The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Build an enduring Sarvodaya society: M.S. Swaminathan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 25, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Build an enduring Sarvodaya society: M.S. Swaminathan

Special Correspondent

Says education is a potent tool in the fight for just causes

“The effort should start with children and should ensure that they do not fall victims to a sense of injustice and discrimination”

IN SUPPORT OF CHILDREN: (From left): M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, MSSRF; P. Murari, adviser to FICCI; David T Hopper, Consul-General, U.S. Consulate, South India; Subbu D. Subramanian, director, Satyam Computers, and M.S. Ananth, director, IIT Madras , at the inauguration of an exhibition in Chennai on Sunday.

Chennai: It was important to build an “enduring Sarvodaya society” to sustain a culture of peace and non-violence in an increasingly conflict-ridden world, agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, said on Sunday.

One of the most important requirements of peace was the removal of gross inequalities such as malnutrition and poverty that hindered the productive and healthy life of children as the effort to build an equitable society should start with children, he said while inaugurating an exhibition on ‘Building a culture of peace for the children of the world,’ organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai, a forum for grassroots organisations, and the IIT Madras Alumni Association, Chennai chapter.

One of the ways of moving towards a non-violent society was through the Sarvodaya way as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi as it was a high-synergy society that necessitated paying attention to the needs of the poor.

The effort should start with children and should ensure that they did not fall victims to a sense of injustice and discrimination. Education was a potent tool in the fight for such just causes, Professor Swaminathan added.

The best peace-making efforts happened only when people were exposed to different cultures as this would lead to sustained international understanding, David T Hopper, Consul-General, U.S. Consulate, South India, said.

Important role

Education had an important role to play in building international peace. At present, there were 76,000 Indian students studying in U.S. campuses, making India the number one source country for international students in the US. Similarly, the number of American students on Indian campuses had also gone up and India was now among the top 20 education destinations for US students, he said.

A peaceful world was needed to ensure children showed the way towards harmony and understanding, M.S. Ananth, Director, IIT Madras, said.

Subbu D. Subramanian, director, Satyam Computers; P. Murari, adviser to FICCI, and Naveena Reddi, director general, Bharat Soka Gakkai, also spoke.

The exhibition will be on at Lalit Kala Akademi till July 3. Students from various schools in and around Chennai will take part in various contests organised as part of the exhibition.

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