Mahatma Gandhi News Digest, Germany : Issue for April 30 – May 6, 2007
Salt March unites South Africans in Durban
SABC News – South Africa – May 6, 2007
Activists who participated in the Salt March in Durban today have lit a torch for non-violence, unemployment and a non-racial democratic South Africa. Scores of people participated in the 23km march from Phoenix to Battery beach to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful resistance movement. Ela Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, says the marchers exchanged gifts to maintain unity in South Africa.
The main Salt March takes place in India but is also observed in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The first Salt March was organised by Gandhi in 1930 and was known as the Dandi March.
The Salt Satyagraha, also known as the Salt March to Dandi, was an act of protest against the British salt tax in colonial India. Mahatma Gandhi along with his followers, walked from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat, to make salt, large numbers of Indians following him of their own accord. The British could do nothing because Gandhi did not actually invite others to follow him.
The march lasted from March 12, 1930, to April 6, 1930. Gandhi was arrested as a result of the march. When the other marchers continued with their protests, they were confronted by police. Two people were killed, 300 hospitalised and 60 000 arrested
The Dalai Lama speaks in Chicago
Daily Southtown – USA – by Donna Vickroy – May 6, 2007
Today, his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will speak to sold-out crowds in Chicago.
For the unlucky who couldn’t get tickets to the two Millennium Park sessions, we offer this small concession: a snapshot of the Tibetan spiritual leader and an abbreviated preview of what he’s likely to speak about.
With information culled from His Holiness’ official Web site and with the insight of Dr. Michael Bathgate, comparative religions professor at Saint Xavier University, we have put together a brief question-and-answer feature. Here are 10 things to know about the celebrated Dalai Lama.
1. Who is the Dalai Lama?
Tenzin Gyatso was born July 6, 1935, in Taktser, Amdo, Tibet.
2. What is the Dalai Lama?
He is believed to be the manifestation of the Bodhisattvas of Compassion as well as the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who’ve postponed nirvana so they can be reborn and serve humanity. Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th such leader.
3. How did he become the Dalai Lama?
He was recognized as a small child. Apparently, before a Dalai Lama dies he leaves clues for finding his reincarnated being. Among those clues, the shape or color of the house he will be reborn into. The candidate must also be able to identify objects that were owned by the previous Dalai Lama.
4. What kind of training/education does he have?
He has essentially a doctorate in Buddhism philosophy. His education included courses in art, music, poetry, logic and medicine.
5. What is his mission?
The Dalai Lama has three main commitments in life: to promote compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and self-contentment; to promote religious harmony and understanding among the world’s major religions; and to represent and act on behalf of Tibetans in their struggle for justice. (This third commitment will end once a mutually acceptable agreement between China and Tibet has been reached.)
6. What is his message?
“From what I’ve heard and read, the Dalai Lama is very interested in connecting with the West. He’s very interested to show that the concerns of Buddhism are compatible with the basic western concerns,” Bathgate said.
It’s very easy to think of Tibet as Shangri-la or a Hermit Kingdom, but the most important things he emphasizes are that Buddhism is not profoundly different from western philosophical traditions that see human happiness as a primary goal and that Buddhist ethics have a lot to say about rampant consumerism associated with the west.
“Consumer goods offer us everything right?” Bathgate said. “But happiness is the one thing they cannot provide.”
7. How can we find happiness?
In the Noble Truths, the Dalai Lama explains that, “Happiness essentially comes not from getting what we want, but from wanting what we get,” Bathgate said.
8. Why do so many Chicagoans care about what the Dalai Lama has to say?
“He’s a very charismatic fellow. He’s very good at presenting what are some uncomfortable truths in accessible, non-threatening ways. He’s very good at boiling things down to their marrow.”
He’s also the exiled leader of his people, Bathgate said. He speaks out against tyranny and that puts him in league with Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi.
Perhaps even more importantly, Bathgate said, “Who doesn’t want to be happy?”
9. Will Tibet ever regain its independence again?
The Chinese entered Tibet in 1959, forcing the Dalai Lama to flee and settle in northern India. “Tibet may seem like an isolated place, but it is located along the Silk Route,” Bathgate said. “That has made it a prize for centuries. A lot of people have marched through it.”
