REPORT ON CELEBRATION OF GANDHI JAYANTI

“Peace is the most powerful weapon of mankind. It takes more courage to take a blow than to give one.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi Jayanti on October 2^nd, is the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the pioneer of truth and non-violence. He is known as the ‘Father of the Nation’. This day is observed as a National Holiday all-over India, as a tribute to him and has also been declared as the ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ by the ‘United Nations General Assembly’ held on 15^th June 2007.

The man who is revered all over the world as one of history’s most transformative and inspirational figure, is a great inspiration for the youth of India. The Gandhian philosophy and principles can contribute significantly to the efforts towards SDGs. He was such a visionary that when the term ‘Sustainable Development’ was not in vogue, he had defined and shown ways for it without even referring to it.

To commemorate the 151^st birth anniversary of the father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and to instil the fervour of patriotism in young Ahlconites, a special assembly was conducted in the Pre-Primary and the Primary Section of Ahlcon International School, on 1^st October, 2020.

It was celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm, for the first time ever on the digital platform in the virtual classes. The students threw light on Gandhi Ji’s invaluable contribution in India’s freedom struggle and how his principles of truth, non-violence and cleanliness are still remembered and practiced today.

The assembly began by paying respect through the song, ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’, which aptly matches with the principles of our ‘Father of the Nation’. Students promised to abide by the campaign- ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa Abhiyan’, with the pledge to keep the school, home and city clean.

Other than this, numerous activities to promote values of non-violence, harmony and brotherhood among the students, were conducted class wise as follows :

Little children of class 1, narrated stories from Gandhi ji’s life and recited inspiring poems. They explained the essence of Gandhi Ji’s monkeys and enjoyed drawing two things associated to him – the charkha and the specs. The activity was organized to assimilate and give knowledge about Gandhi ji and his teachings which were also associated with the SDGs.  

The children of class 2 enthusiastically made small video clips demonstrating how they are incorporating the spirit of ‘Gandhism’ in their day to day life, especially in these testing times of pandemic. They also understood that ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ after watching a video during the assembly. Some of them displayed how Swachh Bharat is a critical area of concern for every day’s life and how it impacts the environment and well-being of every human being.

Next, the children of class 3, in their virtual class, made posters on different topics connecting to Gandhiji’s life. Posters were made on ‘Clean India’, ‘Peace in the World’, ‘Teachings of the three Monkeys’ and last but not the least ‘sketches of Gandhi ji with his quotes’. These posters give a deep insight into the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi and his vision of ‘Swachch Bharat’.

The Students of class 4 organized an online event ‘मैं भी गाँधी – एक नयी सोच’. Gandhiji had influenced thousands of people through his ideals of non- violence, brotherhood, charity, equality, respect to elders, devotion to work and nation and most importantly, peace. Students spoke about Mahatma Gandhi as their role model in short video clips. They talked about the relevance of his teachings in the present context and how we can imbibe these values in our lives.

The senior most class of the primary school, made posters and models such as :  1) Storyboard- Motivational anecdotes with pictures of Gandhi Ji. 2) Collage- Independence Movements of Gandhi Ji 3) Quotes- Inspiring quotes of Gandhi Ji 4) Poster- As a student, your contribution towards Clean India Campaign 5) Best out of waste – Making small models of objects associated with Gandhi ji, like cap, spectacles, charkha etc. 6) Teachings of the three monkeys of Gandhi Ji and introduction of the 4th monkey and its teaching in today’s scenario.

The students enthusiastically participated in these activities that enabled them understand the value of virtues that help in peaceful co-existence of both people and nations together. The virtual special assembly and conduction of activities was great success. The Headmistress, Ms. Anju Gupta, graced the moment by virtually visiting all the classes and encouraging the children for their wonderful performances and creativity. It was indeed an enlightening moment as she also motivated the children to imbibe the teachings of the great Mahatama in their lives and emphasised how different UN SDGs are also based on the principles of Gandhiji.

Class 1

Class 2

   Class 3

Class 4

Class 5