* Sanitation drive at Gandhi Darshan
November 1, 2021
Vice Chairman GSDS Shri Vijay Goel led a sanitation drive at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat on November 1, 2021. Director GSDS, Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan along with other GSDS staff took part in this special sanitation drive.
* Diwali celebrated in Gandhi Smriti and Gandhi Darshan
November 3, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti celebrated Diwali on November 3, 2021 in both its Gandhi Smriti and Gandhi Darshan respectively. Director GSDS, Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan wished the staff a prosperous festival of lights. Vice Chairman GSDS, Shri Vijay Goel gave gifts to the entire staff of GSDS and said that the varied festival of India shows its diversity and brings families together. Ms. Shubhangi Girdhar decorated the programme unit green with her rangoli made of natural flowers and leaves.
* Birsa Jayanti celebrated in Gandhi Darshan
November 15, 2021
On November 15, 2021, on the occasion of the 144th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda which was celebrated as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ a Kavi Sammelan was organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Abhimanch Sahitya Sabha in Gandhi Darshan. The programme was inaugurated by Shri Vijay Goel, Vice Chairman GSDS. Director GSDS Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan was also present on the occasion. 15 poets recited their self-composed poems as well as poems of other poets.
It was an unique evening of celebrations to mark Birsa Jayanti, as the assembled poets poured their hearts out through their brilliant narration of their self-composed poems and that of other poets and writers; where shades of heroism, valour, courage, sacrifice, fearlessness and love for the motherland sprung from them; where laughter and serenity equally shared the same space.
* VC GSDS inaugurates seminar on Naturopathy and honours its practitioners
November 18, 2021
Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Shri Viay Goel inaugurated a seminar on November 18, 2021 as part of the celebrations to mark the 4th National Naturopathy Day which was organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with Morarji Desai Rashtriya Yog Sansthan and National Institute of Holistic Health in Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat. Almost 300 participants from that included practitioners of naturopathy, social thinkers, doctors and students undergoing the naturopathy course took part in the programme. Shri Laxmi Dass, Vice President, Harijan Sevak Sangh, Dr. Ishwar Vasava Reddy, Director, Morarji Desai Yog Sansthan, Dr. Amit Nagpal and Dr. Vinod Kashyap among others were present on the occasion.
Delivering the inaugural address, Shri Vijay Goel reiterated the vision of the honourable Prime Minister of India to take naturopathy to the world stage. Saying that this (naturopathy) tradition goes back to almost 5000 years, he said that Mahatma Gandhi was a strong believer and practitioner of naturopathy and nature care treatment, which he had applied to his wife and son and they were also cured.
Shri Vijay Goel further underlined the need to adopt a holistic life-style and cautioned the youth who are becoming accustomed to an unhealthy dietary system that is affecting their health drastically. “Your body has a system to cure itself”, he said.
He further called upon the practitioners of Naturopathy to simplify the method of their treatment and asserted the need to popularize the benefits of naturopathy through the social media.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Laxmi Dass said that the practitioners of naturopathy provide employment to many other people too and said, “Naturopathy can guarantee health to the citizens of the country. It can provide complete treatment to your body” and called for the need of a policy support to create new provisions.
Shri Vijay Goel also presented certificates of honour various practitioners of naturopathy for promoting Mahatma Gandhi’s life values and nature cure system. The recipients included: Dr. B B Goel, Acharya Mohan Gupta, Dr. R S Dabas, Shri Laxmi Dass, Dr. M K Taneja, Dr. Poonam Ahuja, Dr. Sumer Chand Gupta, Smt. Veena Gorai, Acharya Vikramaditya, Dr. D N Sharma, Dr. Vijaylaxmi Reddy and Dr. Amit Nagpal.
* Workshop on Naturopathy organized in Tihar
November 18, 2021
As part of the 4th National Naturopathy Day 2021, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with Central Prisons Tihar organised a workshop and lecture-cum-demonstration on Naturopathy on November 18, 2021 in CJ4. Yogacharya Varun Nautiyal; Nutrition Head, Ms. Deepti Verma; Dr. Indu, Dr. Manju Aggarwal and Ms. Shobha Khulbe including officials from CJ-4 interacted with the inmates during the programme.