Bathgate doesn’t hold out much hope that Tibet can ever go back to the way it was in the 1950s. “There are schools set up all over the world to help teach and maintain Tibetan culture and traditions but it’s very different to be a Tibetan in Chicago and a Tibetan in Tibet.”
10. How can I learn more?
Visit www.dalailama.com.
Also, the Dalai Lama has published more than 30 books. Interested newcomers might consider his autobiography, “My Land and My People: The Original Autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet” (Warner Books; 1997).
Movies include 1997’s “Seven Years in Tibet” and “Kundun,” as well as several documentaries, including “What Remains of Us,” (2005) and “In Search of Kundun with Martin Scorsese” (1999).
Gandhi walk to salute past heroes
IOL – South Africa – by Rivonia Naidu – May 4, 2007
Dressed in a crisp, white dhoti (traditional Indian man’s garment), reading glasses and aided by a walking stick, Thakorbhai Ramjee could easily pass for passive resistance leader Mahatma Gandhi.
The resemblance is so clear that for about 15 years, Ramjee, 72, has impersonated Gandhi in various Gandhi marches and walks.
This Sunday from 8am, he will participate in the third annual Mahatma Gandhi Salt March, walking from the Phoenix Settlement in Inanda to Battery Beach in Durban. The 22km march is a re-enactment of the original event in India in 1930.
Ramjee said what started out as a parent’s involvement in their child’s extra-curricular activities, turned into a lifelong passion for him.
“The beginning of my Gandhi days started with the Durban scout group, The Surat Hindu Scout Boys, when I used to take part in their annual Gandhi Walk. Over the years my popularity grew and I was also invited to participate in the Gandhi Walk in Lenasia. This will be my third year portraying Gandhi in the Salt March.
He said: “I love what I do and I do it to inspire the youth to adopt the Gandhian philosophy and principles in these turbulent and fast-changing times.”
The happily married father of four said he is not 100 percent like Gandhi, but tries his best to subscribe to the teachings of the “great leader as well as people like Princess Diana and Albert Luthuli”.
Speaking on the name change of Point Road to Mahatma Gandhi Road, he said: “I’m not happy about it all. It is a dishonour to Gandhi.”
This year’s salt march will also commemorate other significant anniversaries, including the 30th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko, the 40th anniversary of ANC president Albert Luthuli’s death, the 60th anniversary of the “three doctors pact” signed in 1947 by AB Xuma, Monty Naicker and Yusuf Dadoo, and the 90th anniversary of Oliver Tambo’s birth.
The chairperson of the salt march’s organising committee, Ronnie Govender, said: “Commemorating these anniversaries will help educate people on the relevance of the anniversaries and the positive effect these individuals have had in achieving peaceful change in South Africa.”
Blood written commitment for Tibet
Phayul.com – India – by Dr. Mahesh Yadav – May 4, 2007
On the occasion of Lord Buddhas 2050th birth anniversary, Dr. Mahesh Yadav, an ardent supporter of Tibetan freedom movement, writes his commitment for Tibet with his own Blood
Bhopal(India): May 03/: Dr. Mahesh Yadav, founder convener of Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement (India) (MGTFMI), while celebrating the 2050th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, on the 2nd may, 2007, as “Tibet Freedom Appeal Day” had made an appeal to the World for the freedom of Tibet.
In his appeal, Dr Yadav writes If we have to sustain the peace in the World, we have to follow the peace, non-violent and truths as a way of life path showed by Lord Buddha on us and for that it is necessary for us to save the Tibet from the clutches of china, then only the World can be saved.
Seeing the increasing of violence and terror in the World, it is only the path of truth, peace and non-violence adopted by His Holiness Dalai Lama the last resort for a better world says Dr Yadav in his appeal. If the path is to be saved, then it is a must to save Tibet and must be made free from the bloody clutches of china” he puts it.
For the sake of Tibet, one day fast was observed along with offering of prayers here. Mr Ajay Jain the working president of MGTFMI, Peace ambassador Ram Bansal, Amrish Patel, R.P. Dixit, Santosh Bajapai along with other Indian supporters also participated in the event.
Apart from appealing to the World Community and Mr Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of U.N.; following is the commitment of Dr Yadav for Tibet written with great profundity out of his own injected-out blood
BLOOD WRITTEN: My Commitment for Tibet
Neither I am a Tibetan nor a Buddhist, even then I am into a purely Humanity and peace based never ending relationship with Tibetans”.
