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| Thursday, 29 July 2004 |
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Today is the fifth death anniversary of Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam: Remembering a Peace Entrepreneur A tribute from Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Neelan Tiruchelvam was known in South Asia and around the world as a brilliant constitutional lawyer, human rights advocate, Parliamentarian, and the founder of two of the South Asian region's most respected institutions: the Law and Society Trust and the International Centre for Ethnic Studies. He also served on the International Council of Minority Rights Group International, a London-based human rights organization. Neelan's powerful dedication to human rights and his innovative approaches to making peace were the inspiration for launching Ashoka's programs in his home country Sri Lanka in December 2003. Neelan symbolizes Ashoka's search for social entrepreneurs in all societies. As an innovator across all sectors, Neelan is a paradigm of true social entrepreneurship - a model of what Ashoka seeks to esteem and inspire. It was a great loss, not just for his country, but all of humanity, when Neelan Tiruchelvam was assassinated on July 29, 1999. Ashoka is dedicating its New Fellow Induction, held in Mumbai on February 20, 2004, to him. Determination As with most Ashoka Fellows, Neelan's determination to change society was inspired by key people and events in his life. His father was a lawyer who did not take cases but fought for causes. He set an example for Neelan as a Parliamentarian and local government minister who advocated for the rights of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. While his mother headed the Sri Lankan Red Cross and represented it internationally, Neelan also admired his uncle - an historian and intellectual who was passionate about good governance - as he became the head of the civil service. The Tiruchelvam home was filled with lively debate, deep intellectual exploration and a constant stream of national and international guests, leaders and opinion makers from every possible field. Ashoka's Fellows have passed two critical "knock out" tests to be considered among the world's leading social entrepreneurs. First, they must have a new idea - a strategy that solves a large-scale social problem by moving society forward where it is "stuck." Second, they must possess strong ethical fibre-impeccable integrity, which enforces the positive nature of what they do. Neelan Tiruchelvam embodied both. Wellspring of ideas Neelan's mind was a wellspring of ideas, fuelled by boundless passion and energy. Like Ashoka Fellows, he was a "serial innovator", always with a new concept, a new direction, or a new initiative. He continuously developed new strategies for defusing the ethnic tensions in his society and others. Bringing the best minds and hearts together, he changed laws and behaviours to achieve justice for all. As one Ashoka Fellow expresses it, social entrepreneurs "see the way, show the way, and bring everyone else along." Neelan's success in doing this led to the building of two high impact institutions and inspired countless others. Neelan earned immense trust and deep respect from all he touched. His heartfelt empathy for all who suffered - those he knew and those he didn't -inspired his role in society as an activist. He sought to understand and institutionally challenge the social causes and moral implications of such suffering. His love of constitutional ideas was not a petty partisan or intellectual exercise. He studied constitutions as living embodiments of the moral firmaments of a society. Never a cruel word, raised voice, or harsh gesture: non-violence was the central tenet of Neelan's life and work, inspired by another great peacemaker Mahatma Gandhi, whose own assassination coincided with Neelan's birthday, when he was just a boy. As Neelan carried forth the torch of peace, his commitment to non-violence fostered his scholarship, drove his activism and constituted the core faith of his political beliefs. Re-enacting this commitment through each and every interaction. Neelan never wavered from this path. In July 1999, Neelan was due to arrive on sabbatical at Harvard University in the United States. So strong was his commitment to fighting for the rights of others, he stayed in Sri Lanka to shepherd a gender equality bill through Parliament. Neelan was proud to be a feminist and activist. Personal risk Neelan's work put him at great personal risk. Neelan recognized a historical moment in his country and took every opportunity to strike at peace. His commitment to radical but peaceful change set him at odds with those whose positions were more entrenched. Possessing the determination of a great entrepreneur, he was never distracted from his goal and could not rest until his vision of a society free of racism and communal tensions was realized: an entrepreneur's view is long-term. The impact of Neelan's work was not only national, but global. Neelan stood as a keystone in reconciliation among Sri Lanka's Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities. He held together Sri Lanka's human rights community and acted as a channel between Sri Lanka and the international community. He was the only Parliamentarian who had the trust and respect to initiate an all-party dialogue for a political consensus to settle ethnic conflict. As member of the Presidential Law Commission and the Presidential Commission on Democratic Decentralisation and Devolution, Neelan worked with President Kumaratunga to devise a plan to transform Sri Lanka into a federation of eight regions. His legacy also lives on through constitutions outside of his own country from South Africa to Kazakhstan. Millions live securely under the constitutions he helped to write. Boundless energy Neelan's boundless energy and his constant attention to the voices of young people inspired one of his greatest legacies: motivating and mobilising youth from all ethnic communities in Sri Lanka, and around the world. He helped them realize that they could reform the world through willpower and hard work. Through his innovative thinking, he saw young people as the solution for peace and the hope of Sri Lanka. He challenged them to take charge. He sent them off to study. They came back. Neelan started his own youth liberation movement. Ashoka dedicates our New Fellow Induction Ceremony to Neelan Tiruchelvam to salute him as one of the world's great leading social entrepreneurs. Ashoka Fellows share Neelan's dedication, quality and integrity and inspire all of us to change our worlds. |
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