Mahatma Gandhi News Digest, Germany : Issue for October 30 – November 5, 2006
Gandhiji’s teachings can change destinies of nations: Charest
ZeeNews – India – November 5, 2006
Toronto, Nov 05: Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, particularly non-violence, could still change the destinies of people and nations, Jean Charest, Premier of Canadian province of Quebec, has said.
“The doctrine of conflict resolution theory, new environ-mentalism, peace research, deep ecology, and Buddhist economics based on Gandhian principles, renews the world’s belief in mahatma and his teachings for our life and our TIM,” he said.
Unveiling a bust of Mahatma at a splendid location opposite to the Quebec’s Parliament complex at a highly symbolic event, Charest said the western and Indian influences that had gone into making Gandhi the Mahatma, and the central importance of Gandhi to non-violent activism, could still change the destinies of people and nations.
Shyamala B Cowsik, the High Commissioner of India to Canada said, “As India celebrates the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement, it is more than ever that the world realizes the failure of violence to achieve anything, anywhere. A world torn apart looks back at Gandhi and his firmness in a force, which is born of truth and love or non-violence.”
The bust of Mahatma, sculpted by famous sculptor Gautam Pal, sits atop a 5-ft pedestal, is a gift from the Government of India to the province of Quebec.
Besides Premier Charest, the event on Thursday was attended by his two Cabinet Ministers, the Mayor, the chairman of the capital region and other local dignitaries and a large number of members of the Indo-Canadian community of Quebec.
Premier Charest said it was desire of the state government that when Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh visit Canada, as expected, in 2007, he should visit Montreal and, if possible, Quebec City as well.
The unveiling of the bust was supplemented by an exhibition of paintings of Mahatma Gandhi by the Montreal-based artist Suraj Sadan. Sadan’s paintings of Gandhiji were chosen both by the Government of India for the Gandhi Centennial Commemorative stamp in 1969, and by UNESCO for the cover of their special issue of the UNESCO courier for the same centennial.
This exhibition was inaugurated by the Quebec Minister for International Relations MME. Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, and was attended by a number of local dignitaries.
New Book: Gandhi, Gandhism and the Gandhians
NDTV – India – November 3, 2006
Gandhi, Gandhism and the Gandhians
Category: Non-fiction, Author: Thomas Weber, Publisher: Roli Books, Price: Rs 395
Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of truth and nonviolence have intrigued the world for decades.
Looking at the Western and Indian influences that had gone into making Gandhi the Mahatma, and the central importance of Gandhi to nonviolent activism, these essays reclaim the power of truth and nonviolence, which can still change the destinies of people and nations.
In this collection Thomas Weber discusses Gandhi, his ideology, and how India and the rest of the world is interpreting and reinterpreting the Mahatma.
The doctrine of conflict resolution theory, new environ-mentalism, peace research, deep ecology, and Buddhist economics based on Gandhian principles, renews the world’s belief in Mahatma and his teachings for our life and our times.
‘An era has passed. Perhaps in that sense, Gandhi is dead. But the Gandhians who are described (or ridiculed) in the literature of the Independence era
even though they have selflessly dedicated their lives to the Gandhian cause are not the sum total of Gandhism.
an active and vibrant Gandhism [is still alive] among the young of the country; among those who have returned to the basics of constructive work in the villages, who have taken the Mahatma’s last will and testament seriously.
the future of Indian Gandhism is in their hands. Long live Gandhi!’
As India celebrates the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement, it is more than ever that the world realizes the failure of violence to achieve anything, anywhere. A world torn apart looks back at Gandhi and his firmness in ‘(a) force, which is born of truth and love or non-violence’.
Gandhi, Gandhism and the Gandhians rediscovers Gandhi and his persona, his philosophy, and the way his followers have interpreted it for the changing times.
About the Author
Thomas Weber teaches politics and peace studies at Melbourne’s La Trobe University.
He has been researching and writing on Gandhi’s life, thought and legacy for over twenty years.
His Gandhi-related publications include Conflict Resolution and Gandhian Ethics; Hugging the Trees: The Story of the Chipko Movement; Gandhi’s Peace Army; On the Salt March; Nonviolent Intervention Across Borders (edited with Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan); and Gandhi as Disciple and Mentor.
Peace studies minor introduced for spring
The Brown and White – USA – by Leigh Gilsenan – November 2, 2006
A new peace studies minor to address international concepts of war and violence will be offered next semester.
The peace studies minor will be co-advised by Professor Addison Bross of the English department and Professor Chaim Kaufmann of the international relations department.
