The youth today should not just understand but also adopt the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar for the country to progress, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said on Thursday, kicking off the inaugural Mahatma Gandhi lecture organised by the Ministry.
The inaugural lecture, delivered by Makarand R. Paranjape, Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, was on the topic ‘From Mahatma to Modi: The idea of India’.
Speaking at the event at the Ambedkar International Centre here, Mr. Gehlot said both leaders might have had some differences, but they agreed on the importance of non-violence. Hence, their teachings were relevant today. His remarks came as protests raged against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act nationwide, including in the vicinity of the venue.
Prof. Paranjape discussed the various ideas of India over the years, staring with Swami Vivekananda’s, which included material progress and a “sense of awakening of our identity, culture and renaissance of civilisation”, and Gandhi’s idea of “empowerment of citizens, those who look out for each other, show restraint and not a police society”.
He said that for the “first time”, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two ideas — “awakening of the cultural and civilisational identity of India” and “emphasising development, progress and vikas” — have been combined. He said Jawaharlal Nehru’s “ideas of socialism and secularism” had failed.
