Dimapur, March 8 (MExN): The North East Christian University (NECU) organised a one-day seminar on March 7 with Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy, Asia-ADF International, and Mr Vishal Arora, journalist, editor and media educator, as resource persons.
In the first session, Tehmina Arora spoke on the topic “Constitution, Freedom and Human Rights: Challenges and Responses”, focusing on the Fundamental Rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution of India.
She laid special emphasis on Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of religion, and explained various aspects related to its interpretation, misuse and understanding. She also highlighted the work undertaken by her organisation in advocating for the rights of minority groups.
Referring to anti-conversion laws enacted in several states, she expressed concern that such laws have, in certain instances, been used on trivial grounds to create difficulties for minority communities.
She further observed that depending on geography, any group or religion can become a minority and therefore be vulnerable to discrimination or injustice. Stressing the need for religious tolerance, she said it is the duty of every citizen to uphold freedom of faith and belief.
Concluding her address, she referred to Article 32 of the Constitution, described by Dr B R Ambedkar as the “heart and soul” of the Constitution, which provides citizens the right to approach the judiciary for constitutional remedies.
In the second session, Vishal Arora spoke on “The Power of Narrative Journalism”. He explained the distinction between traditional journalism and narrative journalism, noting that while traditional journalism focuses on presenting facts and figures, narrative journalism emphasises storytelling that seeks to bring a human dimension to issues and statistics.
He also elaborated on various aspects involved in narrative journalism and said he and his colleagues are working towards developing a new genre in journalism that could be described as “cinematic journalism”, combining narrative visual storytelling with elements of filmmaking.
Both resource persons also responded to questions from the audience following their presentations.
The first session was led by Dr Albert Chawang, while the opening prayer was offered by Dr A Pillarson, both assistant professors at the Centre for Advanced Religious Studies (CARS), NECU.
Speeches were delivered by Prof Darlando T Khathing, Pro-Chancellor, NECU, and Huzo Meru, Director of Operations, NECU. The second session was chaired by Dr Kangzangding Thou, Director (Academics), NECU. The seminar was attended by members of the NECU Governing Council, along with faculty members, staff and students of the university and participants from various theological institutions in Dimapur and Chumoukedima districts.
