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Introduction of Mr Jagdish Gandhi The Man and His Mission As the train from Aligarh pulled into the Lucknow railway station on a hot and humid day in July 1955, there alighted a barefooted ill-clad young man, carrying a tin box on his head. Apparently, the box contained his meagre earthly possessions, a few books, bedding and clothes. Hailing from the remote village of Barsauli in Aligarh district in the State of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India, he did not know where to seek shelter from sun and shower. But he knew what he wanted. He wanted something worthwhile, a university education which would empower him to achieve what he thought he was destined for. From his school days, Jagdish Gandhi wanted to do things to ameliorate the condition of millions of people deprived of food, shelter, clothing and above all the spiritual gifts of inner peace and harmony. The pre-and post-Independence bloody communal clashes between the major communities of India and the blood bath India and Pakistan witnessed at partition in 1947 along with the largest human migration in world history that took place then, left indelible impressions on the young man’s mind. He wanted to achieve great things for people around him but the contours of what he wanted to do had not yet fully crystallized. There was an inner urge to organize people to save them from social unrest. Someone had to do something most urgently. As always, Jagdish Gandhi was a man in a hurry. The unfortunate assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, his childhood idol and hero, caused him immense anguish. Since in his childhood he had witnessed violence, brutality and hatred all around and since no easy solutions were in sight, he mutely dreamt of using the spiritual weapons used by Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave to combat the prevailing chaos. He found inspiration in the words ‘catch them young’. Children created in God’s image, he thought, were free from prejudice and hatred. Beginning with children and educating them in godly ways would be a fitting method to reach where he wanted to go. It is society, he concluded, which makes the innocent children saintly or fanatical. Thus, Jagdish Gandhi ventured to look for bringing about a change in society through meaningful education of the young. Early Impressions Born on 10th November 1936 in a poor peasant family of village Barsauli in Aligarh district, young Jagdish was greatly influenced by his Uncle Prabhu Dayal, a well known social worker and freedom fighter who shared several prison terms with Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian freedom struggle. From his early childhood, Jagdish was taught the values of truth and non-violence by uncle Prabhu Dayal who also inspired him to serve humanity. The on-going second world war provided ample opportunities to uncle Prabhu Dayal to fill young Jagdish’s heart with abhorrence for war and violence. From his early school years, Mr. Gandhi was attracted to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. He had always dreamed of meeting Mahatma Gandhi in person and was devastated when he heard of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on 30th January 1948. Young Jagdish, then about 12 years old, was so heart-broken that he decided to carry on the Mahatma’s mission and persuaded his father to write to the principal of his school requesting that his name be officially changed in school records from Jagdish Agarwal to Jagdish Gandhi. Another person who left a deep impression on Mr. Gandhi was Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, a well known freedom fighter and crusader for world unity who presented a copy of is monthly journal “Sansar Sangh” (World Federation) to young Jagdish in thus planted in his mind the dream of world unity symbolized by a World Government. From this seed later sprouted the vigorous campaign for Word Government that City Montessori School launched under the inspiration and leadership of its founder, Jagdish Gandhi. The third person to deeply influence the thinking of young Jagdish Gandhi was Saint Vinoba Bhave, the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi and progenitor of the Sarvodaya (upliftment of all) movement. Later in life, Mr Gandhi personally met Saint Vinoba Bhave several times and was so inspired that he chose Vinoba's clarion call Jai Jagat (Glory be to the World) as the school motto for CMS. Early Activities Following the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr Jagdish Gandhi also established a Samaj Sewa Dal (Social Service Group) in his school which undertook a city cleanliness drive when the Sweepers Union went on a month-long strike in Aligarh in January 1952. For ten days, three teams of about 50 of his classmates inspired and led by him went round the city cleaning the filth. The then district magistrate of Aligarh district awarded him a cash prize of Rs 5,000/- which was utilized by him in building a room for the Social Service Centre at his school. During his senior grade in school, Mr Gandhi launched a 'Be Good' campaign among students which drew wide acclaim from all. He was also chosen for the 'Best Student's Medal' by the principal. As a student, he sold newspapers, polished shoes and gave private tuitions so that he could continue his studies and attend Lucknow University, from where he graduated. As a university student, Mr Gandhi organised many conferences, seminars and debates with the aim of bringing about a change in the mindset and outlook of students. His helpful nature and cooperative spirit saw him