Indialogue Foundation, Department of Philosophy (University of Delhi), Gandhi Bhawan (University of Delhi), and Gandhi Smiriti & Darshan Samiti, New Delhi co-organised a two-day Gandhi Jayanti National Seminar on October 22nd and 23rd 2019.
The theme of the seminar was “Gandhi and the Contemporary Issues: Old Theory, New Perspective”.
The seminar had the broader theme to incorporate various aspects, concepts, and theories of Gandhi from different new perspectives. The seminar was organised in the Conference Centre, University of Delhi (North Campus). The event began with a grand inauguration and introductory remarks by Prof Balaganapathi Devarakonda, Head, Department of Philosophy, DU, followed by Presidential Remarks by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Latvia and Sweden. Mr Vedabhayas Kundu reflected on the theme of the seminar and the Keynote Address was delivered by Prof Ramesh Bharadwaj, Director, Gandhi Bhawan, DU.
Dr Reetu Jaiswal as a co-convenor for the seminar highlighted the objectives and relevance of the theme and seminar, which was followed by the vote of thanks by the Secretary-General, Indialogue Foundation Mr M Behzad Fatmi.
After the inaugural session, five technical sessions were scheduled over two days. Technical Session I and Technical Session II were held on 22nd October 2019, and Technical Session III, Technical Session IV, and Technical Session V were organised on 23rd October 2019. The Valedictory Session with a large participation was also organised on the last day of the national seminar.
Each technical session had three distinguished speakers, a chair, and a vibrant audience. There was a total of 15 speakers who presented papers and covered 15 different aspects of the Gandhian view such as Ahimsa, The Art of Persuasion, Sufism, Faith-based Humanism, Deep Ecology, Air pollution, Climate Change, struggle of Farmers in Champaran during the British era, decolonisation and human rights. The seminar concluded with a valedictory session on the evening of 23rd October 2019 with the participation of Prof R C Sinha, Chairman, ICPR as the chief guest and chair of the session Prof Ramesh Bharadwaj, Gandhi Bhawan, DU. THe valedictory address was delivered by the eminent Gandhian Scholar Prof Bindu Puri on ‘The Continuities that Make for a Good Human Life: Aapbhog and the great tapasvi’, followed by a special address by Mr Qamar Agha, senior journalist & president of the Indialogue Foundation, and a vote of thanks by Dr Aditya Kumar Gupta, DU.
