THE ORCHID SCHOOL SECONDARY AND SENIOR SECONDARY DOMAIN, 2020-2021 THEME ACTIVITY FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

‘’The Mahatma is our past, He is our present and He is also our future.’’

Gandhi strived to lead the country to not just political independence, but to a better India and a society free of caste, religious, economic and even gender prejudices. He was the inspiration for our largely non-violent, inclusive and democratic freedom struggle. He continues to remain the ethical benchmark, against which we test our political ideas, government policies, and the hopes and wishes of our country men.

The world needs to invoke his ideas in the building of the 21st century that is marked by justice and equality, by incorporating global peace and wisdom.

Gandhi is revered, not only for his contributions as a freedom fighter, but also for conceptualizing and providing a new way to deal with injustice and oppression. He was an exponent of non- violence or Ahimsa and provided a unique philosophy, based on truth and non-violence as a guide to lead one’s life. Ahimsa is nothing but love, and love is that energy which cleanses our inner life and uplifts our thoughts. Such love perpetuates noble feelings like benevolence, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, generosity, kindness, sympathy, etc.

Young minds are the best assets a country can have and by using the power of ideas, they can lead us towards a New India, an India that has the best of education, health and technology, among others. Gandhi was a strong proponent of India where young minds lead the country to greater heights, India free from hunger, poverty and discrimination.

Our annual theme of 2020-21 revolves around a devotional heartfelt hymn, ‘Vaishnava Jana To…’

This song became popular during the life time of Mahatma Gandhi and was rendered as a bhajan in his Sabarmati Ashram. Gandhi believed in the power of using music to bring people together based on the law of love, life and creation as opposed to the hatred, death and destruction. On this note, to begin with the theme activity for the month of June, our students of the Secondary and the Senior Secondary Domain participated in an array of activities acquiring a deep insight and expressing their interpretations on the principles of truth and non-violence as translated by Mahatma Gandhi.

The students of classes IX and X expounded the relevance of letters written by Mahatma Gandhi in today’s world. These letters helped them peep into the mind of the Great Mahatma, who is considered to be one of the most outspoken, fearless and 'seditious' writers of India, with a spirit of humanity and fellow feeling permeating from them.

XI graders shared self-stories about educating the community and making them aware of the fact that one should fight a war with the weapons of truth and non –violence and that it is imperative to stand up against any injustice .The students also recounted their unique experiences of the stories of such acts of compassion associated with their real lives.

The students of class XII were shown a short video named ‘’Nonviolence or Nonexistence: Choice of the 21st century” which articulated Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of Ahimsa. In the same context, the students discussed at length about the concept and importance of Ahimsa, narrating their valued suggestions on Nonviolence that can be practiced in their daily lives, like eating a healthy and plant-based vegetarian diet, cultivating the seeds of positive and loving thoughts, controlling one’s anger before it controls anyone, Ahimsa on the wheels – ways to become a calm driver and about caring for the Mother Earth and our ecosystem. The theme continues with each month focusing on a new value associated with ideals that Gandhi imbibed!