get elected first as the Vice-President of the Students’ Union and then as the President the following year in 1958. Even four decades later, old timers still recall that Mr Gandhi won the union elections without spending any money on publicity a rarity in those days. Marriage and vocation As a committed social worker dedicated to serving humanity for life, Mr Gandhi had made up his mind to stay unmarried forever as he thought he would not be able to find a suitable wife equally dedicated to his cause. However, when he saw his future wife Bharti at a religious gathering singing devotional songs, dressed in simple cotton saree, he recognised his soul mate. The young pair got married at a simple ceremony, graced by the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr V. V. Giri, who later became the President of India. After the ceremony the bride and the groom publicly swore in front of the mammoth gathering that had assembled to bless them to dedicate their lives to serving society by educating children. True to their vow they are continuing to spiritualize education at CMS. School for Shaping spiritually aware World Citizens Mr Gandhi established CMS, together with his wife Bharti on 1st July 1959 with 5 students, as an experiment for social transformation, as an attempt to spiritually surcharge humanity. He believes that “Every child is potentially the light of the world as well as the cause of its darkness, wherefore must the question of meaningful (spiritual) education be accounted as of primary importance.” He upholds that school must strive to make every child both ‘good and smart’ so that every child coming out of the portals of the school should become ‘a gift of God to mankind and a pride of the human race’. Mr Gandhi believes that the main cause of all the ills of today’s world is the meaninglessness of education. He believes that human beings have three realities — Material, human and divine. In order to make the child a worthy human being, the school must develop ‘all three realities of a child’ giving equal importance to all. Over the last 43 years, thousands of students have passed out from of the portals of CMS, reinforced with values of spiritual awareness and committed to the cause of social upliftment. Mr Gandhi firmly believes in unity in diversity. These values are reflected in the activities, philosophy and achievements of CMS which emphasize character building through spiritual and moral education and which also exemplifies the following four building blocks in a child's development: Universal Values, Global Understanding, Service to the World and Excellence in All Things. The school strives to mould its students to be ideal world citizens committed to the credo, "The Earth is but One Country and mankind its Citizens." The success of the CMS model is reflected every year, in the public examinations in which CMS students secure very high percentage of marks which is higher than the national average. Nearly 20 to 30 CMS students are selected for the National Talent Search (NTS) Merit Scholarship every year while hundreds of CMS students are selected for Engineering, Medical, NDA and various other professional colleges and institutes in India and abroad. Also, CMS is the only school to have an Innovation Wing where over 40 experienced educationists constantly research, innovate, develop and adopt new teaching methods. They also study innovations in education in India and abroad. Rededicating Life to Education In 1969 Mr Gandhi was elected a member of the State Legislature from Sikandra Rao Assembly Constituency of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. For several years Mr Gandhi used to convene All India Children's Conference annually to highlight the importance of children's issues and to infuse in them the spirit of brotherhood, community living, cooperation and spiritual values. Thousands of delegates from all over India used to converge in Lucknow for the conferences. In 1974 Mr Gandhi successfully organised an International Youth Conference on " World Peace Through Education" in London. It was during this conference that he met some youths from the Baha'i community. After hearing their views he was greatly impressed and influenced by the Baha'i philosophy of the Oneness of God, Oneness of Religions and Oneness of Mankind and so great was the impact on his mind that he accepted the Baha'i Faith, gave up politics forever and rededicated his life to education of the children as he realized that "Among the greatest of all the great services that can possibly be rendered by a man to Almighty God is the meaningful spiritual education of children, building their character and inculcating in their tender hearts the love of God." Since then, every year CMS has been presenting specially prepared floats at the official Republic Day Parade in Lucknow. Every CMS float is based on the theme of divine education, world unity and world peace. These floats are public education tools for stimulating public thinking and to motivate people to work for spiritual awakening, world peace and global understanding. Significantly, on 21 out of 26 occasions, the CMS float has won the coveted Governor's Trophy for the Best Float of the Parade. Father of Quality Concept in Education Mr Gandhi is considered the originator of the concept of Students Quality Circles (SQCs) in education. Quality movement in education seeeks Total Quality Persons (TQP) who are imbued with spiritual awareness and committed to striving for quality in thought, words and deeds. Quality is linked to godliness and order. When Mr Gandhi talks of quality in education, what he is advocating