Ms. Deepti Verma took a session on food and nutrition. Yogacharya Varun Nautiyal took a lecture-cum-demonstration session on Yoga and its benefits. Dr. Indu highlighted the importance of acupressure and also distributed acupressure rings and thumbs. Dr. Manju Aggarwal spoke on the benefits of Naturopathy and its effective use.
GSDS officials Ms. Shobha Khulbe and Resource Person from GSDS Dr. Manju Aggarwal also felicitated officials of Tihar and the resource persons who conducted the training programme.
The resource persons also spoke about the benefit of yoga, food and nutrition, acupressure, naturopathy and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti on FM Radio CJ -4.
* Lovely Public School wins Inter-School Dandi March Rolling Trophy in Gandhi Smriti
November 25, 2021
Shri Vijay Goel, Vice Chairman, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director of the Samiti gave away the Dandi March Rolling Trophy to Md. Enayatur Rahman a student of Class XIth from Lovely Public Sr. Sec. School, Priyadarshini Vihar in Gandhi Smriti on November 25, 2021. 30 schools from different parts of Delhi, Ghaziabad and NOIDA took part in the competition.
Enayatur Rahman won the rolling trophy at the elocution competition on “Innovations in addressing violence against women in the context of COVID-19” in Gandhi Smriti, the place of the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi as part of the celebrations to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Vijay Goel reiterated the contribution of women in different fields and more specifically stressed on the unnoticed contribution of woman throughout the year which she makes for her family. “It is surprising that even women themselves do not notice this and consider it as part of their regular duty”. He further added, “Without this contribution of woman, no family can sustain”.
Shri Vijay Goel necessitated the idea of service towards the society and respect towards women per se in his address to the participating students.
In the competition, the second prize was won by Ms. Raanya Arora (Class XI) of Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh. Master Hairan Sharma (Class XI) of Ramjas Public School (Day Boarding), Anand Parbat won the third prize.
In addition to the above prizes, three consolation prizes were also awarded to Krishika Sharma (Class X) from St. Thomas’ School, Mandir Marg, Gole Market; Tvarita V (Class XI) from East Point School, Vasundhara Enclave and Ms. Drishty Gupta (Class XI) of Rashtra Shakti Vidyalaya, Hastsal, Uttam Nagar, Delhi respectively.
Mrs. Salony Priya, a psychologist and founder Director of Ummeed Counselling & Consulting Servics; Artist and former Curator of GSDS Smt. Hena Chakraborty and former Librarian of GSDS, Smt. Shashwati Jhalani were the judges on the occasion.
* Celebration of Constitution Day
November 26, 2021
The Constitution of India is a symbol of our Culture and Heritage: Vijay Goel
Former Union Minister and Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti Shri Vijay Goel said, “The Constitution of India is the largest constitution in the world. It is a symbol of our culture and heritage where the syncretic traditions of our philosophy have been given through pictures and photographs. The Constitution has given us fundamental rights. While respecting our great constitution, we should not do any such work which is unconstitutional”.
Shri Vijay Goyal was speaking on the occasion of Constitution Day on November 26, 2021 as the Chief Guest at a seminar organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Build India Group on the subject “Importance of Fundamental Duties in Nation Building”.
Sharing his views on the subject, Shri Vijay Goel further said, “In 2015, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had started celebrating Constitution Day, with an objective to make people aware of the Constitution. He called for regular mock Parliament programs in schools, so that children who are the future of India understand the significance of the Constitution and also enable them to understand the details of parliamentary procedures in the future.
Expressing his views in the programme, Mr. Biraja Mohapatra Founder Director of Build India Group said that the Constitution of India is such a document, which gives us the right to live in this country and use its resources. This is such a document, which the Supreme Court and various High Courts of the country use in their daily practices.
