Report of the 7th National Congress of JAAI which met on the 4th & 5th of January, 2014 at St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad

Photo: The new committee of JAAI (Jesuit Alumni Associations of India) with left of Alain Deneef (President of WUJA) Naresh Gupta, former President of JAAI, and, right, Shapath Shah, new President of JAAI

Like all Jesuit functions, this meeting also began with the blessings of the Almighty in the form of a prayer dance, after which there was lighting of the lamp.

The theme of this meet was “Jesuit Alumni Towards Vibrant India”. The quotes of the some of the members on the days:

Fr. Norbert Menezes
If you are on the right track, you will be run over if you just sit there.

Fr. Edward Mudavassery
For a Vibrant India, we need a model which is holistic, intrinsic and not materialistic. To progress, head for GNH (Gross National Happiness) rather than GNP (Gross National Product).

Fr. Francis Parmar
Vibrant India can’t be achieved without vibrant world and this can be achieved through the `spirit of teamwork’, which also happens to be the motto of JAAG.
The chief Guest, Mr. Narendra Somani, Chairman, TGB group of companies said, “When one is educated, he is sensitive towards others. We as educationists need to identify the `sparks’ in an average student and help him to be vibrant.”

Dr. Sudarshan Iyengar, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith, was the keynote speaker of the day. He said, “Many changes are coming in our country and this is for the good of an ordinary man.” He added, “Vibrant India cannot be different from vibrant democracy and today we are on the path of strengthening our democracy.” This he said can be done by JAAI as Jesuit education stresses on fraternity and equality. An individual is in focus in Jesuit education. He also said, “Today education is at the head only, we need to bring it to our hands and our hearts.” For this, we need self-regulation and self-regulation is but difficult and needs to be exercised till the end of our lives.” He then said, “Jesuit education works towards its attainment. It is our moral, ethical and functional responsibility towards vibrant democracy and vibrant India.

The first session of the day was on `Sustainable development and challenges for the future’ and the resource person was Mr. Kartikeya Sarabhai. He said, “We are facing a crisis as we are consuming much more than our planet Earth can sustain.” He then talked about traditional education and modern education and said that today, the teacher’s role is of a facilitator and not an information provider. He added, “Take what is best from the world but don’t be imitative. Learn and accept the best of all cultures and meet the need of hour.” He also said, “As we move towards sustainability of environment, we need to stress on building values and Jesuits already stress on it.

The next session was a panel discussion on Women empowerment and social responsibility. The panelists were Fr. Jimmy Dabhi, Ms. Swati Gautam and Dr. Rita Kothari alongwith advocate Percy Kavina. The discussion was on gender justice, inequalities of women, their rights etc.

Mr. Percy Kavina
Men and women are not born equal, they are born with equal rights.

Dr. Rita Kothari
The moment you as a woman realize something wrong is done to you, the empowerment has begun.

Ms. Swati Gautam
Empowerment has everything to do with the state of mind. It only needs patience and a lot of focus.

Fr. Jimmy Dabhi
No on negotiates for no one and no one empowers no one. Women Empowerment cannot be looked at in isolation, it is affected by society. Gender development is development for all. It is power-sharing.

The next day’s session began with a talk on Interrelationship and Networking, by resource person – Dr. Dinesh O. Shah. He said, “Be not a preacher, but a practitioner. Try to involve others in your activity to serve your purpose and make selfless efforts to achieve your goals.” “Be willing to give and not count the cost.” This also happens to be the motto of JAAI. He added, “Religion is not rituals, its what you practice in your `Karma.’ “Networking”, he said, “can take place at any level and an alumni is the best way to begin with. It is difficult to get the first job done, then the rest is easy.” He also said, “Networking is not a task you undertake today or tomorrow, but how you live your life. The fruits of networking are not instanteneous, it comes after a long period of time but the goodwill goes a long way in life.”

Finally, the WUJA President, Mr. Alain Deneef addressed the gathering. He said, “India is the powerhouse of Jesuits and the world counts on them.” He finally said, “Be like a candle which has an ambition to illuminate a cabin and the world will automatically be illuminated.”