Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan, Wardha

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  Prez Murmu visits Sevagram Ashram in Wardha; impresses locals with simplicity and curiosity President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday visited the historic Sevagram Ashram in Maharashtra’s Wardha, touring Mahatma Gandhi’s residence, including Bapu Kuti, Ba Kuti, and Adi Niwas. During her visit, she paid tributes to Gandhi, toured the premises, and took a keen interest in the historical significance of each location. The President also participated in a prayer meeting, planted a sapling to support environmental sustainability, and engaged in traditional thread spinning (sut katayi). Accompanying the President were Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar, and Collector Vanmathi C., among other dignitaries. The residents of the Ashram were deeply moved by the President’s visit, citing her remarkable simplicity and her asking detailed, thoughtful questions. While examining the preserved artefacts of Mahatma Gandhi’s dai...

Walking Alone, Walking Together: Tagore and Gandhi on Jallianwala Bagh Siby K. Joseph On the eve of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, I wrote a brief piece titled The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: Gandhi’s Shift from Loyalty to Rebellion. In response, a friend pointed out that Tagore returned his knighthood during this period, marking the first significant difference between Tagore and Gandhi regarding their course of action in a public cause. Because I had not referred to Tagore’s renunciation of his knighthood or Gandhi’s return of his Kaiser-i-Hind medal in 1920, I was prompted to look into their correspondence concerning the nationwide "Satyagraha" against the Rowlatt Act. On 5th April 1919, Gandhi wrote to Tagore seeking "a message of hope and inspiration for those who have to go through the fire." Gandhi acknowledged that he valued even "adverse opinions from friends," as they serve as "lighthouses to give out warnings of dangers lying in the stormy p...

  The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: Gandhi’s Shift from Loyalty to Rebellion By  Siby K. Joseph After leading Satyagraha in South Africa from 1906 to 1914, Gandhi returned to India in January 1915. While his early intervention in Champaran in 1917 demonstrated the power of non-violence, its scope remained localized. In 1919, the British government enacted the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, to suppress rising nationalist sentiment. Gandhi viewed this law as a "shock" designed to "rob the people of all real freedom" and called upon the public to offer Satyagraha against the oppressive act. In Amritsar, renowned national leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satyapal organised protests against the Rowlatt Act. People from all sects participated in peaceful gatherings at Jallianwala Bagh. This led to significant misunderstandings among the British authorities, who subsequently ordered the arrest and deportation of both Kitchlu ...

  Lokmat ePaper - http://epaper.lokmat.com/articlepage.php?articleid=LOK_HWAD_20260329_2_6

 Legacy of Gandhian  Scholarship and Compassion: A Tribute to Ramchandra Pradhan Siby K. Joseph   I  had  privilege of meeting and spending  significant time with Dr. Ramchandra Pradhan in 2009- the centenary year of Hind Swaraj -while  I was  serving as the Dean of Studies and Research at the Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardh,an institution founded in memory of Jamnalal Bajaj. At that time, following a distinguished teaching career spanning several decades, he had retired as a Reader from the Political Science Department at Ramjas College, Delhi University, and was deeply engaged in research regarding the Indian Socialist Movement. Dr. Pradhan was already a distinguished figure in Gandhian circles, highly regarded for his scholarly works such as Raj to Swaraj, Reading and Reappraising Gandhi, and Colonialism in India. To commemorate the Hind Swaraj centenary,  the Institute organised an international seminar in collaboration with the Gand...