Vice President of Harijan Sevak Sangh, Shri Laxmi Dass said that the Constitution of India is the longest written constitution in the world, which took two years, eleven months and eighteen days to make. “Today is the day to remember those great people, who through their penance kept this great document before us”. He also said that the Constitution of India also provides a unique opportunity for amendment based on changing times and circumstances.
Mr. Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, said that our constitution is not just a document, but, “It is a holy book, a book in which the soul of India resides. Our inherent duties also have to be understood, only then we will be able to build a true nation”.
Earlier, Rajdeep Pathak and Gulshan Gupta of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti read the Preamble of the Constitution in English and Hindi respectively. Programme Officer of the Samiti, Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu and Ms. Khushi of Delhi University jointly conducted the programme.
Children from around 14 states namely Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, Haryana, Meghalaya and Manipur participated in the programme virtually and shared their perspectives on the theme of the programme.
*National Seminar on “The Spiritual equanimity in the philosophy of Mahamati Prannath and Mahatma Gandhi”
November 27, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Shri Prannath Mission, Delhi jointly organized a national seminar at Gandhi Darshan at Rajghat on November 27, 2021 on the theme: “The Spiritual equanimity in the philosophy of Mahamati Prannath and Mahatma Gandhi”. In the program, the President of Uttar Parishad Education Council, Prof. Gagarichandra Tripathi was the chief guest, and former Union Minister and Vice President of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Mr. Vijay Goel and other distinguished litterateurs, authors and academicians were present. It was presided over by Prof. P.C. Tandon, University of Delhi.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Vijay Goel called upon the youth to take inspiration from the life of Mahamati Prannath and Mahatma Gandhi. He said that all the saints like Mahatma Gandhi, Mahamati Prannath, Kabir, Nanak and others. have emphasized on adopting the spirit of respect, truth, social service in their teachings. Gandhiji spent his whole life in service. Today we and especially the youth should take inspiration from these great men.
Director of Prannath Mission, Sant Shri Mohan Priyaacharya ji said that Gandhi is respected not only in India, but in the whole world. People know him as a peacemaker, a seeker of truth and a priest of non-violence. There were many similarities between him and Mahamati Prannath's thoughts, like Gandhiji, Mahamatiji also mentions the spinning wheel many times in his thoughts. He also touched on the subject of untouchability which Mahamati Prannath spoke about and which Gandhiji strongly opposed through his campaigns. He said that “There is a gap of 175 years between Mahamati Prannath (1618 to 1694) and that of Mahatma Gandhi (1869), but because of Gandhiji’s mother’s teachings of the philosophy of Mahamati Prannath, many of these ideas are reflected in Gandhi’s social and constructive programmes”.
Prof. Girishchandra Tripathi, former Vice Chancellor of BHU and President of Uttar Parishad Education Council, in his address, while referring to the characteristics of Indian philosophy, said that the entire creation is our family. Our soul is the divine and this is the crux of the Indian philosophy.
Director of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan said that the influence of Pranami Sampradaya remained ingrained in Gandhiji for a lifetime. “As a child, he received the teachings of the Pranami sect from his mother and his governess Ramba Dai. From these teachings, a sense of respect for all and harmony of all religions developed in him”, he said.
On this occasion, the research journal 'Jagni' of Mahamati Prannath Mission was released. The performance of the short films Mahamati and Mahatma was also the center of attraction of the people.
Prof. Rakesh Upadhyay, senior litterateur Dr. Ranjit Saha, Shri Prakash Sharma, Dr. Prankishore also expressed their views. Earlier, Shri Lilaras Sagar sang the verses of Mahamati which spoke of sarvodaya or the welfare of all. The programme was conducted by Shri Vishwamohan Mishra.
