Social justice expert to address human rights challenges in India

A Jesuit priest who is a native of India will discuss his home country’s human rights challenges and his concerns of how fundamentalist groups and ideologies affect the secular and pluralist fabric of the Indian Constitution. Rev. Cedric Prakash, S.J., will deliver “Sixty Years of the Indian Constitution: Challenges and Concerns,” on Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Alumni Memorial Union, room 157, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Prakash has dedicated his life to the promotion of human rights and social justice issues. After being ordained a priest in 1985, he served as the director of the St. Xavier’s Social Service Society from 1987 until 2001, which provides education and development support to the poor and marginalized in the slums of Ahmedabad and the rural areas of the state of Gujarat. In 2001 Prakash founded Prashant, a center dedicated to the promotion of human rights, justice and peace, also based in Ahmedabad, where he continues to serve as the director.

After communal violence in Gujarat took the lives of hundreds of Indian civilians, mainly Muslims, in 2002, Prakash was invited to testify before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C., and continues to be involved in helping the victims of Gujarat. He has been recognized by heads of state, including the Presidents of India and France - he received the Kabir Puraskar award in 1994 and the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2006. He has also been recognized by the Indian Muslim Council-USA, which gave him the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award in 2003.  

Prakash is currently serving as the 2009-10 Wade Scholar at Marquette University. The Wade Scholar is supported through an endowment established in 1988 by the Marquette Jesuit community to honor Father Francis C. Wade, S.J., a member of the Marquette Jesuit community and Department of Philosophy for more than 40 years. As the Wade Scholar, Prakash will present to classes, visit with student groups and meet with faculty engaged with social justice and human rights, in addition to his public lecture. He will be on campus through the end of the year

Media wishing to speak to Rev. Prakash should contact Andy Brodzeller in the Office of Marketing and Communication, at (414) 288-0286 or andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu.