Professional journalist and occasional documentary filmmaker John Dayal has been a human rights activist since the early Seventies. His book on the Indian Emergency (1975-77) is a major document of that period. He edited the monumental Gujarat 2002 – Untold and Retold Stories, on the anti-Muslim genocide in the state of Gujarat. His latest book is A Matter of Equity –Interrogating Indian Secularismpublished in 2007. He is a Member of the National Integration Council, chaired by the Prime Minister of India. John was National President of the All India Catholic Union [2004-2008], the country’s main Catholic Laity movement, and is Founder Secretary General of the All India Christian Council. An internationally respected and honoured Journalist and Human Rights and Peace activist, John has spent years developing his database on peace issues, particularly right wing violence against Christians in India. John is currently researching Hindutva and its interface with Christianity in contemporary India. He can be contacted at john.dayal@gmail.com.
John Dayal
I cannot swim. I do paddle a little, and sometimes even float on my back if the water is tranquil. I none the less took courage and “dived” into the azure deep, picked up the lovely coral from the absolutely white sand under water even as a hundred colourful butterflies, masquerading as so many tiny tropical fish, fluttered around. Thankfully, the waters were but four foot deep for miles around in the lagoon. I still have that sparkling white coral branch displayed in my living room, a memory of my visit to the Maldives, a string of coral atolls just south of India’s Lakshadweep Island group. Continue reading →