PROGRAMMES IN OTHER STATES
• PUDUCHERRY
*National Seminar on ‘Mahatma Gandhi and the Nagari Script in South India’
November 15, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, in association with Nagari Lipi Parishad, Gandhi Memorial Fund, Rajghat, organized a daylong national seminar on November 15, 2021 on the theme Mahatma Gandhi and Nagari Script in South India' at Pondicherry University, Puducherry.
The seminar was presided over by Hindi Nagri Sevi Shri Birendra Kumar Yadav, Member Hindi Salahkar Samiti, Ministry of Health, Government of India. Dr. Hari Singh Pal, member of Hindi Salahkar Committee of Ministry of Culture, Government of India and General Secretary of Nagari Script Parishad, New Delhi were present as keynote speakers. Dr. S. Padmapriya, Associate Professor of Hindi Department of Pondicherry University, Puducherry conducted the session.
Distinguished speaker and former Hindi officer, Ministry of Defense, Government of India Shri Omprakash Acharya said that the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had published all his books in Devanagari script only after accepting the national importance of Nagari script. “On the inspiration and initiative of the Father of the Nation, 'Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha' was established in Chennai city of South India in May 1918. Due to the efforts of the assembly, the public opinion was prepared in favor of Nagari-Hindi among the people of all the states of South India”.
Distinguished speaker Dr. Vinod Babbar, former Principal of Delhi, Dr. CP Ramaswamy, Annibesant Natesan Rajagopalachari, E V Ramaswamy Nayakar, Unnava Rajagopal Krishnaya, Nageswara Rao, highlighted the contribution of Andheswari T. Prakasam in the promotion of Nagri Hindi in South India in the cities villages of South India both physically and financially.
The Chief Guest Dr. Harisingh Pal said in his speech that the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had sent his son Devdas Gandhi to South India for the promotion of Hindi in South India. Swami Satyadev Pariwajak, Pt Harihar Shastri, Kam Shivram Sharma, Vande Mataram Subrahmanyam, Viyogi Hari and Ganeshdam Tripathi made valuable contributions as his associate preachers. “Today, lakhs of people in South India are strengthening the national unity by learning Hindi Nagari, thanks to the President of the Nagari Script Parishad and former Vice Chancellor Dr. Premchand Patanjali”, he said, and expressed gratitude for the cooperation of Gandhi Smriti Darshan Smriti.
Representatives of Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab enthusiastically participated in this National Seminar.
• NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH
*Gandhian Centre for Peace and Nonviolent Communication inaugurated
November 18, 2021
Asian Law College, Noida in collaboration with Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti inaugurated the Gandhian Centre for Peace and Nonviolent Communication on 18th of November 2021 at 11:00am. The Centre was inaugurated by Director of Gandhi Smriti Darshan Samiti, Mr. Dipanker Shri Gyan. An exhibition on “Gandhi as a Lawyer” was displayed in the library of Asian Law College.
The inaugural session was attended by Mr. Dipanker Shri Gyan Director (GSDS), Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme officer (GSDS), Dr. T. N. Prasad, Principal of Asian Law College, Mr. Ashish Bharadwaj, Head Asian Law College, Faculty Convener Dr. Prity Sharma, other faculties, staff and 214 students of B.A.LLB and L.L.B of Asian Law College, Noida.
The inaugural session started with the welcoming of all the dignitaries at Asian Law College. Dr. Tarak Nath Prasad professor, Principal, Asian Law College welcomed all in his inaugural address. It was followed by the welcome address by Mr. Ashish Bharadwaj. The Chief Guest, Mr. Dipanker Shri Gyan was requested to formally inaugurate the Gandhian Centre for Peace and Nonvioiolent Communication and share his views.
The programme Officer Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu delivered the first lecture of the Centre on “An Overview on Non Violent Communication”. Students asked questions on practical implication of Non Violent Communication. By the end of the programme the dignitaries exchanged mementos and Charkha as a gesture of continuing bond between Asian Law College, Noida and GSDS. The inaugural session came to an end with vote of thanks by Ms. Divyasha Dubey, Assiatant Professor, Asian Law College.
