COVA’s Grassroots Peace Model Credited For Hyderabad’s Communal Calm

The programme on Sunday brought together former bureaucrats, academics, volunteers, and human rights activists to reflect on COVA’s work in Hyderabad and beyond. Speakers pointed to its role in violence prevention, education, financial inclusion, and multi-faith outreach, calling it a “proven model for building trust in tense areas.”

Over 250 volunteers and partners were felicitated. A documentary by the Maulana Azad National Urdu University’s mass communication department and a book titled ‘Chronicle of COVA@30’ were released, tracing COVA’s engagement across nine districts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and five other states, as well as national and UN-level policy contributions.

COVA’s 2013 study on financial inclusion, prepared for the G20 summit in Russia, led to the adoption of nine of its 12 recommendations by the Union finance ministry, five of which are now part of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), or Mudra scheme, a Central government scheme to provide loans to micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) in the non-agriculture sector. Its Compassionate Citizenship Programme, now approved by the state government, is being implemented in 3,000 schools to promote civic responsibility and empathy among students.

Former DGP Swaranjit Sen, ex-CS Somesh Kumar, Prof. Haragopal, and others spoke about the need to expand such community-focused programmes to prevent unrest and counter growing social division.