going by the current political situation in Mumbai we the members of the liberal network need to play a proactive role in promoting and advancing liberal values.

Last week was indeed an unfortunate period for Mumbai and Maharashtra when a group of citizens of the so called advanced and most modern city of India took to the streets and beat up hapless cab drivers and hawkers and caused damage to public property and disrupted the normal lives of more than 1.5 crore people of the city on the grounds that the cabbies and hawkers were not original residents of the state and were migrants from North India.

The disturbing events of last week have raised a pertinent question on the usefulness and practicality of democracy wherein people belonging to a particular community harass and harangue people on the basis of ethnicity. In such a scenario the imporatnce of the ideas and values of liberalism come to the fore.

In the light of the past week's disaster that Mumbai witnessed, the liberal convention would be able to provide plausible solutions and also discuss ways and means of spreading the liberal messsage.

The proposal to start a fresh liberal youth movement -Liberal Youth Forum of India would go a long way in creating awareness of liberal values at the grass root level which can be also leveraged upon in the long run to create a group of peace makers.

With regards to the convention I would like to contribute in the form of inviting the man behind changing the face of the largest slum of Asia Dharavi into a beautiful suburb of Mumbai - Mr Mukesh Mehta. Mr Mehta is the man who was scoffed by the media and the general masses when he suggested ways in which the slum dwellers of Dharavi could be integrated in mainstream Mumbai. However his plans and ideas of sustainable development based on liberal values has been largely accepted and will see the light of the day by the end of this year. His thrust has always been on alleviation on poverty and making the city and country slum free. His ideas are based on public-private participation and he has been appointed as advisor to the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is also a successful businessman and has been in the business of making luxury homes in Louisville, USA. He is the most sought after man by governments of various countries across the world and had recently been invited by the South Africa government to share his slum redevelopment ideas.

Looking forward to your feedbacks. Thank you.

K ABBAS DODHIYA
Mumbai
+91 9820036543