The Hindu : New Delhi News : JNU gearing up to welcome Dalai Lama

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Monday, Sep 24, 2007
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New Delhi

JNU gearing up to welcome Dalai Lama

Parul Sharma

Nobel laureate to take part in academic programme

The conference is being organised with the support of Gandhi Peace Foundation
Delegates will travel to Champaran where Mahatma Gandhi began his tryst with satyagraha

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University is gearing up to welcome Nobel laureate Dalai Lama who will soon visit the campus to inaugurate the Satyagraha Centenary International Conference.

The conference on “Globalisation of the Gandhian Way: Sociology, Politics and Science of Satyagraha between 1906 and 2006” will be organised from November 13-19 under the aegis of the Global Studies Programme run by the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at School of Social Sciences.

Though the Tibetan spiritual leader has been invited to JNU on pervious occasions as well, this is perhaps the first time that he will participate in a formal academic programme.

“Dalai Lama is one of the living examples in the present day world who symbolises altruism, love and compassion. He is one of the greatest teachers of non-violence and satyagraha. Mahatma Gandhi’s life has inspired him greatly. He is tirelessly making efforts to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another. We are thankful to him for accommodating this programme in his schedule,” said Anand Kumar, a JNU faculty member associated with the conference.

The event begins at JNU and after three days the delegates will travel to Champaran in Bihar where Mahatma Gandhi began his tryst with satyagraha in India. At Champaran, the delegates will spend time at Bhithiharwa Ashram that was set up by Mahatma Gandhi. Various papers will be presented at different session to be held there. The conference is being organised with the support of Gandhi Peace Foundation and different institutions from countries like Nepal, Brazil, Belgium and South Africa.

Social change

“Satyagraha has generally been acclaimed as the most revolutionary contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to political thought and action. Gandhi developed truth and non-violence into an infallible technique of social change, which can be used both for removing the existing evils from society as well as ushering in a new order free from all the ills that plague the present social order. He showed the world that non-violence was an effective mechanism to deal with oppression. We want to examine all the genuine issues of satyagraha,” explained Prof. Kumar. A concept note on the significance of the conference said: “Problems like conflicts, destruction of natural resources, poverty and hunger that the world is facing today are all human created problems and can only be resolved through human effort, understanding, and a development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood.”

Representatives

Various representatives of satyagraha groups in India and abroad will be attending the conference. Activists like Medha Patkar and Rajendra Singh are also scheduled to participate, informed Prof. Kumar.

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