Being deeply moved by His Holiness Dalai Lama’s truthful and non-violent way of Tibet’s liberation struggle based Gandhian way, I dedicating support him in his cause.
I am putting a commitment before World Community and Secretary General of U.N.O., Hon’ble Mr. Ban Ki Moon that ” if China releases the youngest prisoner H.H. Panchen Lama and other Tibetan prisoners and free the Tibet with creating it as a place for ” Heaven of Peace on earth” like that Holy Vatican City for Buddhists, then I am ready to undergo any punishment let it be life imprisonment or death penalty, as desired by the China”.
Man of peace, message of change
The Beaverton Valley Times – USA – by Ray Pitz – May 3, 2007
More than a year ago, when International School of Beaverton Principal Sheila Baumgardner was asked by the Beaverton School Board what she would like the name of her school to be, she had a ready answer.
If I had my way, it would be the Gandhi School, recalled Baumgardner, referring to one of the most influential and revered supporters of non-violence in the last century. Gandhi and what he has done in his life is very near and dear to me.
On Friday, Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Mathatma Gandhi, spoke to both ISBs global studies students, and later to the entire school, highlighting the work of his grandfather and his work fostering a philosophy of non-violent action.
Gandhi described his grandfather as being only a mediocre student who went to England to obtain his law degree, returning to India where he failed miserably in his chosen profession.
Mahatma Gandhi eventually found work in South Africa, working with a merchant who needed legal assistance.
Within a week of working there, he was thrown off the train because of the color of his skin, Gandhi told students. And that was the turning point when he asked what should we do in such circumstances?
Gandhi said his grandfather took his anger and transformed it into something positive.
Later, when his grandfather was beaten by a group of four to five whites, Mahatma Gandhi was invited to the police station to press charges once police found the suspects.
He declined to do so, instead telling them, Im going to forgive you, said Gandhi.
Beaten up
Gandhi said his grandfather displayed unconditional love and taught those men a larger lesson.
These people, four of the five people, became his followers for the rest of his life, said Gandhi.
Asked about how he personally came to his views on non-violence having personally experienced racism and prejudice, he said it was a process.
As a 10-year-old boy living in South Africa, Arun Gandhi was the victim of violence several times, the first involving an encounter with white youths.
They beat me up bloody nose and kicked me all kinds of things, he recalled. He said he was both afraid and angry.
The same thing happened a short time later when he was beaten up by black youths.
Gandhi said he was so angry he began lifting weights hoping to become physically stronger. Instead, his parents decided to take the young Arun Gandhi to India to learn about peaceful resolution through his grandfather.
He said his grandfather encouraged him to keep an anger journal where he recorded the times he became angry with the intention of finding the solution to the problem.
Questions, answers
After Fridays lecture, Gandhi took questions from International School of Beaverton students.
Is violence part of human nature?
If it were, he said, there would be no military or martial arts academies. Anger, Gandhi explained, should be viewed like the trip switch on an electrical circuit, warning that something has gone wrong and its time to stop and take note.
Its not human nature, he said.
I dont think we can create a totally non-violent society, said Gandhi, adding, however, that people need to create a place where peace and harmony exist.
He used the example of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as an example of when self-defense could be necessary.
Is world peace possible?
We lack that determination to create peace and harmony in our society, he said. Theres nothing impossible in this world.
Throughout the years, Gandhi said he has spoken to both the Israelis and Palestinians in his quest for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.
He was, in fact one of the last people to talk with Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, before he died.
Arafat asked him if he was so sure that nonviolence was effective and what would he do if he were in his place.
Gandhi said he told him he would have the Palestinian refugees in Amman, Jordan, and have them march peacefully to Palestine, showing everyone they were not carrying weapons.
If you lead a march like that to Palestine, would the Israelis kill (50,000) men, women and children? Would the world sit and watch?
Gandhi said it is his belief that no one would permit such killings.
What did he think about the movie of his grandfathers life?
Gandhi said when Hollywood announced the making of the 1982 movie, Gandhi, the Indian government agreed to pitch in $25 million to its production, something he vehemently opposed and wrote so in his newspaper, the Times of India, where he worked as a journalist.
However, before the movie was released, director Richard Attenborough screened the movie for the Gandhi family.
