IV Intl. Conf. on Dowry and Bride-Burning in India

[Enrica Garzilli]

*      *IV International Conference on Dowry & Bride-Burning in India*

Sponsored jointly by Harvard University (Department of Sanskrit and
Indian Studies) and International Society Against Dowry and
Bride-Burning in India, Inc. (ISADABBI), the "Fourth International
Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning in India" will be held at Harvard
University on December 5, 1998.

Place: Boylston Hall, Harvard University
Date: December 5, 1998
Time of Registration: 9:00 AM
Registration Fee
(includes lunch, donated by "Bombay Club", Harvard Square, Cambridge,
Massachusetts):
                      $5.00 for students, $15.00 for others.

**Inauguration by Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Social Welfare and**
                    **Empowerment, Government of India**

Conference Participants:

Dr. Michael Witzel, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Mrs. Vimi Verma, Sudbury, MA, USA
Mr. Himendra Thakur, International Society Against
                     Dowry & Bride-Burning in India, Inc., USA
Dr. Arvind Sharma, McGill University, Canada (Tentative)
Dr. Bishakha Sen, College of Business Administration, Orlando, FL, USA
Dr. Vijayendra Rao, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Dr. Bisraam Rambilass, Durban University, South Africa
Dr. Sarla Patel, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
Dr. Werner Menski, London University, UK
Dr. Mahesh Mehta, Viswa Hindu Parishad, USA
Dr. Julia Leslie, London University, UK (Tentative)
Attorney Rani Jethmalani, New Delhi, India (Health permitting)
Dr. Enrica Garzilli, Perugia University, Italy
Attorney Manjaree Chowdhary, New Delhi, India
Ambassador Naresh Chandra, Washington DC, USA (Tentative)
Dr. Purushottama Bilimoria, Melbourne University, Australia
Mr. Satya Agarwala, Rochester, NY, USA

For details, please contact:
Dr. Michael Witzel
Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
<witzel at fas.harvard.edu>
Telephone: USA-617-496-2990

Ms Carol Spitzer
Department Administrator
Sanskrit and Indian Studies
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Telephone: USA-617-495-3295

The Conference offers a privilege of meeting the new leadership of the
Government of India. With the full support of the Cabinet of Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mrs. Maneka Gandhi has created history in
her Ministry of Social Welfare and Empowerment. Just in six months since
assuming office in March 1998, she has implemented 37 centrally
sponsored schemes, upgraded the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, and
successfully launched World's largest program for rehabilitation of the
disabled with a Rupees 440 million national project called the "Bridge
Course". We are very sincerely hoping that with her golden touch, we
will be able to implement the plans and programs to save the lives of
the dowry victims in India.

The tragedy of dowry and bride-burning in India is as enormous as that
of the land-mines which has horrified the world. It is now estimated
that about 25,000 brides are killed or disabled every year in India over
dowry disputes, which exceed the estimated 21,000 civilians killed or
disabled in land-mine accidents every year all over the world. Moreover,
land-mine accidents are NOT culpable homicides. Bride-burning is a
culpable homicide, perpetrated by intimate members of the victims
marital family, who do not display any sense of guilt.

To understand, and to draw world attention to the problem, the "First
International Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning" was held at Harvard
Law School in 1995. In this Conference, a "Six Point Program to
Eradicate Dowry and Bride-Burning in India" was adopted, which was
further revised at the "Second" and the "Third International Conference"
held at Harvard and London University in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

One of the major goals of the forthcoming "Fourth International
Conference" will be to discuss and finalize the "Six Point Program" and
make plans to lauch the "Program" in India next year.

PRE-CONFERENCE PANEL DISCUSSIONS:

A series of "Pre-Conference Panel Discussions" are planned to be held on
November 8, November 22 and November 29, 1998, at 12:30 PM each day, at
Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University,
2 Divinity Avenue (Rooms 213 & 214), Cambridge, Massachusetts,
to discuss the "Six Point Program".

Panel Discussion on November 15, 1998 will be held in Worcester,
Massachusetts. For time & location, please contact Mr. Himendra Thakur
at <hthakur at shore.net> or at telephone USA-978-546-7354
on or before November 10, 1998.

Panel Discussions on the "Six Point Program", "Legal Approach" and
"Economic Approach" will be held on December 4, 1998 at Boylston Hall,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, at 6:30 PM.

There are no registration fee for Panel Discussions. However, it will be
helpful if you contact Mr. Himendra Thakur at <hthakur at shore.net> or at
telephone USA-978-546-7354, at least five days before the date of the
panel discussion.

For a copy of the revised draft of the "Six Point Program to Eradicate
Dowry and Bride-Burning in India", or for any other information about
the Conference, please contact Mr. Himendra Thakur at
<hthakur at shore.net> or at telephone USA-978-546-7354.
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--
Dr. Enrica Garzilli                 University of Perugia (ITALY)
Istituto di Linguistica                      Piazza Morlacchi, 11
06123 Perugia                  Tel./Fax: +39-75-585 3755 (office)
Editor-in-Chief,
Intl. Journ. of Tantric Studies, Journal of S. Asia Women Studies
htpp://www.asiatica.org/
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