C.N.N. Raju

C. N. N. Raju gives a concise first-person account of the growth of IARF in India. Beginning with his involvement in the Brahmo Samaj, he recalls efforts following an IARF conference in Kolkata to establish branches across the country, eventually building a network of roughly twenty-two local branches and creating a national chapter with its own constitution and registration.

Raju describes serving as national secretary and helping coordinate international and regional activity from the 1980s onward. He recalls IARF conferences in India and the development of a South Asia coordinating structure in 1993. Although brief, the recording is a valuable oral-history source on how IARF moved from relationships with individual reform movements to a more organised Indian and South Asian presence.

This booklet was released on December 13, 2025, to mark the joint celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) and the 25th Anniversary of the United Religions Initiative (URI) in Bengaluru. Published by Dr. C.N.N. Raju on behalf of the Bangalore CC of URI and the Bengaluru Chapter of IARF, the collection features messages and reflections from various interfaith leaders, including IARF Past President Wytske Dijkstra and URI Founder Bishop William Swing. The publication commemorates the event titled "Sammilana," organized in collaboration with the Karnataka State Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and Seshadripuram College.