Seeking Support for Dr. Ambedkar’s Birth Anniversary Celebration at the UN


To,
H.E. António Guterres
United Nations Secretary General
Office of the Secretary General
United Nations
New York NY 10017

Dear Honorable Sir,
It is with deep anguish and mounting concern that we, a worldwide community that reveres democratic values, condemn the act of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in not only failing to support the127th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar at the General Assembly hall of the United Nations on 14th April 2018 but also further influencing the UN to cancel the pre-planned event.

Dr. Ambedkar was the chief Architect of the Constitution of India, the biggest democracy in the world. All his life, he stood steadfast for liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all Indians. He is venerated across the globe for the humanist values he personified and for his rigorous commitment to social justice and the upliftment of historically marginalized peoples everywhere. His contributions to India’s making are immeasurable and ones that
every democratic citizen holds dear.

His birth anniversary has been celebrated since 2016 at the UN and this would have been a historic year due to its planned celebration at the General Assembly hall. Many large American corporate stakeholders, including IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, as well as dignitaries and people from all over the world had made plans to attend this event. The event organizers had chosen the theme of the celebration, “Artificial Intelligence Solutions for Humanity,” as an inclusive and forward-thinking platform to commemorate Dr. Ambedkar’s determination to improve our collective existence.

Imagine our immense disappointment then, that just three weeks prior to the celebration, the Mission of India at the UN is withdrawing their support and asking the UN to cancel the event. This is an attack on human values and a deliberate stifling of free speech, not to mention an attempt to erase a seminal human rights leader from the world stage.

We strongly urge the United Nations to continue to provide their support to the organizers to jointly celebrate this event as per their prior approval and send a strong message to the entire world including India for advocating democratic and human values.

We look forward to your favorable reply at the earliest.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Worldwide Human Rights Organizations

“Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards our fellow men.” -B.R. Ambedkar.

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