Lead Kindly Light – Celebrating 150 Years of Religious Pluralism
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts in Kolkata, on 15th August 1947, Lord Mountbatten wrote, “In Punjab, we have 55,000 soldiers and large-scale rioting on our hands. In Bengal, our forces consist of one man and there is no rioting” thanks to the ‘one -man army’ – a paradoxical title indeed, to a man whose mission was – Unity of India through religious togetherness; his weapon: Non-violence or Ahimsa; his message: Peace and truth through his experience in daily living.
On his 150th birth anniversary, the contribution of the ‘Father of the Nation is almost forgotten. Who remembers that he walked lone through the riot-stricken streets of Bengal, in prayer and meditation, to stop violence? Today the worst form of violence, terrorism and communalism has raised its ugly head in our country once again. Love, truth and forgiveness are considered attributes of the weak and powerless. Nevertheless, 200 adults and school children celebrated Gandhi Jayanti at a multi-lingual play performance entitled, ‘Lead Kindly Light’, at St. Andrew’s Conference Hall on 01 October 2019.
To read the full story, do go to vol. 6 (December 2019) of EduFOCUS here.
