January 30th, 2008 was the 60th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination. I attended the Congress 2008 in Wardha, India at the Institute for Gandhi Studies. Wardha is near the Sevagram Ashram, Gandhi's last ashram initiated in 1936. Wardha has Gandhi sites: other ashrams, research institutes to support village life, Kadhi (homespun cloth) production workplaces. For four days I visited them with Congress attendees. Here, a way of life is in progress consistent with Gandhi values and principles. Gandhi's vision built on the lifestyle developed over the centuries in India's 700,000 villages. It was a way of life centered on dignified living for everyone--and a sustainable way of life. Now, the principles of appropriate technology are being fostered incorporating the work of E.F. Shoemacher. In Wardha a person can discover the compliment to corporate and global economy.
I knew Dr. R.B. Chavan from my last trip to India. Now retired from his university position instructing in Khadi, he works for Jamnalal Bajaj Central Research Institute, (MGIRI), Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Ministry of Micro And Medium Enterprises (Gov. of India.) I took a day to be with him to visit his workplace. Here I had a personal tour led by Dr. Chavan and the Director, Keshav Kamble, to see each step in the production of Khadi, including the experimenting in colors and fabric methods. The production methods are then made available to the villages for villagers to produce and sell for their own sustenance. Individual vendors are common in India providing a rich variety of services and products. This research center also develops herb products, medicines, and pottery for villagers use. The pottery was beautiful. I came home with the possibility of initiating a similar development and training center here in the United States. Anyone interested in spearheading such an endeavor? Training is available in Wardha.
The Congress itself was organized by parties in France and from the Institute. The event was truly international with representatives from every continent except Australia. I shared a room with a young man from Cameron, an Austrian, and a Frenchman. Our conversations were rich because we could share stories and customs from each country. Claude, the Cameron member, wants to bring nonviolence to his homeland. He has had training in dispute resolution and is passionate in his concern about the violence there. He has asked me and others for support, especially money. I gave him a large picture of Martin Luther King Jr. standing with arms folded in a room with a photo of Gandhi on the wall. This moved him. (I received the picture among several other significant items from Dr. Savita Singh, Director of Gandhi Samriti, Darshan Samiti, the site of Gandhi's assassination in New Delhi.)
I will cover the next phase of the Congress visit, the Congress itself, at the next post.
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2 comments:
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Established in memory of Jamnalal Bajaj in October 1987, the Institute of Gandhian Studies at Wardha has kept Gandhiji's ideologies alive and thriving amongst his keen followers. The Institute offers an entire spectrum of courses and training, conducts research and seminars, provides counseling and evaluation services and undertakes publications on various aspects of Gandhian thought and action. Know more about the courses offered by the institute at Wardha.
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