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News India Times October 9, 2015
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U.N. Observes International Day Of Non-Violence On Gandhi Jayanti
IANS
rowth of religious big-
otry and intolerance
has directly fuelled
sponsorship of terror-
ism in many cases,
India’s Foreign Secretary S.
Jaishankar said on Oct. 2, as he
noted the relevance of
Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings
was recognized in the world
more than ever before.
In his address at the special
event to commemorate the
“International Day of Non-
Violence” at the U.N. headquar-
ters, Jaishankar said the event
testifies to the collective hom-
age of the world community to
one of the greatest men of all
times, a homage that rises
above politics and speaks for all
of human kind.
October 2, the birth anniver-
sary of Mahatma Gandhi, is
observed as International Day
of Non-Violence. The event was
attended by U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon and U.N.
General Assembly President
Morgans Lykketoft.
Jaishankar said that the mer-
its of non-violence are widely
recognized as history demon-
strates that the outcome of
non-violent change is more
durable because it is an out-
come of persuasion and not
coercion.
Noting the Mahatma was a
revolutionary, yet a realist, a
visionary but a person of
details, practical and yet
imbued with idealism, he said:
“Perhaps, it is the limitations of
our own imagination that make
it difficult to reconcile different
aspects of his personality and
activities.
“What is, however, indis-
putable is that after almost
seven decades since he left us,
Mahatma Gandhi’s relevance is
recognized more than ever
before.”
Jaishankar said Mahatma
Gandhi’s three guiding princi-
ples - ‘ahimsa’(non-violence),
‘satyagraha’ (force born of
truth) and ‘sarvodaya’ (uplift of
all) - continue to provide the
world with approaches to
address a range of complex
challenges, many of which may
not have even existed during
his lifetime.
“In our times, we have seen
the growth of religious bigotry
and intolerance. In many cases,
this has directly fuelled support
and sponsorship of terrorism.
Unfortunately, the world has
often looked away when terror-
ists have attacked innocents,
assuming that it is not their
problem. As a believer in the
indivisibility of the world and
the importance of moral
courage, Gandhiji would ask us
all to stand up and be counted,”
he added.
Terming Mahatma Gandhi as
“the original sustainable devel-
opment guru,” Jaishankar said
the leader believed that the
world had enough for human
need but not greed.
“Appropriately India chose to
announce its INDC (Intended
Nationally Determined
Contributions)on Mahatma
Gandhi’s birthday. This was to
underline our moral commit-
ment to sustainable develop-
ment,” he said.
Jaishankar stressed that
Gandhi’s teachings can be
applied across a very wide
spectrum of human activities
and his legacy “serves very
much as a guiding light” for
India, whose diplomacy was
focused on a broad range of
global issues that serve the
broader interests of humanity.
New Delhi’s support for
Sustainable Development Goals
was also an expression of an
outlook that emphasizes uplift
of all, he said.
“Today, as we meet to
observe Mahatma Gandhi’s
146th birthday, let us remember
his exhortation that we must
ourselves become the change
we seek,” Jaishankar said.
G
Bya StaffWriter
S
ix teenagers of Indian ori-
gin, including three Indian-
Americans, are among the
winners of the 2015 Google
Science Fair awards announced
late last month.
Google announced Sept. 22
the winners of its fifth annual
Google Science Fair, the web
giant’s online science contest for
teen researchers from around
the world.
Some 22 finalists between 13-
18 years of age were honored at
Google headquarters in
MountainView, California.
The three award-winning
Indian-Americans are Anurudh
Ganesan, 15 fromMaryland,
Deepika Kurup, 17 from New
Hampshire and Pranav
Sivakumar, 15 from Illinois. The
three won the Lego Education
Builder, National Geographic
Explorer and Virgin Galactic
Pioneer awards, respectively.
Lego Education, National
Geographic and Virgin Galactic,
are partners in the Google
Science Fair.
The three other award-win-
ners of Indian origin were Girish
Kumar of Singapore, Lalita
Prasida Sripada Srisai from
Odisha, India, and Krtin
Nithiyanandam of the United
Kingdom. They were honored
with the Google Technologist,
Community Impact and
Scientific American Innovator
awards. The grand prize went to
Olivia Hallisey from Connecticut
for creating a novel way to detect
Ebola.
“In all of these finalists and
the thousands of submissions
from students in 100+ countries,
we see something common.
These students are inventive,
thoughtful, and determined to
help make the world a better
place.
All they need is a chance and
a platform to do so. And, unlike
some of us adults, they are ready
to try things that other people
think are “impossible.” I find
them inspiring,” Mariette
DiChristina, Editor- in-Chief of
Scientific American, who was the
chief judge at the science fair,
said.
Girish Kumar won the Google
Technologist Award for helping
improve learning through auto-
generated study questions while
the National Geographic
Explorer Award went to Deepika
Kurup for her idea to use solar-
powered silver to create clean
drinking water.
Krtin Nithiyanadam’s project
focused on improved diagnosis
and treatment of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease and won him the Scientific
American Innovator Award while
Pranav Sivakumar’s automated
search for “gravitationally lensed
quasars” earned him the Virgin
Galactic Pioneer Award.
Anurudh Ganesan took home
The LEGO Education Builder
Award for his unique twist on
effectively transporting vaccines.
DiChristina wrote in Google’s
official blog that it is “imperative
for us” to support and encourage
young people to explore and
challenge the world around
them through scientific discov-
ery.
“We’re especially glad that
Ahmed Mohamed—the 14-year-
old clock maker fromTexas—
took us up on our invite to
attend this year’s event. Curious
young scientists, inventors and
builders like him should be
encouraged and empowered,”
she said referring to Ahmed who
was arrested in September after
rigging a homemade digital clock
inside a case and showing it to a
teacher who thought it was a
bomb and alerted police. He was
released later and was invited by
President Obama to come to the
White House.
“The past decades have
brought tremendous innovations
and challenges, and none of us
knows what the future of scien-
tific discovery holds. But I can
tell you one thing: it’s going to be
better thanks to these kids. They
will be part of building a brighter
future for us all—and as they do,
those of us at Scientific
American, Google, LEGO
Education, National Geographic
and Virgin Galactic will be cheer-
ing them on.”
Six Teenagers Of Indian Origin Receive Google Science Fair Awards
India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar presenting Mahatma Gandhi portrait to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
during the Gandhi Jyanti celebrations at the United Nations on Oct. 2.
Consul General of India in New York Dnyaneshwar Mulay pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary at
Union Square in New York City, Oct.2. At right is Vijay Nambiar, U.N. Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Myanmar.
A Rainy Homage To The Mahatma
Mohammed Jaffer / SnapsIndia
Peter Ferreira
