Thought For The Day ( AHIMSA )

 

Thought For The Day ( AHIMSA )

 

Wish You All A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year

 

Thought For The Day ( NONVIOLENCE )

 

Thought For The Day ( AHIMSA )

Thought For The Day ( AHIMSA )

GANDHI e-JOURNAL > August 2018

GANDHI e-JOURNAL > August 2018

1. The way to Peace @ https://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap95.htm

2. Relevance of J.C. Kumarappa's Concept of Decentralization in Modern India - By M.P. Guruswamy 
@ https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/relevance-of-kumarappa-concept-of-decentralization.html

3. Non-violent Action: Some Dilemmas - By M.S. John
@ https://www.mkgandhi.org/nonviolence/dilemmas.htm

Surrendered Naxals pass test on Gandhian principles

Surrendered Naxals pass test on Gandhian principles

The whole exercise is to help them drift away from path of violence

A total of 55 surrendered Naxals who had dozens of murder and arson cases registered against them have fared very well in an exam on Gandhi’s life and principles conducted by Gadchiroli police.
In an effort to reform prisoners, the Maharashtra jail authorities conduct classes on Gandhian philosophy with the help of NGOs in most prisons. After these classes, it holds the Gandhi Peace Exams to gauge the prisoners’ understanding of the philosophy. The exercise would help them in drifting away from violence.

Speaking on the endeavour, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Special Operations, Bipin Bihari said the surrendered Naxals were given lectures on Gandhian philosophy and an exam on the same was conducted in the month of August.

“Naxalites are waging a war against the state and we are trying to stimulate an ideology which shuns violence and preaches non-violence,” Bihari told The Indian Express.

“In order to draw the cadre to the Naxal fold, they are made to believe that armed revolution is the most effective solution. However, by introducing the Gandhian philosophy we are trying to instill the idea that demands could be met through non-violent means or ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence) which Gandhi preached and practised,” Bihari added.

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NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED : Give Nonviolence a Chance

Give Nonviolence a Chance

The Journey of Neelkanta Radhakrishnan

Edited by: Anoop Swarup

First Published : 2016

Pages : 348

Price : Rs. 650/-

Published by : Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
206, First Floor, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110 049, India.
Tel. +91-11-41055065 | 65254972 | Email: india@konarkpublishers.com | Website: www.konarkpublishers.com

About the Book:

 

Give Nonviolence a Chance is a treasure trove of articles that showcase the peace initiatives and nonviolent campaigns of the peace activist, author, educator and philosopher, Neelakanta Radhakrishnan who devoted his entire life to the cause of peace and nonviolence and in reinterpreting and restructuring Gandhi's Peace Army, the Shanti Sena. Edited by Anoop Swarup, an internationally known scholar and peace activist and Chair, Center for Global Nonkilling, the book provides an inside view of several major campaigns.

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Gandhi Journal Article-I ( July 2016 ) - Gandhi is alive and still relevant

Gandhi Journal Article-I ( July 2016 ) 

Gandhi is alive and still relevant

By Dr. Kumarpal Desai 

Mahatma Gandhi had given a talisman or mantra to Nehru. It was really a yardstick to use before making any decision. He told Nehru that before starting any work, think of the poorest man and keeping him in view, think whether your actions are going to benefit him in anyway.

This idea of Gandhi to help the poorest of the poor has brought about a peaceful revolution in the world. He has shown a way to this extremely materialistic, acquisitive, narrow-minded and selfish world. Today Gandhi may not be among us, but he manifests himself through many individuals in our society. Organisations like the Radical Party or the Greenpeace Party openly acknowledge that Mahatma Gandhi is their guide and they follow his path. Their policies are based on Gandhian principles.

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Gandhi Journal Article-III (March 2016) : Gandhi's Philosophy of Nonviolence

Gandhi Journal Article-III (March 2016) :

Gandhi's Philosophy of Nonviolence

With Gandhi, the notion of nonviolence attained a special status. He not only theorized on it, he adopted nonviolence as a philosophy and an ideal way of life. He made us understand that the philosophy of nonviolence is not a weapon of the weak; it is a weapon which can be tried by all.

Nonviolence was not Gandhi’s invention. He is however called the father of nonviolence because according to Mark Shepard, “He raised nonviolent action to a level never before achieved.” ¹ Krishna Kripalani again asserts “Gandhi was the first in Human history to extend the principle of nonviolence from the individual to social and political plane.”² While scholars were talking about an idea without a name or a movement, Gandhi is the person who came up with the name and brought together different related ideas under one concept: Satyagraha.

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New Book Published : Eyewitness Gandhi

Eyewitness Gandhi

Be a part of Gandhi's extraordinary life story and relive a momentous chapter in history
Written by: Juhi Saklani

Consultant: Vivek Bhandari

First Published in India: July 014

Total Pages : 72 pages

Age : From 8 to 12 years

Price : Rs. 299/-

Published by : Dorling Kindersley Publishing Private Ltd.,
8 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017.

About the Book:
 

DK Eyewitness Gandhi is a spectacular and informative guide to one of history's most complex and revered personalities. Striking photographs offer you a unique view of Mahatma Gandhi's legacy, tracing his life from his early childhood to his assassination, highlighting his affirmation as a leader, his involvement in Indian Independence and his timeless ideas about world peace.

