PPS celebrates the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

PPS celebrated the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with great fervour. The students sent their recorded speeches and bhajans on the occasion. While Dilasha Malhi and Garima expressed their thoughts on the significance of the day in English and Hindi respectively, Vinayak Vyas and Aastha Vyas sang a soulful bhajan. There was a solo bhajan by Tarundeep Singh as well. The students also sent PPTs, pictures of tree plantation at their respective locations and self-composed poems. Besides, they indulged in activities relating to health, hygiene and cleanliness. In a video message, Mr Ajay Singh, Headmaster spoke on the relevance of the day. He described Gandhi as a global phenomenon whose ideals of truth, justice and non-violence find resonance even today. He also touched upon Gandhi’s needs-based approach. He paid glowing tributes to doctors and teachers who are working tirelessly to make a difference during these challenging times. He called upon the youngsters to lead the fight against the pandemic by following all precautions as enunciated by the government from time to time. He said the Mahatma’s nayi taleem has today come out as the New Education Policy.

Text of Headmaster’s Message

It gives me immense pleasure to speak a few words about the great man, who it is impossible by generations to believe that he actually walked on this planet. We are talking about none but the great son of India Mahatma Gandhi. Today we are celebrating his 151st birth anniversary. Is the man relevant? What a beautiful question? Well, the relevance of an individual as a person living and not being there but the important fact is the ideals for which the man stood. That is time-independent. That is totally relevant to each one of us as an individual, as a society, as a nation, as an international body and as a global phenomenon. His ideals of truth and justice and non-violence find resonance even today in all aspects of life. The appreciation of the thought of his ideals in the form of what he devised as a needs-based approach is all the more relevant in today’s world which is pandemic-ridden. Corona has disrupted our lives like never before. We need to stand up as a unit. All the youngsters of today are the ones who will be taking up the cudgels, who will be leading the fight in the war against this pandemic but we need to stand by certain principles and that’s why the man is so relevant. When we talk about the needs-based approach, we talk about how we need to appreciate the needs of everybody in today’s world. The doctors who are battling as the frontline warriors without any thought to their own safety, they need to be respected. It is a needs-based approach. They could have easily sat at their homes. But the need of the hour is to go out and help all of us to sail through this pandemic. Similarly, teachers who have put in so much of efforts who have themselves become students to learn, unlearn and relearn the nuances of technology to which it was a kind of an alien thought. They need to be also respected. The students who are missing out the vibrancy of the school environment and are sitting at home also need to be respected. And that is how the students and the teachers are on a platform where the education is continuing as a sustained goal and the needs are being fulfilled. The teachers are making double efforts to reach out to every student so that education does not stop. Similarly, it is the prime duty of all my students, of all our students to really put in their best on the online platform and work harder because you are not there physically with us but certainly you can also be one of the main cog wheels who can lead this entire front as an individual, as a thinking person, as a youngster who has so much of energy, who has so much of hope for the future. An eye to eye makes the whole world blind is what that man has said a long time back. So true. An eye to eye can only lead us to confrontation and conflict. We are not here to confront. We are not here to have a conflict. We need to go ahead as a civil society based on the structure of mutual co-existence. When Gandhi talks about the philosophy of satyagraha, we need to lead our lives with satya. We need to lead our lives based on the sound principles of sustainable development. He talks about nayi taleem. Nayi taleem is what has come out as the New Education Policy. We need to equip ourselves with skills so that we are the rightful position-holders in the coming tomorrow, in the coming future so that we can sustain ourselves and this world and this planet. We need to respect each other. We need to plant trees. We need to take care of the environment. We need to take care of the water. They are so many things to be done as a student and, of course, we need to take care of ourselves. It goes without saying, it goes without any sense of doubt that we need to respect the social distancing, we need to have the masks in public. We need to take care of all the precautions as enunciated by the government from time to time. Hopefully and with firm conviction, I do believe that we will sail through these difficult times but yes we need to stand with each other and the hope is you. The hope is the students. Let us all take a pledge on this 151st birth anniversary that we shall abide by all the principles which have stood firm and helped us to grow as a civil society. My best wishes to you. God bless!