IP College and LSR observe Martyr’s Day in memory of Gandhi

th death anniversary, Indraprastha College for Women and Lady Shri Ram College for Women held prayer meetings to pay tribute to the ‘Father of the Nation’ and his works. It was on January 30, 1948 that Gandhi Ji was assassinated by Nathuram Godse and the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru famously announced that the light had gone out of our lives. While the relevance of Gandhi- his principles and works are debated in many academic circles today, his martyrdom at the hands of bigotry is widely acknowledged and marked all over the world. At IP College, the Gandhi Study Circle organized the meet and at LSR, the Students’ Union, in association with the Indian Music Society and the Department of Sanskrit, marked the day with a special assembly. Kavyayani, the President, Gandhi Study Circle, made a presentation on Gandhi’s philosophy. This was followed by soulful renditions of ‘Ae vatan ke sajeele jawano’ and ‘Raghupati raghav raja ram’ by Alaap- the Indian Music Society. Raghupati raghav raja ram is known to have been one of Gandhi’s favorite hymns. [caption id="attachment_29217" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Soulful renditions of ‘Ae vatan ke sajeele jawano’ and ‘Raghupati raghav raja ram’ by students of IP College for Women.[/caption] Pico Iyer’s ‘Eloquent Sound of Silence’ was revisited by the Gandhi Study Circle, General Secretary Narayani; the famous essay is on the importance of silence and how silence is not an absence but a presence where the mind is in the highest place of all. Iyer says that a moment of silence is the highest honour one can pay someone. The gathering at IPCW also observed a moment silence for Colonel Rai who died recently fight militants in Jammu and Kashmir. At LSR, the Martyr’s Day gathering opened with the college prayer and a moment of silent mourning following which students from different religious backgrounds recited prayers from their faiths honouring Gandhi’s commitment to communal harmony. Students from the Department of Sanskrit then recited some shlokas. This was followed by Dhwani- the Indian Music Society singing hymns like ‘Ek Onkar Satnam’ and a Sanskrit adaptation of ‘Ae mere vatan ke logo’. Dr. Maya Joshi from the Department of English was then invited to share her insights into Gandhi and Gandhian philosophy. She quoted from a factual account of the Mahatma’s last days by historian Irfan Habib; Professor Habib has written that Gandhiji insisted that he belonged to both India and Pakistan. Dr. Joshi also quoted the artist Nand Lal Bose on Gandhi’s love for music and how he believed that machines could not reproduce aesthetic qualities that human labour could. The meet ended with the screening of a short video on Gandhi’s life and death, and his famous quotes. A verse from read out from the Islamic scriptures saying that martyrs are living, not dead, encapsulated the essence of the day. Alankrita Anand & Kritika Narula for DU Beat. Featured Image Credits: www.gopixpic.com]]>