150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Celebrated at GNDU

Amritsar, Oct. 2 (Punjab Post Bureau) – The Department of History,  Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar celebrated the 150^th birth anniversary of  Mahatma Gandhi by organizing a lecture and panel discussion on Mahatma Gandhi.  Prof. Amandeep Bal, Head, Department of History thanked Dhesi family for the Mahan Singh Dhesi endowment fund for organizing lecture series. She stated that many ideas of Gandhi may not appear relevant to the younger generations in the 21^st century but the World today, in the times of hatred and intolerance needs not one but many Gandhis. Prof. Sarbjot Singh Behl, Dean Academic Affairs graced the occasion.

                Prof. Salil Misra, Key speaker of the day argued that many would say that  Gandhi’s relevance ended after the successful culmination of the struggle for Indian freedom. But it is necessary to see Gandhi not simply as a great leader from the past, but as an important resource for organizing the entire gamut of politics in contemporary times. Gandhi’s importance is that he provides a framework not just for organizing struggles, but also settling disputes. He offers a wholesome paradigm of conflict resolution, rather than that of victory or defeat. Gandhi posits conflict resolution as a viable alternative to victory or retributive justice or simply revenge. It is quite clear that in the 21^st century Gandhi remains our best bet and the last hope

            Prof. Harish Sharma, former Professor, Department of History spoke on Hind Swaraj of Mahatma Gandhi and how Gandhi is a continuous learner. Prof. Parminder Singh, former Professor, Department of English argued that Gandhi through his mass struggle was trying to protect the system from entering into a deep crisis. Professor  Joginder Singh, former Chairperson, Namdhari Chair posed the question of how come the Sikhs started  non-violent movement in 1920 when they were known as martial race.  Till that period, the Sikhs leaders had met Mahatma Gandhi only for a few hours.  Prof. Sukhdev Singh Sohal, former Professor, Department of History argued that to Gandhi production for masses was more important than mass production.

            In the end, Prof. Radha Sharma thanked the Vice-Chancellor, Dean Academic Affairs, speakers, faculty and other guests.