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The incandescent afternoon of March 20, 2013 could be seen as the nature’s sense of humour in the form of ingenious irony. Indraprastha College for Women witnessed the 9th Annual Public Lecture, endowed by Indraprastha Girls Sr. Secondary School, on “Are We a Blind Nation?” conducted by Rajiv Vora, Chairman, Swaraj Peethe Trust.

The chief panel comprised of Babli Moitra Sraf, principal, IP College, Rajiv Vora, Narayan Prasad, Chairman, IP College and Geeta Gupta, Pricipal, IP School. Rajiv Vora, a staunch Gandhian, assertively narrated the chronicles of our nation in the last century-the carpel that conceived the perennial principles like Swaraj, Freedom and Justice. Keeping Swaraj at the centre, he linked it with various aspects of our nation, ourselves, and everything else. Quite graphically, Mr. Vora carved a vicious circle before the keen audience, stating that non-violence is the only way to achieve Swaraj, which further leads to freedom from the circle of life. Righteously enough, Swaraj, according to Rajiv Vora, is that term that shall inspire people to sacrifice in the face of a dire situation as it had done once before during our freedom struggle. Referring to the present scenario, he said that we are no longer able to distinguish between justice and injustice, moral and immoral, and sinful and pure-the lines between them thinned into oblivion. Mr. Vora emphasized that our nation is not an adequate reflection of its people and we are in need of struggle at all the levels, but the question is are we ready for one? 

As for us being a blind nation, it is a devastatingly sad truth. There is no ideal that ensures that the last and the first person strive together, in the words of the Gandhian. He went on to explain the majority of young listeners that the nation is stagnant with its people cowering in fear of the powerful and living at the mercy of the strong. There is complete absence of Swaraj; synonymous to independence, fearlessness and justice. We have no vision. We ARE a blind nation. But the lecture did not end on a pessimistic note as Mr. Vora showed us the solution to the prevalent problem in Swaraj and its religious practise. The session concluded after a round of questions, answering to which Mr. Vora said that we need to shun complacency and fuel the fire within us.

After all, the nature’s sense of humour was disapproving-we are a blind nation and it was an incandescent afternoon.

Picture Credits: www.phayul.com

Shreya Bhardwaj

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