is not merely high grades or marks but a balanced spiritual base built on the four building blocks and four pillars of CMS education. He is convinced that high competence and grades matching one’s potential can always be achieved provided the balance between material and human education on one side and divine education on the other is maintained. His efforts have been recognized not only nationally but also by countries outside India like Bangladesh, Mauritius, Japan, USA. and others. Principals and teachers whom he trained at CMS have become ambassadors of quality in classrooms and are going out to foreign countries to bring about a qualitative change in education under the canopy of divine teachings. creating awareness for unity and world peace CMS has developed an extensive and highly meaningful educational programme aimed at spiritually charging the children and thereby building the defenses of peace in their minds, because wars begin in the minds of men. The tools used to attain this objective include daily prayer assembly, all-religion prayers, World Peace Prayer Ceremony (WPPC), Peace Poles and the World Citizen’s Dress, a CMS novelty created to inculcate awareness about oneness of humankind and common cultural roots. The Dress is a symbol of synthesis of the global diversity. It is white in colour, which is a universal colour for peace and purity, and has the holy symbols of all major religions of the world around the neckline. The flags of all the member countries of the United Nations are also embossed on the dress, representing international community and symbolizing the brotherhood of mankind. The dress is the centre piece of the WPPC which forms an integral part of all CMS functions. As part of its efforts to expose children to ideas of spiritual living and religious tolerance, CMS has been promoting participation of its students in international exchange programmes. Mr Gandhi is also a life-member of the Children’s International Summer Village (CISV) and International School to School Experience Exchange ISSE. Over the years, hundreds of CMS students have visited numerous foreign countries under the CISV Camps and ISSE exchange programmes. During past two decades, as CMS grew in size, the School has created the requisite infrastructure to organize and host international events. CMS Gomti Nagar campus has an exclusive large international guest house with permanent kitchen staff. The facilities also include an air conditioned auditorium for seating over 800 persons. Now, at CMS Kanpur Road Branch, a huge World Unity Convention Centre has come up, comprising a large air conditioned auditorium with a seating capacity of over 3,000 persons, several conference halls, a very big dining hall and 57 air conditioned guest rooms. CMS uses these facilities to organize and host fifteen international educational events every year. These include Quanta International, Robotics International, Astronomy International, MACFAIR International, International Students' Quality Circles (SQC), COFAS International, CELESTA International, GEOFEST International, International Mathematics Olympiad, International Exspo (Sports), World Peace Festival, SAARC Youth Festival, Commonwealth Youth Conference, Children's International Summer Village (CISV) Camp, International School-to-School Experience (ISSE) Exchanges and it was during these events that Mr Gandhi first became aware of the acute anxiety and apprehensions in the minds of children regarding their future, and, being the founder of world's largest city-school, he decided to appoint himself and CMS as the custodians of the welfare of world's two billion children, born and children yet-to-be-born. It was in this role that CMS has been organizing a series of international conferences for Chief Justices of the World, requesting them to intervene on behalf of world's children, and to safeguard their future by supporting their demand for enforceable international law and for elimination of weapons of mass destruction as also for ensuring globally coordinated efforts for conserving ecology and environment. philosophy of meaningful and divine education Mr Gandhi’s new concepts of divinity and his unique research on spiritual discoveries through the education of the child are path breaking. Through his City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow, India, Mr Gandhi has created the most unique program of spiritualization through education. He has not only taught children about love of God and concepts of divinity, he has done so in the most creative and innovative ways for the widest possible impact. He has devised many new and effective ways of communicating God’s wisdom and infinite love through what he calls school, a lighthouse. His effective model of education and his thrust on spiritual discoveries through the children, has reached millions in the process. A deeply spiritual man himself, Mr Gandhi believes that human beings are endowed with spiritual capacities. An understanding of the divine reality, positive virtues and values give individuals and societies the moral accountability, which is the basis of human integrity. CMS provides each child with a spiritual foundation for his or her activities, be they academic, physical, social, or, eventually, professional. CMS trains its students to develop virtues such as trustworthiness, compassion, humility, courage, kindness, and patience in an effort to assist them to expand their ability to perceive, participate, experience, empathize, and comprehend. Mr Gandhi has shown that a school can teach spiritual values and divinity without infringing on the individual identity of each