At a special function, former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Karan Singh, inaugurated the “Gandhi-Karigar Haat” in Gandhi Darshan on February 20, 2020 in the presence of over 200 people from different walks of life. Jain Muni Rev. Rashtrasant Gurudev Sri Namra Muni, Shri Laxmi Dass, EC Member of GSDS and Vice President Harijan Sevak Sangh, eminent Gandhian Shri Basant Singh, Shri Sita Ram Gupta, CEO Lupin Human Welfare Organisation, Bharatpur along with Director GSDS, Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan were present on the occasion.
Dr. Karan Singh not only inaugurated the “Gandhi-Karigar Haat” on the occasion, he also laid the foundation stone of the “Multi-purpose Community Centre” which will be developed in Gandhi Darshan. The inaugurated ‘Gandhi-Karigar Haat” and the “Multi-purpose Community Centre” have come to fruition from the grant of Rupees Two Crore received from Dr. Karan Singh from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (Member MPLADS).
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Karan Singh said that this is the single largest grant from his MPLAD funds that he has given to Gandhi Darshan, since he felt that the money will be used fruitfully at the Gandhi Darshan for the purpose of conducting cultural, academic and various other activities related to skill development and promotion of indigenous products.
He further said that he had seen Mahatma Gandhi and that one moment meeting with Gandhiji had changed his life. He said that though there has been tremendous development, conflicts have also risen, which is devastating. He expressed his concern over the rise in hate speech and anger and said that the relevance of ahimsa or non-violence can only lead human beings to be more humane. He called upon the youth to develop ‘compassion’ within themselves.
Shri Laxmi Dass, Shri Basant and Shri Sita Ram Gupta also spoke on the occasion and reiterated their commitment towards the cause of the artisans and rural development and hoped that the ‘Gandhi-Karigar Haat’ will give opportunities to the indigenous workers and promote the concept of self-reliance as espoused by Gandhiji.
The occasion also saw Shri Sita Ram Gupta giving away the tool kits of Barber and Mason to Shri Pramod Ram and Shri Genda Lal of GSDS respectively in recognition of their work.
Earlier Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan Director GSDS expressed his gratitude to Dr. Karan Singh for having thought of giving the grant from his MPLAD fund to GSDS, because of which the ‘Gandhi Karigar Haat’ could be set up and hope that this could provide opportunities to many to showcase their talent and harness their skills here. He also assured Dr. Singh of the setting up of the “Multi-purpose Community Centre” shortly.
The programme began with hymns sung by artistes from Tansen Sangeet Vidyalaya, Nazafgarh, led by Shri Jyoti Prakash Mishra who performed favourite hymns of Mahatma Gandhi.