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Gandhi Journal Article-II: Gandhian Ethics of Fast-Nonviolence

Gandhian Ethics of Fast-Nonviolence

By By Maithili R. Gupte

Fasting is an institution as old as Adam. It has been resorted to for self-purification or for some ends noble as well as ignoble. Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed fasted so as to see God face to face. Ramchandra fasted for the sea to give way for his army of monkeys. Parvati fasted to secure Mahadev himself as her Lord and Master. In Gandhi's fast he follows these great examples, no doubt for ends much less noble than theirs. Even today this weapon of fasting used to fight against evils.

Non-violence is also old as human culture. Non-violence has occupies a pre-eminent position in Indian philosophy and religion. It has been the first among the five-fold virtues. Which form the essence of Hindu Ethics and are known by various names, such as pancayama, pancasila or panca-maha-vrata. Jainism placed it higher than truth (Satya). The Buddha identified it with universal compassion. It was regarded as equivalent to Dharma or the Moral Law - it was a necessary means to Moksa or salvation and vital part of the spiritual discipline prescribed by teachers of Yoga like Patanjali.

Now the question is - why does violence exist in us? Because we can't see ourselves as part of a universe, because we see ourselves as being separate. In that separation is violence. If we separate ourselves from everybody else, then of course, we have to fight for our own survival.

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Gandhi's Non-violent Approach

Gandhi's nonviolent approach offers lessons for peace movements, Stanford scholar says

Mohandas Gandhi's organizational innovations were instrumental to the success of India's independence movement, Stanford scholar Saumitra Jha says.

The organizational innovations behind Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent movement in India offer lessons for contemporary peace movements, a Stanford scholar argues.

In a new paper that reinterprets Gandhi's legacy, Stanford's Saumitra Jha, an associate professor of political economy, examines the potential and pitfalls of non-violent disobedience. His co-author is Rikhil Bhavnani, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Too often, nonviolent civil disobedience fails, they wrote. "The key lesson of India's successful movement is sometimes reduced to the simple but rather unhelpful admonition, 'Find another Gandhi,' who can lead through individual charisma," Jha said in an interview.

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Gandhi - Peace Punchline Competition

International Non-violence Day

Gandhi - Peace punchline Competition

Give us a punch line that promotes tolerance, non-violence, equality, peace, justice and so on.

Organized by

Gandhi Centre - Australia Incorp.

Email: gandhipeacecentre@hotmail.com

For More Information

Gandhi Journal Article - III

The Economics of Khadi

By Dr. Namita Nimbalkar

Gandhian economics cannot be regarded as a distinct subject or discipline. It can at best be regarded as teachings and practices of Mahatma Gandhi. It includes study of all relevant economic activities having a relevance to Indian conditions. These economic activities include production, distribution, consumption, public finance and sarvodaya. The core of the Gandhian economics is the basic principles of truth and non violence. Therefore Gandhian economics refers to all such economic activities undertaken within the framework of truth and non violence and accepted ethical standards in which man is regarded as the central point of the study.

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Gandhi Journal Article - II

Violence and Non-violence Today: How Gandhian Principles can help in reducing violence

By Ravi Bhatia

There are serious problems of deprivation and marginalisation being faced by millions across the world. Although people suffer silently, occasionally they rise up in protest and commit violence on the state and the other individuals. This paper discusses the nature of different forms of violence and factors leading to it. In addition, it seeks to bring out the relevance of Gandhian principles of truth, Satyagraha, non-violence, proper educational system and religious tolerance, and argue that these principles can be applied in the contemporary situation for reduction of conflict and violence by advancing the welfare of the deprived, protection of environment, promoting peace and understanding among peoples. These principles have a universal validity and have been successfully adopted by several countries and peoples.

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Lasting legacy : Nelson Mandela's evolution as a strategic leader

Lasting legacy: Nelson Mandela's evolution as a strategic leader

The life story of Nelson Mandela is well known, and elevated him to the level of such widely recognised heroes as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. There was indeed much courage, sacrifice, wisdom and nobility in his life -attributes that demand our deep respect and have much to teach us.

What is less well-known is how Mandela evolved into the kind of strategic leader who, from prisons on Robben Island and elsewhere, helped to bring genuine democracy to South Africa. For example, while isolated from his fellow prisoners by force, he steered secret government meetings toward the abolishment of apartheid and free elections. Subsequent to that, he became the country's first democratically elected black president.

Mandela's remarkable story holds valuable lessons for other leaders involved in deep struggles, foremost among which are the importance of holding firm to a morally just vision and the ability to influence a sequence of key strategic decisions over time (decades, in his case) in order to bring about truly remarkable results.

Three decisions especially stand out in Mandela's evolution as a strategic leader. To appreciate these fully, however, we need to understand some of the social and political contexts that shaped his career and values.

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Malala Yousafzai invokes Mahatma Gandhi in her UN speech

 

Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai, in her first public speech at the United Nations since being shot in the head by the Taliban, has said she is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's path of non-violence.

Malala invoked Gandhi and other global advocates of non-violence stressing that, "I'm not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban, or any other terrorist group." 

"I'm here to speak about the right of education for every child," Malala said, in an impassioned address to the UN Youth Assembly on Friday.

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Mandela's Transformation: A Lesson for Us All

Mandela's Transformation: A Lesson for Us All

Today, Nelson Mandela is in the hearts of many.

Renowned around the globe as a symbol of equality, freedom, and moral fortitude, Mandela is one of the most revered leaders and public figures of our time. His face is associated with peace and persistence and his name consistently comes up next to the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. Mandela's international legacy is build upon his lifelong campaign against South Africa's segregationist apartheid system and the incredible story of how he survived 27 years in prison to be elected the first black president in the country's first-ever fully representative election. He is widely considered the founding father of South Africa's democracy, and is often referred to as tata -- the Xhosa word for "father" -- by South Africans.

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