religion. Deeply affected by the religious and communal riots at the time of the Pakistan /India partition, he has developed a model of education in which values clarification goes a step beyond critical analysis and intellectual appreciation by connecting it to volition and a desire for improvement. Mere knowledge of ideals and principles is not enough; there is the need to translate these ideals into action. CMS value education teaches how spiritual understanding can combine with reason to transform rational thinking and material growth into a continuous stream of self-improvement and spiritual as well as material progress. These values are taught at CMS in a non-intrusive way to its religiously diverse student body from the Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Baha´i, Parsi and other faiths. This has been an incredibly complex task but has not daunted Mr Gandhi, who is as full of enthusiasm today as he was 44 years ago. Mr Gandhi researched many innovative concepts and perfected several methods of his own for the development of spirituality in children, thus breathing a new life into traditional religious structures. Parents of all faiths greatly appreciate the spiritual focus their children receive at CMS, and in fact, many have brought their children to CMS precisely because of this school´s emphasis on inculcating the love of God, prayerfulness, thankfulness and the highest focus on the spiritual realities of the child. CMS model of meaningful education increases the love of God, it releases capacities, develops both creative and analytical abilities, a sense of purpose, love for beauty and appreciation for the mystery and wonder of the universe, thankfulness, prayerfulness, self-confidence, character, willpower and goal setting competencies, and instils the spiritual vision that enables a child to become later on in his life a self-motivated agent of social change, serving the best interests of the individual, family and community. In his inspiring school environment, Mr Gandhi puts first and foremost emphasis on the discovery of the inner realities of life over the outer, more visible aspects. He has shown through his experiment that when the inner roots are strong, the outer tree will also be strong. By giving more importance to inner over outer aspects, Mr Gandhi inspires individuals to their highest character even against the contrary winds of change, growing materialism and lack of divinity around them. Children moulded in this school environment also have a greater sense of purpose, they are more respectful, compassionate and conscious individuals, and they are more motivated to serve their communities through their careers and professions. Through good counsel and inspiration to discover the divine mysteries, and modelling of these virtues and values by the teachers, a school can provide a new direction and create new possibilities through education for the transformation of the individual, the family and society. In this model, the staff of CMS aim to exemplify the values and virtues they teach and the school organizes its material and human resources for the highest possible development of a child´s spirit. Jagdish Gandhi has come up with a number of new terms, concepts, methods and innovations that are part of his unique experiment with education. He has reorganized educational structure and instructional content to facilitate the highest possible focus on the spiritual aspects. Several of his innovations have created a demonstration value and raised expectations from education. Among others, these concepts include: u The concept of a meaningful education whose goal is to inspire every child to become both good and smart, a gift of God to mankind, a pride of the human race, and a light of the world. He considers man is a mine rich in gems of inestimable value and the purpose of education is to draw out these gems from within. He also defines education as a continuous and creative process. u Despite the constraints of an old and archaic system of education focused on material goals, a school can become the lighthouse of society, influencing the individual, the family and society at large. u By giving more importance to inner over outer aspects and practical measures to support these, Mr Gandhi has demonstrated that a child can become the light of this world, serving the Lord in unique and creative ways, with a sense of purpose and motivation that comes from within. u His Four Pillars of Education are unique in that they define the outcomes from education differently. Knowledge, wisdom, spiritual perception and eloquent speech (one´s being itself a testimony), are the most important outcomes from his educational model. u Its four building blocks of education help define educational content: universal values such as truthfulness, courtesy, prayerfulness and kindness defined by one’s own culture and religion, global understanding such as coexistence, respect and reverence for all forms of life, excellence in all things which is competition not with others but with oneself, and service to others, living a life of contribution, conscious of the needs of others and free from self-indulgence. At the heart of his meaningful educational model is the belief that education must address all three realities of a child: material, human, and divine. Current education is focused almost entirely on the material aspects of life. A child’s divine reality is largely not addressed. Human education is also largely lacking, an education which prepares a person to become a good member of a family and community. While all three realities of a child must be addressed, Mr