A happy New Year to you all - my friends and my family - This was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru -on the grounds of Bal Bhavan and National Childrens Museum, New Delhi. INDIA - in 1963 - half a century ago. Pandit Nehru was all that you would want a Human to be - the Puran Purusha as Hindu philosophy would call it - I returned to India in 1961 to direct this institution seeded in Indira Gandhis ideas on schools, education and creative, critical and constructive development of children - this became a thesis and a structure developed in my doctoral (Ed.D), dissertation at New York University(1961). Those were great days when under Nehru leadership India built a solid infrastructure of Institutions - Universities and technical Institutes, hospitals and medical schools , a military force, and an administrative corps , Hydro-electrical dams, network of irrigation canals, and miles of rail line connecting this vast nation of biliion plus people. - all to create this sustainable secular democratic nation. It is such a SECULAR world we need to create- a secular world that understand that such a world must guarantee, protect, and respect all diversity - diversity of thought, ideas, opinions, beliefs - thats what the religions and cultures are built on. Humans need to understand, and need to learn - the power of the argument, the joy of conversation, the warmth of winning someone over to your side with the facility and force of your voice. Democratic institutions - schools and universities are the tools for nurturing that respect and developing the ability to understanding differences, diversity in beliefs and religions and ideologies. We must not shy away from discussing religious ideologies in our schools. That does not mean that we deny evil -but we deny the sword and not spend all human resources in building a better sword but on efforts at finding ways blunt the sword. I liked President Obamas address to United Nations yesterday - this is not the Americas fight against Islam - the world must together with SECULAR Islamist help to rebuild the secular institutional infrastructure in the Muslim World .President Obama I believe called for this, Thank you Mr. President. Prabha Sahasrabudhe
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 21:51:14 +0000
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