Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi UNESCO Chair in CBR

UNESCO Delhi began to participate in these celebrations in 2018 along with the government and other agencies, by acknowledging “Concerned with education in all its aspects, Mahatma Gandhi also believed that science should be the tool for enhancing not only welfare but also human values, at the same time stressing the importance of preserving the cultural heritage in every sense of the term.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s vision and commitment to learning, knowledge and education have several elements that we (Drs Hall & Tandon) have been pursuing for many years in our work. Some of these are:

• Education of the intellect requires training of organs—hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose
• Education of mind and body without education of heart is meaningless
• Rooted in local culture and life, education, even higher, should be anchored in the mother tongue, otherwise
• “The higher he goes, the farther he is removed from his home and life, and his civilisation is presented as imbecile, barbarous, superstitious and useless”..
• The learning should be linked to life, with everyday life, ’revolution of educational methods’ in  the real world
• “The end of all education should be service”, and service during education should be a ‘compliment’
• A nation needs engineers, chemists and other experts; but they should speak the language of the people; their knowledge will be the common property of the people’.
• “A university never needs a pile of majestic buildings and treasures of gold and silver. What it does need most of all is the intelligent backing of public opinion”.

Mahatma Gandhi was a prolific writer, practitioner and speaker. Many of the above elements are his own words, drawn from an excellent compendium given below.

Are these above principles for higher education relevant today?

How can learning be linked to real life, with methods beyond the classroom?

How can the practical, everyday knowledge of people be integrated in creating new knowledge?

That new knowledge is common property, open source?

We at UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research are inviting all our partners to organize talks/discussions/symposiums/exhibitions/events on the life and learnings of Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birth Anniversary.

We would love to know your plan and find avenues of possible collaborations in this magnificent celebration of Gandhi and his life.