Gandhi places the highest importance on divine education – love of God and discovering the inner realities of all things, looking with a searching eye at God’s creation, marvelling at the wonders of the universe, and exploring the inner depths and meaning of one’s existence and purpose for life. He explains that man has three natures: innate, inherited and acquired. In his meaningful education model, Mr Gandhi points out that while we cannot alter the innate nature, and in most instances, the inherited nature of a person, education can help greatly alter his acquired nature. His acquired nature is moulded in the three schools of humanity: the home where parents are the child’s primary source of empowerment, the school where a child receives his second source of empowerment, and society at large, his third source of empowerment. Formal education has a profound role and responsibility in developing the acquired nature of a person. Indeed, Mr Gandhi promotes the idea that purpose of education cannot be different from the purpose of life. Divinity must be emphasized not only in the context of home and church/religious institution, all three schools of humanity must promote and endorse these realities. The purpose of his education is to kindle the fire within each child that is potentially already latent in them, just like a mighty tree within each seed. Education must recognize the fruitful tree the young plant will become. It must prepare the environment for his highest development. When the plant is young, it needs supporting stick. In the same way, a child needs guidance. Most important lessons a child must learn are the lessons about their spiritual life. They provide the propelling forces that allow the tree of human being to grow into an upright and fruitful tree. CMS continually innovates itself. With focus on continuous improvement and openness to new ideas, CMS constantly introduces new experiences and opportunities for its students. It is also the only school in the world to have an entire department dedicated to innovation. Mr Gandhi places strong emphasis on process and research. The result is enormous creativity of its students, staff and parents. Mr Gandhi also believes that music is an essential aspect of the development of the inner spirit of the child, which increases creativity and inspires the soul. There are many new songs and original compositions made by CMS students and staff that are based on the school’s vision, and that help deepen spirituality in children. Mr Gandhi’s students have also won numerous awards for their accomplishments in music. Mr Gandhi has himself written many songs that inspire and touch the divinity within. One of his popular songs is: “Apne kaam se nahi Prabhu ke kaam se jiyo our jab tak jio Hari ke kaam se jiyo.” (Live not for your work but for God’s work and as long as you are alive, live only for His work) Mr Gandhi believes that the field of education is unexplored and its goal unattained. A lack of experimentation in the field of education has limited innovation to its margins. He argues that true progress will come only when the goals to which education is geared are completely revised – with spiritual development at its centre. These new goals for education will free it from its largely economic context. Through his revolutionary new ideas, Mr Gandhi has revised greatly our expectations of human potential and its outcome through education. Through his school, Mr Gandhi has tested the hypothesis that when a school provides a meaningful education founded upon spiritual principles and educates by it not only the students but also the parents and society at large, it becomes a lighthouse of society. In this new role, a school presents enormous new possibilities for the discovery of the transforming power of divinity for the individual and society. Mr Gandhi believes that a school should lead others in society. As parents are increasingly unable to provide spiritual nourishment they once did, the schools must take on a new responsibility. They must both set and meet new standard of ethical conduct. By demonstrating the effectiveness of his lighthouse model, Mr Gandhi has not only created a valuable experiment, he has helped millions to acknowledge the importance of a divine education. There are many eyewitness accounts of these successes such as A Bold Experiment in Teaching Values, Educational Leadership, May 1996, USA, 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, 1999, the Netherlands, Conflict Resolution: 50 Success Stories from Around the World, Oxford University Press, U.K., September 2001. The results are visible. As some studies and observations have shown, children coming out of CMS are significantly more conscious of their true station, more God loving, endowed with values and virtues, a sense of mission, and also aim for excellence in all they undertake. Observers have noted CMS is like an oasis in the desert, a centre of respect and values that stands out not only among the schools of Lucknow, but among schools at large in India and the world. One evidence is the endorsement of the parents who by choosing CMS as their choice school for their children have made this the largest school in the world, with its entry into the Guinness World Records. Mr Gandhi has tested the hypothesis that given a spiritual education, children will excel in their studies also. For example, Mr Gandhi´s students have demonstrated the best results in the country year after year. In his model, emphasis is placed upon competition with oneself, not others. By making excellence a value, CMS students have shown an internal desire to excel, to