* Lecture on Nonviolent Communication
November 18, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with Galgotias University, Greater NOIDA organized a value-added lecture on “Overview of Nonviolent Communication” on November 18, 2021. Der. Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer, GSDS conducted the lecture. The programme was coordinated by the Department of Humanities (Political Science and Sociology Division) of the university.
* Workshop on ‘Exploring Nonviolent Communication in our daily lives’
November 20, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with KIIT World School, Haryana organised an e-workshop on ‘Exploring Nonviolent Communication’ on November 20, 2021. Almost 157 students and teachers of the school took part in the e-workshop.
Giving his welcome address to the gathering, Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director GSDS asserted the significance of the Gandhian vision of nonviolence and how in this age of communication when humankind is flooded with news and fake news, how proper communication messages are necessary to maintain harmony in the society.
The session was conducted by Dr Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer of GSDS who highlighted the different elements of nonviolent communication and the Gandhian techniques and power of such communication.
The principal of the school Ms. Nilima Kamrah also spoke on the occasion and expressed happiness and hope of continuing more such training programmes for the schools.
• PURNEA, BIHAR
* National Seminar on “Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhawe’s constructive programmes and role of youth”
November 20-21, 2021
GSDS in association with Gandhi Gyan Mandir in Bihar, as part of 75 years of Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav organised a two-day national seminar on ‘Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhawe’s Constructive Programme and Role of Youth” in Surya Narayan Singh Inter College, Rambagh, Purnia, Bihar during which a youth workshop, cleanliness campaign and celebration of freedom fighters, and honouring of Gandhian- Sarvodaya workers were organized on November 20-21, 2021.
On the first day of the programme on November 20, the seminar was inaugurated by senior journalist-cum-President of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, New Delhi, Shri Ram Bahadur Rai through video conferencing. Shri Ram Bahadur Rai appealed to the people to follow the path shown by Gandhi, Vinova Bhave and Jaiprakash Narayan.
Former Union Minister-cum-Bihar MLC Shri Sanjay Paswan who was the chief guest discussed in detail how important the creative work of Gandhi and Vinoba is for the society and the country.
Earlier, Purnea Sadar MLA Shri Vijay Khemka explained the creative works of Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhawe and advised people to learn from their philosophy of life. Shri Suryanarayan Singh Yadav, former MLA of Dhamdaha and founder of NNY College, appealed to follow the path of Gandhi.
Shri Dev Narayan Paswan Dev, President of Gandhi Gyan Mandir presided over the programme while founder Shri Dinanath Prabodh presented the vote of thanks for the first day. In the programme, Congress District President Smt. Indu Sinha, from Bhola Paswan Shastri College Babhangama, Madhepura, Principal Mr. Atulesh Verma, Senior Civil Society Purnia President Mr. KK Giri, Doctor Dr. KK Chaudhary, Former Principal of NNY Inter College Shri Kishore Prasad Yadav, Educationist Shri S M Jha, Amarnath Kanth, retired from Revenue Officer of Bihar Government, Manohar Kumar, local editor of Dainik Bhaskar, Shri Nand Kishore Singh, President of Purnia Press Club, Dr. Santosh Kumar Verma and many others expressed their views. The programme was coordinated by the Honorary Director of the institution, senior journalist Shri Amlesh Raju.
In the second session on November 20, MLC Sanjay Paswan gave felicitated former MLA Shri Suryanarayan Singh Yadav, President of Pensioner Samaj Shri Vishwanath Sharan Yadav, Professor AK Thakur of Purnia College and educationist Shri Arjun Prasad Yadav for their incomparable contribution to the country and society and awarded them with a citation and Gandhi Charkha.
The second day of the programme on November 21 concluded with a symbolic cleanliness drive under the leadership of Purnia Sadar MLA Shri Vijay Khemka and Gandhian ideologue and former MLA Shri Suryanarayan Singh Yadav.