I was so moved by it that I went back and took my words back, he said.
While parts may not have been historically accurate, the film was an accurate reflection of his grandfathers personality, he said. In addition, the film for some is the only reason they are aware of what Mahatma Gandhi accomplished in his lifetime.
Later asked what he thought of the war in Iraq, Gandhi said, This is not a time for us to seek revenge.
He said were involved so deeply in the war now and it is just killing innocent people on both sides for no reason at all.
Peaceful world
After his global studies talk, Bryanna Dixon, a ninth-grader at the school, said she didnt know much about Mahatma Gandhi until watching the movie in her global studies class.
She said she spent a whole week figuring out a question to ask Arun Gandhi, choosing to ask him about whether he agreed with his grandfathers fasting.
I thought the answer really opened my eyes to the message Gandhi was trying to give out, she said. She also was surprised to hear that Arun Gandhi had lived with the elder Gandhi and that he personally experienced discrimination.
Ian Gulliver, another ninth-grader, said he previously wrote a paper on non-violence for global studies.
I got into Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Alfred Nobel and it was just really interesting, he said.
So what did he take away from Fridays talk?
I think a peaceful world is definitely achievable in our lifetime, said Gulliver.
Gandhi’s day out with animal world
earthtimes.org – USA – May 3, 2007
Kolkata, May 3 West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi visited an animal care hospital here to spend a quiet morning in the company of its inmates.
‘It is a national issue that people no longer care for stray animals. We have separated our own world from that of the animals. But we should always treat them with love and humanity,’ said the governor during a visit to Asia’s biggest animal hospital, ASHARI, Wednesday.
The love for animals of Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson is only natural. Remember, the Father of the Nation had once said: ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.’
The governor said that crimes against animals did not only mean slaughtering them: ‘If someone attacks animals or pokes them with sharp objects or sticks it’s also a form of cruelty.’
ASHARI is an animal shelter-cum-hospital set up by Maneka Gandhi’s People for Animal (PFA) over 4.4 acres of land on the eastern fringes of Kolkata.
Gopal Krishna Gandhi along with his wife Tara Gandhi toured the entire hospital premises and also inaugurated an ultrasound machine and a hydraulic operation table for cattle in the hospital.
Emphasising on the need for a humanitarian approach towards animals, Gopal Krishna Gandhi said, ‘We should not forget that we are also a part of this animal world. We must treat them sympathetically.’
Besides animal care, ASHARI is known for its research base to prevent zoonotic diseases affecting humans.
A brainchild of Maneka Gandhi and animal expert Debasish Chakrabarti, ASHARI is not only a composite animal hospital, it is another ‘green world within the world’ where multiple activities related to research for environmental purposes are undertaken.
Ours affectionately
Indian Express – India – by Peter Ronald DeSouza – May 3, 2007
The titles we gave our leaders marked the special bond we forged with them. That political culture has waned.
In the current mood of revisiting the tremors that 1857 set into motion I am tempted to look at the special relationship that developed between those who led us towards swaraj and those who followed them. In addition to this being a relationship of respect it was also one based on admiration and a deep affection. That it had these extra qualities can be seen from the titles that were given to these leaders and that soon became a part of the popular imagination. They were affectionate titles specially crafted to suit the personality of the person and to, in a sense, signify what they had come to mean to us.
These titles are not ones whose point of reference is the power of the state, or the glory of office, or the mark of high status, such as Dame or Lord or Baroness or Marquis or Viscount, or for that matter Knight of the Garter, but they draw their legitimacy from the love of the people. Thinking about this difference between our titles and their titles, and what it means in terms of a political culture, I am reminded of W.H. Morris-Jones long forgotten essay on the three idioms of politics in India. I wonder whether this act of giving titles, their ready acceptance by the public imagination and their being owned by the people, belongs to what Morris-Jones referred to as the saintly idiom of politics.
Take the greatest of titles, Mahatma, which Tagore bestowed on Gandhi and which, in the several decades since it was given, has become an integral part of the global vocabulary of politics. The world knows only one Mahatma, and can know only one. To those who know what it means, and who have reflected on this meaning, the reference to maha atma or great soul, produces a feeling of reverence that borders on the spiritual. Einstein quite rightly spoke for all of us when he said that generations yet unborn would marvel that a man such as this walked upon the earth. Mahatma was the only title that could be given a man who espoused a politics of non-violence and truth, who tirelessly and uncompromisingly lived a life embodying these values, and who steadfastly held that means are as important as ends. The Mahatma showed us a part that we did not follow, and that we foolishly called utopian, but today, when we are faced by senseless violence and grim ecological crises we suddenly see him as relevant, even perhaps prophetic. But what the Mahatma could see, unfortunately, ordinary atmas cannot.