The idea for a peace studies minor began about three years ago when Bross taught a freshman seminar called Considering Peace and Nonviolence. Bross said the course material and several guest speakers sparked students interest in the importance of peace studies.
When I taught Considering Peace and Nonviolence three years ago as a freshman seminar, an outside speaker, Colman McCarthy of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington D.C., whom I invited to campus, urged students to agitate for a peace studies program, Bross said. Some from my class and others got together, researched peace studies programs offered in other schools, devised a petition and circulated it, and got strong support for the idea.
The petition was created by students from Bross class along with the Progressive Student Alliance, then was circulated to various departments and organizations on campus and received very strong support, Bross said.
Once the international relations department became involved, the development of the minor was underway.
Kaufmann said he thinks its important to have two directors for the minor because there are two sides of peace studies that need to be taught.
Professor Bross is the real expert on peace studies and social justice, Kaufmann said. My role is to contribute on material about the political decision making side of peace making and social justice.
Organized peace advocacy has not accomplished much real political change in the world, Kaufmann said. There was peace advocacy in the 1890s that led to the Geneva Conferences, and there were large-scale protests in the 1980s in Europe about the use of long range missile. This kind of success has been relatively rare. Now we live in a world where there are nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and even biological weapons that may be more dangerous than nuclear weapons. There is the real possibility of terrorism and wars thousands of miles away.
The need for peace advocacy is as great as its ever been, he said. The challenge is how do we take something that has historically been unsuccessful and make it work in our changing world.
The minor will consist of several courses in the humanities and social sciences, and will focus on two main components of history: theory and practice of nonviolence, and understanding the causes of armed international conflict and the escalation and de-escalation of hostilities, Bross said.
The peace studies minors introductory course will focus on the concepts of peace, war and violence, as well as the major and minor figures of the history of peace, including Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The course will also discuss the history of direct action as a way for peace, the methods for reducing the tensions that lead to war and the validity of the just war theory.
There will be several guest lectures by faculty from the international relations department and other professors.
There will also be internships available to students in the minor. There is one at the United Nations and another at an organization in Bethlehem that focuses on peace advocacy.
Mahatma’s Moustache
Blogspot.com – India – by J. Ajith Kumar – October 31, 2006
Every time we look at a statue or picture of Mahatma Gandhi, something different catches our attention. His figure and looks are so plain and unimpressive that even minute details can stand out demanding a thought from the onlooker. It was his moustache that caught my attention this year on 2nd October. It looked quite unimpressive in comparison to the much famed moustaches of Hitler and Roosevelt. A majority of famous men do away with moustaches and in India itself the upper class in North India prefer not to have it. Mohandas was educated in England like Jawaharlal and Mohammed Ali. But why did he prefer to have the moustache that Nehru and Jinnah preferred to shave off? Isnt it something to think of? The Mahatma was always like that. As he rightly said his life is his message and there is always something to be asked and answers sought about his life and figure.
There are many who believe that the Mahatma became senile towards his end and there are few who believe that he could have even acted against the nations interests. But the question that none of them find easy to answer is how an average ordinary Indian like him could come up to command the respect of one and all the world over. It cannot be mere luck, manipulation or even a wrong notion. There is only one answer to all such doubts. Mohandas Gandhi was the only top Indian leader who looked like, thought like and lived like an ordinary Indian till his very end. All other factors that made him a successful politician, strategist and finally a Mahatma were only incidental. His ordinary moustache indicates his complete identification with the ordinary Indian peasant and workmen. But for his moustache, he could never aspire to become the Mahatma Gandhi that we all know of now.
Meaningful Figure
Most of the leaders in our democracy look like us at the beginning of their political career and then slowly start looking unlike us as they climb up the ladder. This chameleon tendency has reached unimaginable limits that we find even older Gandhians dyeing their hair pitch black and always carrying two sets of clothes one desi set for the party functions and one videsi set for other parties. Many from the South of India have one set of clothes to wear when they are in their own states and another one when they are in Delhi. Very often we find it difficult to recognise many of them when they are in Delhi. The reach of visual media has made the capital life of all such politicians difficult. The important point most of them miss out is the impact of their videsi visual images on their supporters back home.
The opium of the masses in a democracy is trust. If people trust a leader wholeheartedly, they will do anything for him. To win the trust of ordinary people is not an easy task. Indian democracy has proved this seemingly unbelievable phenomenon many times. It is far more difficult to convince rural illiterates than urban literates as far as democracy is concerned. It is in this aspect that Mohandas Gandhi succeeded and became Mahatma Gandhi. The loin cloth and lacklustre moustache provided a meaningful figure for the half naked fakir to walk into the minds of all ordinary Indians. Quite unlike other leaders (then and now) he never changed his looks as he climbed up the steps of mahatmahood. And that remains his uniqueness and sign of undiluted sincerity for all his supporters and opponents to learn from.