The concluding session of the two-day seminar on the theme of ‘Gandhi and Vinoba's Gram Swaraj and Bhoodan movement’ was presided over by Shri Devnarayan Paswan Dev, former Head of Hindi Department of Gaya College, while former Government Advocate Chandranan Sitesh as the chief guest and as special guest. Professor Amarendra Kumar Thakur of Purnea College Purnea, senior litterateur Acharya Yogeshwar, author of the novel Padmavati, well-known doctor and litterateur Shri Sudhanshu Kumar addressed the gathering.
In the second session the freedom fighters, Gandhian-Sarvodayi workers of Koshi Pramandal were honored with shawls, charkha and Gandhi bag for their dedicated work in the service of their country. Among them Smt. Sita Devi, freedom fighter family litterateur Shr Mohichand Kesari, anonymous artist-litterateur Acharya Yogeshwar, Ms. Renu Sinha, administrator of Ranipatra Ashram, senior government advocate Shr. Chandranan Prasad Sitesh, educationist Sh. Sudhir Prasad Singh, Gandhian thinker Sh. Chhedi Jha, educationist Sh. Ashok Kumar Verma, former Gandhian Principal Ms. Nirmala Verma, Ms. Nayantara Devi of Rajendra Visvesari Seva Ashram, etc. senior citizens were involved. Senior litterateur Shri Bholanath Alok, who could not attend the program due to poor health, was honored by the President of Gandhi Gyan Mandir Sh. Dev Narayan Paswan Dev and founder Sh. Dinanath Prabodh at his Sepoy Tola home. The program concluded with the national anthem.
On the concluding day also, in the program, former MLA Shri Suryanarayan Singh Yadav, MLA Shri Vijay Khemka, journalist Shri Amlesh Raju also addressed the gathering. The budding poet Ms. Ambalika Phool narrated excerpts from the book Mann Ke Meet, Gandhi in Tikapati and others.
• Gurugram, Haryana
* Seminar on ‘How Mahatma Gandhi Promoted Hindi Language’
November 20-21, 2021
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with Pragya Sansthan organised a two-day seminar on “How Mahatma Gandhi Promoted Hindi Language” on November 20-21, 2021. Senior journalist, Padma Shri Shri Jawaharlal Kaul, Shri Arvind Mohan, Shri Sopan Joshi, Sant Sameet, Sh. Shyam Singh, Shri Sandeep Joshi, Shri Rakesh Singh, Shri Chirag Jha, Shri Amit Gupta and Shri Durgesh Tripathi addressed the gathering at the inaugural programme on November 20, 2021. 250 participants took part in the programme that was organised in SGT University, Gurugram.
The second day on November 21, the speakers discussed on the subject, “Rajbhasha Hindi aur Mahatma Gandhi’ and shared their views. Dr. Amit Gupta presided over the session and Shri Durgesh Tripathi was the key speaker.
The valedictory session was presided over by Shri Arvind Mohan. Sant Sameet and Shri Rakesh Singh also spoke on the occasion.
* Encouraging Nonviolent Communication Ecosystem for Organizational Efficiency
November 29-30, 2021
As part of the endeavor to promote organizational efficiency, teambuilding, and constructive resolution of organizational conflicts, a two-day training programme was organized for officers of Haryana Institute for Public Administration by GSDS. About 50 officers and faculty members took part in the training programme.
The first session was taken by Dr Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti who introduced the concept of nonviolent communication, its different elements, and its significance in organizational communication management- both internal and external. He talked about imbibing nonviolent communication as part of our daily habits so that we can maintain a harmonious communication ecosystem, work-life balance, strengthen relationships and ensure deeper engagement.
He discussed the different elements of nonviolent communication like understanding self; the importance of empathy, compassion, gratitude, kindness; avoidance of moralistic judgments, avoidance of stereotypes, and negative evaluative language.
This was followed by a session on anger management and addressing issues of mental health through nonviolent communication by Ms Shrishti Sinha, a psychologist. She talked about how to manage one’s emotions, issues related to emotional awareness and emotional literacy. She also talked about how to maintain an anger journal and why it was an important tool for managing one’s anger. She stressed how a lot of mental issues resulted due to our dysfunctional communication and the role of nonviolent communication to address these.
