The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana Sugandh Rajaram has called on the Indian community in Ghana and Ghanaians to adhere to the values and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.
“There is no better time to resolve to Mahatma’s principles and teachings than today,” Mr Rajaram said.
The Indian High Commissioner said this yesterday in Accra when the Indian community and the High commission marked the 153rd birthday of Mahatma Ghana with a health walk through some principal streets of Accra.
The day also coincided with the United Nations (UN) International Day of Non-Violence.
Mr Rajaram said peace was the real need for the whole of humanity today because every part of the world, differences were arising, adding, that it was natural phenomenon.
He explained that the process of modernisation had taken over the world and there was a greater need to live together and understand each other’s differences as well as commit to live with their differences adding that “this is the essence of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.”
He said some of the principles of Gandhi were truth, non-violence, inclusion and sustainability.
He said the whole philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi was not just the philosophy of the struggle against colonialism, but was based on the solid foundation of truth.
He also said peace would be attained only through non-violence means stating that there were other processes suggested to attain peace which were through violent means and Gandhi called that revolutionary means.
The Indian High Commissioner said Gandhi hadalways highlighted that all this were transitionary means to achieve stability adding that “he said long time ago that stability will only come through non-violent means.”
Mr Rajaram said to be non-violent was not just in action but rather it should be purposeful, explaining that “we should be peaceful and non-violent among ourselves, if we have peace within ourselves then we can have peace with others.”
The Director General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE), Dr Collins Yeboah-Afari said the essence of the non-violent walk was in direct relation the very essence of the Gandhi message – “Sarvodaya’ – The progress that brings about economic and social development of a community and a better society for everyone.
He said the Centre works to stimulate the growth of the ICT sector in the ECOWAS sub–region as it provides research and innovation and e-government, human and institutional capacity-building in ICT as well as consultancy and advisory services.
Mr Yeboah Afari said since inception, GI-KACE has benefited immensely from the friendship with the Government and people of India and as we continue in this great relationship, the hope is that this will continue to help the centre continue in delivering on our core mandate of research, innovation and capacity building supporting the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization and the Ghana government’s all-inclusive digitalisation agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU
