MUMBAI 28 July: The historical monument in its complete entirety in the center of Fort, Mumbai – Buddha Bhawan – where Siddhartha College of Arts, Science and Commerce was established in year 1946 by none other than Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar witnessed the event of “A Day for Tibet”, being organized by India Tibet Coordination based in New Delhi. The program showcased the cultural and traditional affiliation existed amongst Tibet and India since time immemorial with the presentation from Mr Jigmey Tsultrim, Coordinator, ITCO, New Delhi. He emphasized upon values of Buddhism that has direct influence in the life of Dr.Ambedkar and its contribution towards upliftment of downtrodden people of its society. He linked Buddhist values to the struggle of Tibetan people as to how it changed the perception of Tibetan political struggle against its oppressor – People’s Republic of China.
Professor Sateshwar More, a distinguished scholar in Marathi literature from Amravati College, Maharashtra addressed the gathering upon Dr Ambedkar’s understanding of India’s unity with relation to its neighbor Tibet. He stressed upon the learning of cultural and traditional roots of one’s identity while studying other forms of modern education. He shared his experience of visiting the campus during his college days as if he was standing outside the center of spirituality while he glanced towards the college building from the entrance. He also pointed out Dr Ambedkar’s appeal to reflect upon the different Buddhist communities to work unitedly towards the dissemination of Buddha’s teaching and to sustain its identity despite many socio-political challenges.
It was then followed by screening of some short documentaries upon the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Indo Tibet Support Groups functioning in different parts of India. At the last part of session, it was joined by Professor Ramesh Chandra Negi, a scholar of Buddhism, Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi. Professor Negi reflected upon the essence of Buddhism that has direct implication upon way of life even in the age of 21st century. He highlighted the concept of religion to be seen in positive and constructive manner in accordance with respective way of teaching and practices. While having faith in individual religion one must also acquire the sense of respect towards other forms of religion. Elaborating upon this, he underlined the contributions of His Holiness the Dalia Lama in the field of religious harmony and secular ethics. He urged the students to reflect upon the Shila of Buddhism and to become more compassionate towards other sentient beings.
An active round of interaction among the speakers and students were also witnessed during the event. The event began at 11:00hrs and ended at 16:00hrs with one hour break for the lunch. ITCO thanked the college administration for allowing this program in their prestigious building. Dr GVS Rao, Principal, Siddhartha College, expressed the significance of this program and hoped that more of such events could be held in the days to come. Vice Principal Dr Gaekward, Vice Principal Dr Jyoti Palukar, Vice Principal Dr Geetha Shetty, Dr Nand Kishor Chandan, Professor Vinod Bhele, Dr Padmakar Tamgadge along with 200 students witnessed the event.
Last but not least, on request from students and faculty, Professor Sateshwar More recited the poem entitled ‘Major’ which highlighted the essence of internal unity and defended its territory with complete force and entirety.
-Report filed by India Tibet Coordination Office-