On the second day, November 30, Dr Vedabhyas Kundu conducted a session on the usual forms of conflicts in organizations and how to handle these using the tools and strategies of nonviolent communication.
Mr Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti conducted the second session wherein he used case studies to discuss different forms of organizational conflicts and the way forward to resolve these and transform these into opportunities to learn. He also talked of how effective nonviolent communication was in administration. He shared his own experiences as the additional district magistrate and how many issues which crop up in administration can be effectively resolved through the use of nonviolent communication.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES
* Trans-Continental E-Conference on Bullying Experience and Prevention
November 5, 2021
Bullying has been a significant problem in the educational institutions all over the world for a long time. A report from the WHO states that about 35% people experienced bullying in their lifetime, while almost 30% have admitted that they were involved in bullying. It is considered as one of the most prevalent and dangerous forms of violence in educational institutions. Students become victims of bullying because of different social, cultural, financial, ethnic, religious backgrounds.
Addressing this issue, on November 5, 2021, ‘Virginia Tech University, USA’ and ‘Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti’ arranged a trans-continental e-conference focusing on students’ experience of bullying across different countries and restorative ways to respond to the bullying.
Students from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Japan and Philippines shared their experiences of academic bullying. They also shared small studies about bullying in their respective cultures.
From Philippines, Esther Louis shared that the lack of intervention regarding bullying in university level is the reason of its increase there. Taranna Tabassum from Bangladesh expressed that the power imbalance in the society is one of the major reason of bullying in countries like Bangladesh where social, cultural and financial differences are notable. Australian-Japanese student, Taiga Orlando shared his personal experience about being bullied because of his biracial background and appearance. Cameroonian student Godlove Dzebum shared about recent evolving patterns of bullying in his country.
This was followed by experts who shared their insights on ending academic bullying through restorative practices. James Hawden,
Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Peace Study and Violence Prevention, talked about the outgrowing social media bullying and ways to overcome that.
Research associate, Ms. Mansi Sharma proposed Gandhian approach to resolve academic bullying and shared about the effectiveness of non-violent approach to end such disputes. Nigerian mediation expert Chijioke Ibeku also suggested peaceful conversation will be helpful to prevent conflicts like bullying.
Tedx Speaker and Fullbright scholar Elizabeth Gamarra hosted the e-conference with Henry Yampolsky, Assistant Director for Education, Outreach and Conflict Resolution at Virginia tech. The event concluded with an interactive question answer session among audience and experts.
• South Korea
* Launch of Nonviolent Communication with Gandhi Community, South Korea
November 5, 2021
1. Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in association with Gandhi Community South Korea organised the launch function of “Overview of Nonviolent Communication” on November 15, 2021. Prof. Lakhvinder Singh, Director, Asian Institute of Strategic Studies delivered the lecture on the occasion.
2. The second talk on November 21, 2021 was again delivered by Prof. Lakhvinder Singh who focused on the explanation on Nonviolent Communication and discussed on the four elements of NVC. This was followed by another talk on November 28, 2021.
VISITORS
1. Lt. Gen. Wiseman Simo Mbambo, Chief on the South African Air Force, along with his spouse and delegates, visited Gandhi Smriti on November 7, 2021 and was given a warm welcome by Vice Chairman GSDS, Shri Vijay Goel who also took them around the museum.
2. Vice Chairman GSDS, Shri Vijay Goel met Shri G Kishan Reddy, Hon’ble Minister of Culture, and Government of India in his office on November 11, 2021 and briefed him about the programmes GSDS proposes to organize as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav.
3. Shri Anil Vij, Honourable Cabinet Minister, Government of Haryana visited Gandhi Smriti on November 13, 2022 and offered tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Martyr’s Column. Shri Vijay Goel, Vice Chairman GSDS received the distinguished guest in Gandhi Smriti and welcomed him.