Gandhi Jayanti

In the past many months, SJBHS has moved from offline to online education and from stage performances to live streams. On 2 October, 2020, the school management, staff and students celebrated Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘Father of the Nation’ who advocated change.
The online programme, marking the 151st birth anniversary of Bapuji, commenced with the lighting of the symbolic lamp – a beacon of hope in the days of the pandemic. The Ignatian prayer and the soul stirring rendition of ‘Lead Kindly Light’ brought to the fore the importance of God’s presence in the life of every Josephite.
Our Principal Fr Sunil Fernandes SJ, in his message, reminded the viewers that the legacy of Gandhiji’s principles of truth and honesty remain and intolerance and fundamentalist views need to be rejected. The message of Fr Sunil was echoed in the stories which were narrated by the young Josephites. A recorded speech of the great man brought to mind the struggles of pre- independent India – the struggle for freedom from oppression, freedom from injustice and freedom from intolerance. The life, challenges and hardships of Kasturba Gandhi were also documented as a tribute to the unstinting support of Gandhiji’s wife in his mission for India’s freedom as well as a means to highlight the need for women’s empowerment in India.
The celebrations of the ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ drew to a close. The Gandhian principles of peaceful co-existence, environmental consciousness and Satyagraha – to name but a few, reverberated to the end. The message of embracing change was omnipresent and echoed in the words of the great man: ‘The future depends on what you do today.’