Complete Identification
The greatest weapon in Mahatmas possession was his complete identification with Indian masses. We had leaders before and after the Mahatma who could identify with a specific section of our population for some time. Jawaharlal & Indira could identify with the socialists and Rajiv with the techno-savvy new generation. Lalbahadur could identify with kisans and Atal Bihari with the progressive middle class. But none of them could identify with the vast majority of Indians who are essentially religious and wanted to believe in something or someone who is genuinely sincere to them. Poor and helpless people are always looking for icons to identify with and Mohandas Gandhi could easily provide the same ever since he switched over from his western dresses to a piece of hand woven cloth and familiar Indian moustache.
It goes to his full credit that an ordinary man like Mohandas could generate so much trust by his looks and actions. Ever since he returned from South Africa and walked into the Indian landscape and mind, he never looked back. His loin cloth and moustache remained even when he went to London to negotiate our independence. Even those who do not believe in his philosophy and methods have no choice but to admit his sincerity with whatever he did. Quite in contrast with most of our leaders who deviate in their deeds from their declared intentions, Mahatma Gandhi remained steadfast in his actions for whatever he preached (even if it was counterproductive). Complete identification with whatever he believed in was his forte and unqualified support for his calls was the only option in front of the freedom fighters.
Almost sixty years have passed since the Mahatma is gone. Indian nation, which has matured from an oversized colony to an organised democracy, is still struggling with an identity crisis. Now the question that is uppermost in the minds of all Indians is about the efficacy of this type of a democratic government to alleviate poverty and develop a billion strong country within a reasonable time frame. Even after 50 years, we are unable to make any drastic but absolutely essential changes in our constitution. We do not have the type of political leaders who can confirm the backing of the nation for any major changes in our constitution. The leaders do not have the masses with them and most leaders are not trusted by the masses. The simple fact that we are unable to develop an alternative for Satyagraha, which was developed by the Mahatma almost a century ago as a form of non-violent civil protest, speaks volumes about the quality of leadership that followed him. Only another Mahatma with moustache can lead us out of the democratic quagmire that Indians have fallen into. Hey Ram.
Amjad Ali Khan’s music magic in NY
Yahoo! India – India – November 1, 2006
New York: Fans streamed in well before the performance was scheduled to begin at Carnegie Hall in New York. Some came because they had heard Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in India, some because they hadn’t and didn’t want to miss this opportunity. His music is absolutely wonderful. He’s a maestro, an ustad for a reason, said a member of the audience, Sonali Sridhar. This is so far from India and I’ve never got the opportunity to listen to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in India so nothing like an opportunity like this to come here to the city, said another New Yorker, Mahadevan Iyer. The ustad certainly gave them a performance to cherish, performing at this venue for the first time since 2000. The performance was also a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and his solo set included versions of Vaishnava Janato and Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, which left the audience spellbound. His sons, Amaan and Ayaan, played a duet later in the concert before the maestro joined them on stage. His intention was to underscore the continuity in the Indian classical music heritage. Generally, a single man came from India alone, he used to perform sitar and sarod. I, from the very beginning, wanted to bring my children with me and show the world the living tradition, said Amjad Ali Khan . Before the concert, his sons were more than a little nervous about sharing the stage with the living legend. The nervousness is there. After listening to the maestro, you have these young kids coming on stage, said Amaan. We’ll try to pull some strings, quipped Amaan.
How Gandhi became Mahatma? Munnabhai got it wrong, but so did Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Indian Express – India – by Soumik Dey – November 1, 2006
Rabindranath Tagore did not confer title of Mahatma on Gandhi, says Arya; more people may have conferred title, says source in Chopras firm
Surat, October 31: SO who conferred the title of Mahatma on Bapu? The answer may have eluded Sanjay Dutt in Lage Raho…, but now a member of Surat-based Vaidik Sanskar Kendra has claimed that Vidhu Vinod Chopra was way off the mark when it came to the right answer too.
“Rabindranath Tagore did not confer the title of Mahatma on Gandhiji. Instead, it was Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati who did so when Gandhiji went to visit him at his Haridwar Gurukul on April 8, 1915, said Dharmesh Arya, secretary of Vaidik Sanskar Kendra on Tuesday.
Arya said he had deduced the date after referring to essays on freedom-fighters, biographies of Swami Shradhhanand Saraswati and a book published by the Information Department of Uttar Pradesh Government.
