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The Delhi Declaration

 

WE Asian youth from twenty countries assembled here. in Delhi, on this great continent of India, issue a call to the youth of the world.

Our call is to do God’s will by total commitment to the struggles of all peoples for justice.

Our call is to organise, to mobilise, to transform our societies and the global order.

Our call is to discover a deep spirituality to sustain us in adversity.

In the vastness of this country we have journeyed to stand with the people and listen to their cries of suffering and their shouts for freedom. From the fisherpeople of Kerala and the landless labourers of Tamil Nadu to the urban poor of Calcutta and Bombay we have stood in silent witness to their oppression.

But now we speak out with one voice and gather up their injustice with that of others from around the Asia-Pacific region who struggle for justice and self-determination:

Tamils in Sri Lanka,

Kanaks in New Caledonia,

the people of East Timor,

the victims of industrial pollution in Minamata,

the youth movements in Korea and the Philippines.

Their representatives have come among us in Delhi as messengers from afar yet as persons in whom we recognise the shining light of commitment to human struggle.  They have come as a few representing the many who, all over Asia in many situations, are rising in ferment against the principalities and powers of this age.  With them we cry out against those who oppress and dominate, those who obstruct God's will: the superpowers and their corporations, local elites and their military forces, church leaders and their passive faith.

We have not yielded to defeat or cynicism.  Together in Delhi we have sought out the promise of Asian ideology, theology and political vision; together we have advanced the movement of women to be equal participants in the task of social transformation; together we have grasped the opportunities of networking between peoples' movements; together we have defined the participation of youth in society as a process of self-determination which overcomes social control; and together we have established an agenda for Asian ecumenical youth and student movements.

Through drama and music, through prayer and lively debate we have sought to discern God's will.  We acknowledge our own lack of insight and our inability to give ourselves, our whole lives in a generous and joyous spirit.  We admit that we are not always open to the unexpected and disturbing will of God.

But here in Delhi we have renewed our faith, celebrated our youth and derived strength from each other's commitment.  We now return to our own countries and our own struggles confident of mutual support not only from other Asian movements but from Latin America and the Pacific, Europe and North America.

Now we take up the challenge to make our vision of God's justice and peace into reality.  THY WILL BE DONE.

 

Asia Youth Assembly

Delhi, October 9, 1984