It gives me great pleasure to join you all at this webinar to mark the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian Nation who led India’s freedom movement through non-violent struggle and inspired the whole world.
I am extremely delighted to have His Excellency Mpetjane Kgaogelo Lekgoro, Ambassador of South Africa to Vietnam joining our celebration today. South Africa has a special value when we talk about Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teachings.
It was in South Africa that as a young lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi began his Satyagraha movement, the non-violent resistance against colonial injustices. Thank you, Ambassador Lekgoro for joining us today.
I would also like to thank our two eminent speakers today – Dr. Shobhana Radhakrishna and Dr. Phan Anh Tu for joining us today to celebrate this important occasion.
I also compliment Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga for her exemplary efforts in translating Mahatma Gandhi’s “Hind Swaraj”, which will help bringing the message of Mahatma Gandhi closer to the Vietnamese people.
October 2 every year is a special occasion. As we celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and reflect on his philosophy, we feel amazed at the continued, or possibly even stronger, relevance today of those simple, yet profound messages in Gandhiji’s teachings and ideals.
Gandhiji’s philosophy of truth, humanism and non-violence shows us the path to deal with today’s global menace of extremism and terrorism. It is in recognition of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and the enduring relevance his philosophy that the whole world marks his birth anniversary every year as the “International Day of Non-violence”.
The theme of today’s webinar “Mahatma Gandhi’s Philosophy and Resolve for a Sustainable Future” is greatly pertinent as we realize the profoundness of Gandhiji’s vision of harmony with nature as fundamental to addressing today’s challenges of climate change and environmental degradation and to building a sustainable future for our children.
Even as the world witnesses the widespread shock created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, Gandhiji’s message of compassion and care for others, his ideals of empowering the poorest, his emphasis on local economic rejuvenation in the villages, his standing up for the dignity of labour – all these show us different pathways to deal with the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Mahatma Gandhi’s belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – that is, the whole world is one single family, is vividly manifest in today’s world more than ever before, when we see developments in one part of the world making an impact across all others. It strengthens our aspirations to connect with each other more strongly and teaches us to work together to overcome the common challenges, such as this pandemic.
Mahatma Gandhi always set the benchmark for judging any action or policy by the impact it would create on the lives of the poorest. His dream of empowering the poorest of the poor today guides India’s quest for inclusive development through the vision of “Atma-nirbhar Bharat” and human-centred globalization.
Our celebration today is an important occasion for us to reflect on and reaffirm those values and ideals.
I welcome you all once again for joining our Gandhi Jayanti celebrations and look forward to listening to your valuable insights at this webinar.
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