Take the other equally attractive title that Mahatma gave Tagore, Gurudev. More than being the first Asian Nobel Laureate, more than leading a new education movement, more than being an artist, poet, or philosopher, here was a man who spoke of a higher unity that he wanted for the world which he prayed should not be broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls. Can such a sage be called anything else but guru dev or divine mentor?
Gandhiji had a special gift of giving titles. He called C.F. Andrews, a British missionary who came to teach at St Stephens and who was supportive of the freedom movement, Deenbandhu or friend of the poor. Gandhiji also gave the title Deshbandhu or friend of the nation to C.R. Das who in spite of being one of the foremost members of the bar in India gave up his practice to participate in the freedom struggle. And of course it was Gandhi who gave Vallabhbhai Patel the title of Sardar or chief in recognition of his efforts in organising the farmers of Bardoli to refuse to pay the increase in the tax on land that the government had unjustly imposed. Patel, following the principles of satyagraha, led a campaign that went on for many months and that finally resulted in a climbdown by the colonial regime. The Sardar was to play a Sardars role in the crucial months following Partition and in the building of the institutions of modern India.
There are other titles that were given and that also speak of the love people had for these leaders. While Pandit or scholar was a title given to many leaders such as M.M. Malaviya and G.B. Pant, it was on that gentle colossus, Jawaharlal Nehru, that it seemed the most apt. Whereas the modernising Fabian socialist and lonely statesman, dressed in his starched sherwani with a fresh rose in his lapel, is to Indian officialdom Pandit Nehru, to schoolchildren he is simply Chacha Nehru. To millions, Dr Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar, the relentless campaigner for justice who is the recipient of unbounded devotion, always carries two titles: Dr to mark his scholarship achieved against tremendous odds, and Babasaheb to refer to the special relationship with a father or baba. Babasaheb stands for a society based on human dignity and that is why his statues have a sacred presence in many towns of India. And then again we must not forget Badshah Khan who earned the title Badshah or Chief of Chiefs in honour of his tireless attempts to mobilise the Pashtuns. A frontier Gandhi in the land of the Pashtuns!
This is just a brief list of the titles we have given our leaders. We have called them Lokmanya, Loknayak, Periyar, Veer, Netaji, Rajaji and Sister. Each title mostly belongs to only one person and is typical of that person. It marks a special relationship and speaks of a special appreciation. This is what makes India so magical and what sets us apart from them. The new titles Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri somehow do not have this magic.
Leaders of people’s hearts
Daily News – Sri Lanka – May 3, 2007
GREAT LEADERS: If you do your homework right, it is an easy task to win a spelling test or a maths quiz, yet to many peoples dismay it is a tedious task to win people’s hearts. In order to win people’s hearts genuinely you have to be merely blessed.
Today we pay tribute to two leaders who have won the battle of hearts fair and square globally.
During an election, the public choose who they feel should be the leader of their nation.
They select the correct individual by judging their leadership skills, governance capabilities, personal character, understanding and humaneness.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Gandhi is known throughout the world as Mahatma Gandhi.
The name Mahatma comes from Sanskrit and means ‘great soul’.
Gandhi was also recognized as the father of the Indian nation as he was a major spiritual and political leader of India and the independence movement.
Gandhi was the inspiration of the movement for civil rights and freedom across the world. Throughout his life he was not only a leader to his people but he was a dear friend to them too, he struggled to find freedom for his countrymen and to spread his belief in nonviolent resistance.
It was during his visit to South Africa that he faced racial discrimination he strived to end inequality and prejudice among people of all races.
People began to notice a vast difference in Gandhi during this period of time as he began studying Bhagavad Gita, the Christian Bible and the writings of Thoreau, Ruskin and Tolstoy.
Gandhi made a decision to forgo a life filled with wealth and riches and chose to focus on enhancing his natural character.
Together with Kasturba , Gandhi founded Phoenix Ashram, a community in which people came to live together and treated each other with respect.
