Srinagar, Sep 27: The Governor, N N Vohra, today emphasized the need for the propagation of the Gandhian philosophy of peace, harmony, non-violence, brotherhood and strict adherence to ethical values for establishing a more harmonious and tolerant society.
 The Governor, as Chief Guest, was speaking at a lecture organized by the University of Kashmir and Sarvodaya International Trust (J&K Chapter) on “Gandhi: National Liberator, Social Emancipator and Non-Violent Revolutionary”, by P A Nazareth, former Ambassador and Managing Trustee of the Sarvodaya International Trust at the Kashmir University.
 The Governor observed that unfortunately, over the past three decades, the cult of violence had become a worldwide phenomenon, causing death and destruction and dozens of lives being lost everyday, across the globe. He said in such a scenario there was an urgent need for enlarging well informed awareness about the Gandhian values of peace and non-violence.
 Referring to Nazareth, the Governor said, since retirement, he (Nazareth) had done considerable work in the last 15-16 years for the promotion of Gandhi’s teachings and philosophy.
 He suggested that copies of today’s lecture by Nazareth may be profitably distributed among the interested students as it provides a deep insight into Mahatma’s philosophy of non-violence. He said the documentary, “Nashville–We were warriors”, screened on this occasion, also showed that non-violence, as propagated by Gandhi, was a most powerful tool.
 On the need for promotion of ethical values, the Governor said the youth were our future and they had to be enabled to take their own decisions about what kind of future they wished to establish. He stressed that every thing necessary should be done to curb corruption and discourage the growing trend of drug addiction, alcoholism and other evil practices.             
 P A Nazareth threw light on the various facets of Gandhian philosophy. He recalled Gandhi’s historic contribution as a national liberator who secured freedom for the country from the foreign yoke with his non-violent Satyagrahas. He added that as a social reformer Mahatma Gandhi accorded the highest priority to the elimination of untouchability, empowerment of the under-privileged sections of the society, and empowerment of women.
 University of Kashmir, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Talat Ahmad, threw light on the multi-dimensional personality of Nazareth and his contributions in the field of Gandhian philosophy.  
 Prof. G. M. Bhat, Chairman, SIT, Jammu and Kashmir Chapter, threw light on the activities of SIT. He dwelt on the career profile of Nazareth and said he was selected for the Indian Foreign Service in 1959 and had remained India’s Ambassador in many countries. Since his retirement in May 1994, Nazareth has been a guest lecturer at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and National Defence College, New Delhi. He has also lectured and participated in seminars at Gandhi Memorial Centre at Washington DC, UC Berkeley, American, Stanford, Yale, Columbia and New York Universities and in many other institutions across the world. Nazareth is a founder Managing Trustee of SIT.       
 Dr. Renu Nanda, Managing Trustee, SIT, J&K Chapter presented a Vote of Thanks.
 Usha Vohra, First Lady, Prof. Varun Sahni, Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University, Prof. Abdul Wahid, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir, Prof. S. Fayyaz Ahmad, Registrar, Kashmir University, Deans, Heads of Departments, Faculty members, members of the SIT and students of the University were present on the occasion.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 IST