Commemoration of King's Indian Pilgrimage: Friday 13 February

[Clayborne Carson]

After arriving late last night after a long flight from San Francisco by way of Chicago, I had breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Delhi and then at 10 am went to the U. S. Embassy for orientation meetings. Peter Eisenhauer escorted me for brief overview with Steve and other State Department officials.

Then I went to left to attend afternoon sessions at the International Seminar on the Centenary of Hind Swaraj held at the India International Centre. The sessions I attended did not address the contemporary relevance of Gandhi's overall critique of technology but instead interpreted Hing Swaraj as a prescient critique of centralized government and globalization. At a session called "Field Reports on Gram Swaraj Experiments," several speakers pointed to the lack of progress in India toward Gandhi's ideal of local self-governance. Sudha Reddy of Bangalore was particularly impassioned. A pessimistic tone was also evident as I listened to parts of sessions on "Human Rights and Social Justice," "Global Futures 2030," "Swaraj, State and the Marginalised."

After returning to the Hyatt, had a pleasant talk with Mansi Thapliyal, a dedicated activists with Ravi Gulati's Manzil youth group here in Delhi.