After 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi’s next mission was to fight for India’s independence from Great Britain.
Gandhi spent numerous days in jail with the aim of showing people that violence is not the answer. Gandhi’s determination and passion for human beings was larger and greater than his own life.
Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and a few days before he was murdered in 1948.
The committee never made any comments on why Gandhi was never awarded the prize.
Here are some wise words which Gandhi said to the public in hope that these words will stay in our minds and after we leave this world passed on to the next generation.
‘You should be the change that you want to see in the world.’
‘I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.’ ‘I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.’
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, Mandela is known throughout the world as Nelson Mandela. Mandela’s father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe.
Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa.
Mandela was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality.
Before his Presidency, he was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and was sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage after he went underground and began the ANC’s armed struggle.
Despite spending 27 years in Jail on Robben Island, local and international pressure was exerted upon the South African government to release Mandela, under the much chanted slogan ‘Free Nelson Mandela’.
On February 11, 1990 President Fredrik De Klerk announced Mandelas release. After his release from prison, Mandela returned to the leadership of the ANC and during 1990- 1994, Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Frederik De Klerk in 1993, after winning the Nobel Peace Prize he received a numerous amount of prestigious local and international honours .
In 1994, he led the party in the multi-party negotiations which immediately led to the country’s first multi-racial elections.
The ANC won the majority in the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, at the age of 75 was inaugurated as the country’s first black State President, with the National Party’s de Klerk as his deputy president in the Government of National Unity.
After his retirement as President in 1999, Mandela went on to become an advocate for various social and human rights organisations.
In July 2001, Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer and decided to retire from public life in 2004 at the age of 85, as his health needed attention and he wished to spend more time with his family.
Here are some wise words said by Nelson Mandela, keep them stored in your mind and heart.
‘The greatest glory in living, lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ Mahathma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were leaders of people’s hearts and even today in our society a day never goes by without us wishing that more people like them are born into this world.
For people who aspire to be like these leaders, fight for your dreams to come true, believe in yourself and your dream.
New orchid named after Mahatma Gandhi
Hindustan Times – India – May 1, 2007
Pristine white in colour, symbolising the ideals of peace and non-violence, a new breed of orchid named after Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled on Wednesday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur.
The new variety of the exotic flower named Phalaenopsis Memoriam Mahatma Gandhi has been developed by noted Sikkimese orchid expert Mohan Pradhan.
A coffee table book carrying photographs and write-ups of about 100 most exotic orchids from the North-East written by the 35-year-old Pradhan was also released on the occasion by Kaur.
“The book captures the natural beauty of the North-East. It brings alive some of the most exotic orchids and tempts us to visit the region and observe these plants in their natural surroundings,” she said.
Kaur said the book also gives practical tips on how to grow orchids.
Pradhan, who developed a new variety of orchid at the age of 12, spent seven years working on the book, studying the orchids and photographing them.
“There are 700 varieties of orchids in the North-East region. I have chosen the 100 rarest and most beautiful orchids for the book,” he said.
The author said it was a pity that so far only 35 man-made varieties of orchids had been developed in India, that was very paltry compared to the large number of new breeds of the delicate flower created world-wide.
Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni was also present on the occasion.
Gandhian values hold highest relevance in 21st century: Antony
PeaceJournalism.com – USA – May 1, 2007
Payyanur, May 1: The Gandhian ideals held highest relevance in the present day society as imbibing those values were essential for its sustenance, Congress leader and Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
“The unity witnessed in India having different languages and diverse customs and traditions are basically due to the democratic set up built upon the foundation laid by Mahatma Gandhi and that exactly is the relevance of Gandhian values in the 21st-century India,” he said inaugurating the Satyagraha Centenary celebrations here, one of the centre stages of the freedom movement in Kerala.
The decision of the Congress to celebrate the Centenary celebrations in an elaborate manner was to spread the message and remind the relevance of Gandhian principles in the Indian society, Antony, also Chairman of the Centenary celebrations across the country, said at the meeting hosted by Kerala PCC.
“Today, the global community is watching with awe the allround and sustained progress being achieved by India where people belonging to different political, religious and cultural identities live together and the enviable achievement is brought about by the Gandhian values,” he said at the public function attended among others by CWC member Veerappa Moily and AICC General Secretary and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.
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