Dr H N BAJAJ - A POLYMATH

                                                                                      As children, in an attempt to keep us away from certain things and objects, we were told that the Devil, or a ghost, or a Bhoot had occupied it, and we should never go there. One such object of this vilification was a tree that came to be known as the Devil Tree. It was carefully explained that we should not clamber up its branches because it was in the possession of a wicked person from the underworld, who would do much harm to us. Wide-eyed, we children listened and mostly stayed away from that particular tree. Growing up, starting a family, and work pressure make a man forget much of his childhood; a familiar smell, or a chance encounter may re...

  October 02 is called Gandhi Jayanti; it is the celebration of the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated globally as the International Day of Non-Violence. It raises the question of how relevant Gandhian ideas are in a world beset by wars, authoritarianism, religious intolerance, pollution, climate change, and racism, all issues that plague our times. His ideas are based on his vision of a just and equitable society.  NON-VIOLENCE. Many would consider the Gandhian ideas of non-violence or Ahimsa as redundant in a world armed to the teeth with chemical, biological, nuclear, and conventional weapons. Ahimsa, first propounded by Mahavira, was a method employed by Gandhi to achieve political and social change. Gandhi believed in peaceful means to change unjust laws. To be non-violent in a violent world takes far more strength and courage. Non-violent movements are viewed favorably by the international communi...