stretch the boundaries of their human and spiritual potential. By making this spiritual education experiment successful in academic sense also, Mr Gandhi has further given credence and created a demonstration value in the need for a spiritual education. CMS students aspire to perfection as Mr Gandhi teaches them that God wants us to aim for perfection both within and without. Mr Gandhi has given them also the unique concept of the TQP—Total Quality Person, that is, a person who is balanced in all aspects of life, inside and outside. It is no wonder that the CMS students have won countless awards in every subject, and have excelled in music, arts and the sciences, at the same time as they are conscious and compassionate individuals. Mr Gandhi places special emphasis on the learning of the sciences, as a vehicle to discover the inner mysteries and divine realities. When choice has to be made between the sciences and the arts in the higher grades, Mr Gandhi’s school offers only the science options while other schools can take care of the others. He organizes local, national and international science fairs and science and cultural exchanges, astronomy exhibitions and fairs, so that children learn to articulate and begin to understand the more complex realties of life, discover the inner meaning of faith and worship, and develop a love for God. He sees a natural connection between science and spirituality as two important and connected vehicles for the discovery of the world and its inner realities. Mr Gandhi has created a new culture and a new climate within his school and around him. He has built up demand for this type of education. Countless schools not only in Lucknow, but also nationwide and worldwide look up to Mr Gandhi’s school as a model worth emulating. They take inspiration from his example and have begun to implement his ideas in their schools. For example, after a team of Icelandic educators visited CMS and attended two international roundtables on the content of education organized by CMS in 1998 and 2000, they started the Education Society of Iceland (www.ims.is) based on CMS model and several schools throughout Iceland are now taking inspiration from CMS. CMS literature on spiritual education has been translated and used in several countries including Macau, China, Russia, Zimbabwe and others. A recent enquiry was made by the Zambian Ambassador to the US on how she could set up a non-profit educational society in her country based on the CMS principles. Mr Gandhi has a proactive, forward-looking agenda, at the centre of which is the transformation of the individual. Schools must not only take a leadership role, they must also be supported in these goals by others. In his proactive stance, Mr Gandhi reaches out to his parents and the members of the community in new and unique ways. For example, CMS organizes yearly divine education conferences and the decade 1991-2000 was declared as the Decade of Divine Education. Another innovation, the teacher-guardian program has also become a very effective means to connect home and school. In this concept, a guardian-teacher takes on the role of the parent surrogate who follows a child for several years and is responsible for all aspects of their development (material, human and divine). The guardian teacher visits the home of the child and coordinates with parents on these aspects. With the active communication between parents and staff which is ensured at all levels, and through conferences and events for mothers and fathers, parent meetings, mothers’ quizzes, honouring of mothers and fathers and even grand parents, the family is brought in into the process. He also has materials designed specially for the parents, to inspire and educate them to these goals. Mr Gandhi educates CMS teachers to a new understanding of their role as motivators and exemplars, how their mindset, their attitudes and their vision are critical in the education process. He educates and re-educates his teachers with this new mind-set. A new staff member is thoroughly oriented. The critical mass of individuals that believe in and support these same goals are the most critical component for the vision to be realized. Through extreme focus and consistent emphasis together with a “yes, it can be done” motto, Mr Gandhi is creating a new and positive mind-set, which is necessary for reform. He believes when teachers become exemplars and believe in the spiritual goals wholeheartedly, change will be real and permanent. The staff members participate in many debates, quizzes, competitions, and attend regular seminars, local, national and international events. These carefully crafted events are organized with the view to motivate and inspire the teaching staff to the school´s goals. Mr Gandhi´s efforts have extended from the child and the school, to the entire society by a conscious act of will on part of Mr Gandhi who believes that both family and society must be transformed in the process of educating the child. As a result, his outreach processes have touched millions. T.V. Network and local television channels carry 20-25 minute segments daily of his presentations, logical arguments and articulate discourses on meaningful education. One of the channels, that is the Aastha channel, is heard in 65 countries and the impact of their views on education is enormous. The scope and depth of his vision and the transformative power of Mr Gandhi’s presentations are simply otherworldly. The impart of his discourses on T.V. Network is given in the following pages. Mr Gandhi’s extreme resolve against his extreme difficulties along the way, has made CMS, a non-profit