US priest preaches Gandhi in Bengal

(November 14, 2009) A Gandhian Catholic priest from Michigan in the United States visited a village in West Bengal to strengthen people’s non-violent resistance to a planned nuclear power project in their village. Father Charles Peter Dougherty talked to people of Haripur about the value of non-violence and the strategy and tactics they should adopt to resist the federal government’s move to set up the nuclear plant. Father Dougherty is in India to receive this year’s Jamnalal Bajaj Award for promoting Gandhian thought and philosophy outside India. He visited the village in East Midnapore on November 10 to see how people were non-violently facing the power of the state. “I came to India to receive an award. And I wanted to see places where people are fighting for their rights in a non-violent manner. So my friends took me to Haripur,” said the Catholic priest. The central government plans to set up a nuclear power plant in the village with the help of a Russian firm. The plans were firmed up two weeks ago ignoring people resistance that began when the plan was initiated in 2006. “It was a wonderful experience meeting the villagers. I told them a few things and learned a lot myself from them. I came to know how three years ago thousands of people had challenged a police force with non-violence. It was really remarkable,” said Father Dougherty.Debashis Shyamal, a leader of the non-violent movement in the village, said the priest told them how to face the police in a non-violent way, how to prevent policeman from attacking one of them and how to control a fellow activist if he loses his cool and goes to attack the police.