The world belongs to change-makers. At GIIS Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Universal Values, our students' learnings revolve around the life-enriching values of Gandhiji. His values have always has inspired students of GIIS Whitefield, to walk on the path of honesty, tolerance, love, truth, integrity, and kindness. GIIS Whitefield celebrated the 151st birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi with highest respect and admiration for his values and principles that form part of every Indian’s way of life.

Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, the principal of GIIS Whitefield, Mr. Ashwani Kumar Saxena, said “While we all celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday this year, we must remember that he had always exercised the power of love & non-violence against injustice and led the people with optimism, courage, his principles and practice. In my thoughts, the biggest lesson one can learn by following lines of wisdom: Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” 

Our Pre Primary children were enthusiastic to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti and they were overjoyed doing the activities organized online. They heard amazing facts about Gandhiji’s life. The famous bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan to’ was played for the kids followed by a short video about the life of Baapu ji. A video around the story about the life of Gandhiji was shown to the tiny tots. The kids displayed their creative side by making a sketch of Mahatma Gandhi. The craft activity included making "Swachh Bharat" creative with Gandhiji (Nursery) Charkha making (KG1), and a tear and paste activity with Gandhiji’s image outline.

Students of Grade 1 to 5 celebrated Gandhi Jayanti with the spirit of patriotism and respect for Mahatma Gandhi. The array of programmes included the recital of the famous Raghupati Raja Ram song recital, a powerful protest speech on the impact of non-violence towards seeking freedom, a knowledge sharing interactive session about learnings about Mahatma Gandhi’s three Monkeys along with the vision of a fourth monkey. There was an insightful narrative about the influence of the Father of Nation’s influence in the freedom struggle of India and the significance of the Charkha, or spinning wheel. The most fascinating part was the virtual visit to the Gandhi Museum and Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This was as good and close to visiting Baapu’s abode in person. The virtual trip included Gandhiji’s Statue, Three Monkeys Statue, Gandhiji’s Statue, Hridaya Kunj, Charkha Gallery, Magan Nivas and much more. The activities around satvik or vegetarian food was tempting as the students shared vegan food along with the recipes. They prepared food with green vegetables for their family and shared the recipe with their friends and the teachers during the virtual classroom. They also displayed handwritten slogans on peace and non-violence with creative presentations.

Grade 6 to 11 also offered respect to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary. The garlanding of the Mahatma Gandhi statue was done in a humble and safe way in the school premises. A quiz contest was conducted for all the students based on the life of Gandhiji. The topics for elocution for Grades 6-8 were Gandhiji a role model in the light of values and Role of youth in promoting Gandhism in the modern world and for Grades 9-11 were Relevance of Gandhian Principles in Today’s World and Innovative ideas to create a futuristic and sustainable world of your dreams following Gandhiji’s principles. A short inspirational movie around Gandhiji’s life was also screened for the students.

As part of the Global Indian Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Universal Values (MGCUV), GIIS is committed to instilling strong virtues and peaceful living into our students through the experiences and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. We believe our values and beliefs are of significance in the current climate across the world.