organization, and the world’s largest school recognized by the Guinness World Records. There are currently over 32,000 children in the school, which has also graduated tens of thousands of students over the last 44 years. It is also the only school in the world that organizes 16 (Guinness World Records mention at the time of entry 15) international events for its students. The Guinness World Records also recognizes CMS as the first and only school in the world to receive the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in the year 2002. In a press release from UNESCO headquarters, it is written: “CMS is not a school like any other. It is distinctive not only for its size ... or the quality of its teaching. Its students systematically score higher on exams than the national average. More than anything else it stands out because of its philosophy”. hard work and promotion of science Many legends have grown and developed regarding Mr Gandhi's energy and dedication to his self-chosen mission. Ever since the establishment of CMS, Mr Gandhi has been working 18-20 hours a day, and his office, which works round-the-clock, has never closed for holidays even for a single day for over more than forty years! Under Mr Gandhi's leadership and inspiration, CMS has emerged as a forward looking school with special emphasis on practical education of the basic sciences. CMS has been mainly responsible for getting India an entry into the international Physics, Chemistry and Biology Olympiads by sending CMS teachers to participate as observers in these Olympiads for two consecutive years, thereby earning the country's right of participation in these International Olympiads by Indian students. Now Indian national teams after their selection by Government of India through a nation wide competition have started participating in these three International Science Olympiads. CMS is also the first school in India to send its students to International Robotic and Astronomy Olympiads held in foreign countries where they won many medals for India. CMS hosted the 6th and 7th International Robotic Olympiads in Lucknow, India, in the year 1997 and 1998. Conferences Attended AND COUNTRIES VISITED: A widely travelled man, Mr Gandhi has visited a number of countries including USA, UK, USSR, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, Thailand, Norway, Mauritius, Malaysia, Lebanon, Japan, Italy, Israel, Iran, Hong Kong, Holland, Germany, France, Egypt, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Myanmar, Belgium and Afghanistan. Among the many international conferences he has attended are the following: Third International Conference on Higher Education, Lancaster University, UK; the Seventh Triennial Conference of CISV at Leeds, England; the First World Conference on Gifted Children, London; International Teachers Conference, Nottingham University, UK; International Teaching Conference at Hong Kong; Cultural Conflict and Asian Community in UK at Leicester University; International Teaching Conference at Paris; Youth For Mankind Conference at Chicago, USA and International Teaching Conference at Haifa, Israel. Mr Gandhi also attended the Anthropological Congress at Chicago, USA and was interviewed for an hour by American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio in California on his multifarious achievements and successes in the field of education. Some recent Conferences attended * was invited by the United Nations to the Millennium Forum held at UN headquarters at New York from 22nd to 26th May, 2000. * presented keynote address at 5th Convention on Students Quality Control Circles (ICSQCC 2002) at Georgetown, Kentucky, USA from June 11 to 13, 2002 * was invited by the UNESCAP to address a U.N. Conference at Bangkok, Thailand on 20th September 2002 * was invited as Chief Guest in Mauritius at National Convention on Quality Circles in Education held from September 26-30, 2002 * was invited by the Goi Peace Foundation of Japan to address a Peace Symposium as Guest Speaker at Tokyo, Japan on 18th November 2002 * was invited to the International Convention on Quality Control Circles at Taiwan, Taipei. * participated in International Conference of International School-to-School Experience (ISSE) at San Francisco, USA 1996 AWARDS AND HONOURS The Derozio Award When India's premier Board for Public Education, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi, decided to commence a national award of Rs. 1,00,000/- (One lakh Rupees) in memory of the great Indian visionary, educationist and poet, Henry Vivian Derozio, Mr Jagdish Gandhi was the unanimous choice of the Jury as the first recipient of the honour. The award was presented to Mr Gandhi by Mr Abdul Halim, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, at a special function held at St Xavier's College, Calcutta. The citation noted that the award was being given to Mr Gandhi for his "Outstanding Contribution to Education and Human Enrichment". Mr Gandhi donated the cash part of the award, to the ICSE Council for use in the cause of education of poor children. The highly eminent jury for the award consisted of national figures like General Shankar Roychowdhury, former Chief of Army Staff, Dr. (Ms) Kiran Bedi, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) and India's first woman police officer and Magsaysay prize winner, Prof. S. Gopal, Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, Fr. A. Hess SJ, XLRI, Jamshedpur, Mr Neil O' Brien, Member, Parliament of India and Chairman of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations and Mr Francis Fanthome, Chief Executive and Secretary of the same Council.
