143 students drawn from 12 schools of Delhi and NCR including students of Symbosis Law School took part in a dialogue on “Fundamental Duties and Moral Values” as part of the celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Constitution of India. The programme was organized by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in Gandhi Darshan, on November 26, 2019 Rajghat. Shri Laxmi Dass, EC Member GSDS and Vice President Harijan Sevak Sangh and Shri Biraja Mahapatra, senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.
Addressing the students, Shri Biraja Mahapatra, who is also the Founder Director of ‘Build India Group’, asked the students to develop a sense of ownership. Quoting the ‘Preamble’ Shri Biraja Mahapatra emphasized on the word ‘ourselves’ and said, “We give this Constitution to ourselves’ and, therefore, “It is our moral, social, ethical and fundamental responsibility and duty to own it and respect it and dedicate our service towards humankind”.
Calling this day as the ‘citizens day’ in its true spirit, Shri Mahapatra asserted that the students should try to become true citizens of their motherland or soil, for only then they will be able to understand the roots and the fragrance of the soil”. Asking the students to think of the whole country as the ground of activity, he concluded by stating: “My health is country’s wealth”, which the students also repeated.
In his address, Shri Laxmi Dass spoke about the importance of mother tongue and how that binds one to one’s roots and reiterated the sentiment of Shri Biraja Mahatpatra saying that one has to take care of one’s health so that they could serve the nation properly.
Reflecting on Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of truth and fearlessness, Shri Laxmi Dass said, “A fearless person can only serve humanity. The Constitution has bestowed this fearlessness and an identity to us in terms of our social, religious, caste, etc. We have a right to life, and, therefore, it is necessary to attain knowledge without conditioning the mind”. He further said that for Mahatma Gandhi ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence was not cowardice. Non-violence promotes compassion and kindness which Gandhiji had time and again spoken about to humankind.
Students also participated in the interactive session with the guests. Earlier two documentaries on “Making of Indian Constitution” and “Importance of Fundamental Duties” were shown.
Students also participated in the “Integrity Building Exercise” and wrote their views on how they plan to serve the country. Many students also wrote in their mother tongue the ‘integrity pledge’.
What was unique about this pledge was that none of the participating students expressed that they abhorred politics. While some chose to become teachers, engineers, there were a large number of them who expressed their keenness towards joining politics and serving the nation.
The programme concluded with an integrity pledge that was read out by Shri Biraja Mahapatra. Shri Laxmi Dass read out the ‘Preamble to the Indian Constitution’ which the participants repeated in chorus.
A one minute silence was also observed on the occasion as a mark of respect to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai Attack of 2008.