"Power to the Powerless" is the theme of the "Dalit and Minorities International Conference" to be held on December 27-28 to discuss the problems of these two communities.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the conference, which and chaired to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, the conference will be attended by former PMs VP Singh (as chief guest on December 27 ), IK Gujral, 65 foreign delegates from the Dalit and Muslim communities, several ministers, governors, MPs, party leaders and scholars.
While expressing her inability to attend the conference due to previous commitments, Sonia Gandhi has sent a message for the success of the meet that is expected to formulate concrete proposals for empowering the powerless.
"The conference will provide an effective platform for the discussion on issues concerning social justice and economic empowerment for Dalits and minorities - issues which are of vital national interest and are particularly close to my heart. Equally important, it will raise general awareness of these issues and I hope will also encourage a much closer involvement of our society as a whole with the problems of inequality and oppression faced by the most vulnerable sections of our society. India cannot truly prosper and progress unless these issues are addressed," she said in her message.