UNESCO Prize for Peace Education-2002
Nuclear Free Future Special Achievement
Award 2004
Life Link Friendship Schools Campaign
Certificate
Waaris Ali Shah Award for Communal Harmony
Honorary Adult Friend by World’s
Children’s Prize for Rights of the Child
Friend of Young Physicists Award
IMA/CGE Excellence Award
U.P. Governor's Award
Rotary Club of Lucknow U. P. Ratan Award The award was given for 'excellent services in the field of Quality Education and in furtherance of the cause of Humanism, Nationalism and Peace', by the All Indian Conference of Intellectuals (U.P Chapter) personally handed by Mr G. V. G. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India.
Positions holding and has held 1. Founder-Manager, City Montessori School, Lucknow 2. Chairman, World Council for Total Quality and Excellence in Education 3. Vice President, World Union, Pondicherry (2003) 4. Vice President, World Constitution and Parliamentary Association, USA (2003) 5. President, Children’s International Summer Village (CISV), U.P. Chapter, India (since1992) 6. President, International School-to-School Experience (ISSE), U.P. Chapter, India (since1972) 7. Vice-President, Intellectual Forum of India, U.P. Chapter, India (since 2001) 8. Vice-President, Quality Circle Forum of India (2001) 9. Convener, International Conferences of Chief Justices of the World (since 2001) 10. Chief Coordinator, Indo-Pak Children’s Penfriends’ Club Aao Dosti Karein (since 2002) 11. Convener, Parent-Teacher Association, Lucknow (1982) 12. Member, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (1969-1974) 13. Founder-Manager, Sarvodaya Sewa Sansthan, Lucknow (1959-1974) 14. Founder-Manager, C.T. Women’s College, Lucknow (established 1970) 15. Founder-Manager, C.T. Nursery Teachers’ Training College, Lucknow (established1970) 16. Founder-Manager, Adarsh Shiksha Kendra (Adult Education Centre), Lucknow (1959-1962) 17. Founder-Manager, Pre-Primary Teachers’ Training College, Lucknow (1959) 18. President, Uttar Pradesh Naujawan Sangh (U.P. Youth Movement) (1955-1959) 19. Editor, UTHO JAWANO (a Weekly to motivate youth) (1960-1965) 20. Founder-General Secretary, All India Children & Youth Festival (1960-1973) 21. Organizer, Annual Scouts & Guides Camps, Lucknow, U.P., India (1965-1973) 22. Assistant District Scout Commissioner, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Lucknow (1962-1965) 23. Convened an All India Education Exhibition aimed at highlighting the importance of spiritual education (1964) 24. Led an Anti-Dowry Campaign aimed at mobilizing public opinion against social ills (1959) 25. Convened the U.P. Sarvodaya Conference at Allahabad University (India) for mobilizing the student community in favour of spiritualization of educational curriculum (1958) 26. President of the Lucknow University Students’ Union, U.P., India (1958-59) 27. Founded Social Service League at his school in Sikandra Rao, Aligarh, U.P., India (1952) 28. Established Samaj Sewa Sadan (Social Service Centre) at G. S. College, Sikandra Rao, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India (1954)
—Ratan Chandra Gupta
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