“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a figure unknown to the Indian masses even after his return from South Africa. People began recognising him after he was rechristened as the Mahatma by the Swami, who was himself a freedom-fighter. This fact has been misrepresented in the film and needs to be corrected, he said. Going by references in Bharatiya Deshbhakto ki Karavas aur Balidan ki Kahani by Acharya Satyanand Naishthik, Saharanpur Sandharbh by eminent Gandhian Ramnath Suman and many other works, students of Kangri Gurukul at Haridwar had handed Gandhiji a certificate conferring on him the title of a Mahatma during a function on April 8, 1915, said Arya.
The swami, who was also referred to as a mahatma, gave the same title to Gandhiji as he had made a pledge to maintain truth, justice and non-violence. When contacted, the Mumbai office of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films Pvt Ltd told Newsline that the director/producer of the film is in London and will be back after five days.
A production in-charge of the film company, however, admitted, on condition of anonymity, that the research for the film was done by Vidhu Vinod Chopra himself.
“It is a known fact that the title of Mahatma was conferred by Rabindranath Tagore. It could be more than one person who had done so, he said, seeking that the detailed documentation of this claim be sent to the film company for verification.
When this was communicated to him, Dharmesh Arya agreed to do so at the earliest but demanded that on thorough verification of the documents, the appropriate change be accommodated in all prints of the film.
Kids Talk : Teaching temperance
NWAnews.com – USA – by Maren Schmidt – October 30, 2006
Temperance, one of the universal virtues, is comprised of personal strengths that protect against excess. Studies by positive psychologists indicate that strengths in forgiveness and mercy, humility and modesty, prudence and self-regulation help us temper our thoughts and actions.
Mohandas Gandhi lived a life of temperance. Gandhi gave us the example of how temperance is a way to change the world. The study of his life can show us ways to strengthen our own character to avoid the excesses that would create a life of unhappiness.
Being able to show forgiveness and mercy to others when you have been dealt with badly, shows strength of character. It takes a strong person to forgive a misdeed and not fall into the trap of revenge. It takes strength to accept the shortcomings of others. It takes confidence of your strength to give people a second chance when they have fallen short of expectations. As Gandhi said about seeking revenge, An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Letting ones accomplishments speak for themselves, seeking the worth of every person and being able to see each persons uniqueness in the grand scheme are the attributes of humility and modesty. To be humble and modest in todays jargon seem to mean being easily imposed on or submissive. True humility and modesty are terms used for servant leadership. In effective leadership, you lead by showing patience, and gentility in helping others, even though you may be better educated, or wealthy than those around you. Humility and modesty show a character strength that is at the core of leaders.
Being attentive to possible hazards or risks and planning for the future are the fruits of being prudent. The word prudence comes from the word providence, meaning to plan ahead or having foresight. Today calling someone a prude is a derogatory term instead of referring to a woman of strength and foresight. The strength of having prudence is that one is careful about ones choices, doesnt take unnecessary risks, and avoids saying or doing things that might cause hardship to oneself or others later.
Exhibiting control over ones emotions, thoughts and actions is another distinguishing characteristic of temperance. Learning to control ones moods and appetites becomes inner strength. Being able to make yourself do something you might not want to do, while knowing that in the end it is the best course of action, is the hallmark of inner or selfdiscipline. Being able to selfregulate gives us the ability to meet our goals and objectives in life. Gandhi told us, You must be the change you seek in the world. If we want to help our children to have character strengths to live in a world where life is not lived an eye for an eye, we must model the self-control, the foresight, the servant leadership and the forgiveness we seek in the world. Next week: Teaching transcendence
Kids Talk is a column dealing with childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale.
Speech By Nathuram Godse
dctorrent.com – October 31, 2006
This is the speech given by Nathuram Godse in the court when he was tried for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi.
Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore, been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegiance to any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangis participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other.
I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Nairoji, Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modern history of India and some prominent countries like England, France, America and’ Russia. Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism and Marxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkar and Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these two ideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought and action of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, than any other single factor has done.
All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and the well being of all India, one fifth of human race. This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well.
Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak, Gandhiji’s influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violence, which he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible or enlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream if you imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capable of scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal life from day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one’s own kith and kin and country might often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. I could never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression is unjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and, if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In the Ramayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita. [In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; and Arjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends and relations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on the side of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama, Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a total ignorance of the springs of human action.
In more recent history, it was the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checked and eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It was absolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressive Afzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. In condemning history’s towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit. He was, paradoxical, as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen forever for the freedom they brought to them.
The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhi had done very well in South Africa to uphold the rights and well being of the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to India he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be the final judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted his leadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, he would stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Against such an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had to surrender its will to his and had to be content with playing second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics and primitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was the Judge of everyone and everything; he was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. The movement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster and political reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma’s infallibility. ‘A Satyagrahi can never fail’ was his formula for declaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what a Satyagrahi is.
Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his own cause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character made Gandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that his politics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from the Congress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with, as he liked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi was guilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster after disaster.
Gandhi’s pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India. It is quite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted as the premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhi gave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did not like it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybody in India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, but not written. It is a bastard tongue and crossbreed between Hindi and Urdu, and not even the Mahatma’s sophistry could make it popular. But in his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani alone should be the national language of India. His blind followers, of course, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to be used. The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted to please the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of the Hindus.
From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell, though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powers under the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murder and arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with some retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from its inception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi’s infatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bring about a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Log was followed by King Stork.
The Congress, which had boasted of its nationalism and socialism, secretly accepted Pakistan literally at the point of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign land to us from August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as the greatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. The official date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, but Mountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisected India ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved after thirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congress party calls ‘freedom’ and ‘peaceful transfer of power’. The Hindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state was established with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they have called ‘freedom won by them with sacrifice’ – whose sacrifice? When top leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and tore the country – which we consider a deity of worship – my mind was filled with direful anger.
Citation for Indian battalion in Lebanon
The Hindu – India – October 30, 2006
Jerusalem: The Indian contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been awarded the Force Commander’s Unit Citation for its commendable service during the war in southern Lebanon. Seventy-three officers and soldiers of the battalion have also been given the Force Commander’s Commendation Card for their good work.
The Indian battalion, 4 Sikh Regiment, on Friday celebrated its Medal Day Parade to commemorate the successful completion of its second mandate in UNIFIL with Force Commander Alain Pellegrini commending its role during the war.
“I appreciate the bravery of the battalion in the face of live fire wherein they undertook various relief, recovery, replenishment and evacuation activities in the service of the Lebanese people, which has earned not only the battalion but even the UNIFIL a great amount of respect from the masses,” a release quoted Force Commander Pellegrini as saying at the occasion.
The battalion under the command of Colonel Subhash Panwar, who received the UN medals from the Force Commander, is occupying a number of sensitive posts on the Lebanon-Israel border.
The ceremony was followed by the release of doves and balloons. “It was symbolic of the craving for peace in the war-ravaged region but our forces draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and we are trying to spread his message among the masses here,” spokesman of the Indian contingent, Major Saurabh Pandey told PTI.
Lage Raho, Youth Cong…
The Tribune – India – by Anita Katyal – November 3, 2006
New Delhi, November 3
After the highly popular film ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ helped the young to rediscover the Mahatma, the Congress partys youth wing is zeroing in on film stars to propogate Gandhian values.
Naseeruddin Shah, Sushmita Sen, Madhur Bhandrakar, Mahesh Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt are among those from the glamorous world, who have agreed to assist the National Students Union of India (NSUI), in reminding the youth about Gandhis forgotten legacy.
The NSUI is currently in the process of drawing up its programmes as part of the Congress partys year-long plans to commemorate the centenary year of the launch of satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi.
Instead of depending on academic discourses to get across its message, the youth wing has decided to organise a series of quiz shows on Gandhi in the universities and colleges from December to March.
NSUI president Nadeem Javed said the film personalities could be involved in hosting these shows or they could put up small plays relating to the Gandhian philosophy. Take the case of Kaun Banega Crorepati.. it was not just a quizz programme but much more than that. We hope to do something like that, he added. This will ensure a good turn-out and help explain Gandhi to a large number of people in a simple and entertaining manner, very much like Lage Raho Munnabhai.
Sanjay Dutt, who has helped a whole generation to rediscover Gandhi through his character in the movie, has agreed to participate in two seminars on Gandhivaad versus Gandhigiri.
Besides the NSUI programmes, the Congress has planned a series of activities associated with Gandhian philosophy. Public meetings will be held in places like Champaran, which are associated with the satyagraha movement. Schools based on Gandhian philosophy are being planned in tribal areas while a cycle yatra is to be undertaken from Ahemdabads Sabarmati Ashram to Porbandar.
The Congress is hoping that these programmes will help the party to claim ownership of Gandhi and his philosophy and counter the Sangh Parivars communal agenda.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is taking a personal interest in this programme. A special meeting of the Congress Working Committee had adopted a unanimous resolution to uphold Gandhis legacy and propogate his values through a series of programmes during the centenary year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already kicked off the year-long celebrations during his visit to South Africa, where Gandhi launched the satyagraha, after being thrown out of a train in Durban by the British.
The articles of the Mahatma Gandhi News Digest originate from external sources.
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