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A Special Initiative of Gandhi Vidya Mandir at IASE Deemed University

Gandhi Vidya Mandir, Sardarshahr (Churu), Rajahsthan, (GVM hereinafter) established in 1950, is a society registered under the Society Registration Act. It is located in the Thar Desert area of Rajasthan about 300 km west of Delhi, 125 km east of Bikaner and 250 km north of Jaipur. It was conceptualized as a Rural University by its founder Shri Kanhaiyalal Dugar in consultation with a team of eminent Gandhians consisting of Vinobha Bhave, Kishorilal Mashruwala, Dr. Shrimannaryan Agarwal, Haribhau Upadhyay, S.K. Jaju and many others. GVM was established with the mission of uplifting of the populace of this desolate underdeveloped remote region by spreading the light of knowledge, empowering the rural people economically socially, establishing harmonious relationship among people of different sections of the society and imparting value aided education to the learners. BLD Ayurved Vishva Bharti (Ayurveda College) of GVM was indurated and foundation stone of the proposed Rural University building was laid in 1955 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. However the concept of Rural University could not be materialized due to lack of provisions in the relevant law at that time.
The GVM has been involved in a number of community activities ranging from educational, rural development, alcohol-tobacco-opium de-addiction, social stigmas & atrocities and poverty alleviation activities targeted for the upliftment of the people in this deprived and desolate region. Recognizing the developmental activities of the GVM our first and second Prime Ministers Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri contributed Rs 50,000/- each from Prime Minister’s Fund. The first Deputy Prime Minister of India Sh. Vallabh Bhai Patel also contributed money personally for it. Activities and contribution of GVM in the fields of education, social services, human values, peace education and global harmony have also been recognized by several agencies (Governmental and non-government) from time to time.
GVM’s higher educational programs started in 1953 through Basic Teachers’ Training College. In 1954, this course was replaced by Basic STC. The degree courses started in 1956, postgraduate studies in 1960 and research (Ph.D.) programs in 1968. B.Ed. college of GVM was elevated and was given status of Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE) under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 1993. The IASE of Gandhi Vidya Mandir was declared as a ‘Deemed University’ under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 vide Notification No. F.9-29/2000-U.3 of 25th June 2002, issued by the Government of India. The deemed university has been admitted to the membership of the Association of Indian Universities vide their letter dated June 30, 2003. IASE is a NAAC accredited Grade ‘B’ deemed University.
Courses available in the deemed University:
Apart from schools run by the GVM from pre-primary to Sr. Secondary level, higher educational facilities available on-campus in the University are a multi-faculty college for girls, co-education colleges in Education, Humanities, Life-Sciences, Management and Engineering. The courses available are B.A., B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., BBA, BCA, MCA, MBA, B.Tech., B.Ed., M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Education, Bio-Technology, History, Hindi, Geography, Value Education and Management.
Interdisciplinary research on Peace, Harmony and Human Values
The founder of GVM, Swami Shri Ramsharanji Maharaj said “One must be able to prevent degeneration of human society by providing equitable education of the highest order in different streams of knowledge.” That is why IASE deemed University has constantly been focusing on Value and Moral Education, Ethical and Humane Education, Peace and Harmony Education in the campus right from its inception. Moreover, MHRD, UGC, The National Policy of Education, various Commission & Committees on Education have stressed that in our culturally plural society education should foster universal and eternal values oriented towards the unity and integration of people.
Apart from general research and Ph.D. work, the university has taken initiative to make research especially in the field of Peace and Existential Harmony. To boost interest in inter disciplinary research on Peace, Harmony and Human Values, the university organizes seminars, workshops etc. from time to time involving faculty members and Research Scholars from all over the country and abroad. Six Harmony Research Chairs have been established associating about 150 Professors and other eminent scholars from different states of the country. 45 Harmony Research Projects have yet been completed under these Chairs out of which 8 project reports have been published in form of Books. Publication of remaining project reports is in progress. The works carried on by Harmony Chairs have been acknowledged by a number of National and International Organizations.
Institute of Global Harmony
The deemed university of GVM has also established an Institute of Global Harmony (IGH) as one of its special programs. The Institute (IGH) is an experiment to explore a collective teaching and learning experience that will enable future generation of people, who believe of their own accord in the dictum that the only way to live a life of happiness and without fear, to live in harmony with themselves, the society and the environment. In doing so, they have freedom to realize full potential and achieve excellence in their pursuits.

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Let me introduce myself

let me introduce

Greetings! For some time now, I’d in mind to introduce myself. In the following few paragraphs, you’d read a brief description about me.
My name is Laj Utreja. I was born in New Delhi, the capital of the then newly formed nation-state India on August 15, 1947 carved out from the greater British India Empire. My parents, from a well-to-do family residing in the present day West Punjab province of the British India, being Hindus were forced to come to India as refugees under rather dire conditions. I don’t have to elaborate more on that – you all have read stories of the refugees.  After 5 years of struggle, moving from one place to another, my parents finally settled in Delhi.
My childhood, with my siblings, and friends, was an ordinary, pleasant and event free period of my life. It was steeped in the loving care of my parents. My parents were a one stop shop, where all of my needs were met. We as siblings had no understanding of rights, besides the fact that our needs were met. Even though it was from the eyes of a child, yet, looking back, what I saw was a clear display of duty performed by each one of my parents.
As a child my favorite after-school activities were playing field hockey, acting in staged dramas, and reading books on general knowledge. I passed Higher Secondary Certificate from the Technical Higher Secondary School (THSS) in Delhi. It was the first time I sat through a competition (and I didn’t even know what it meant) to get an admission in the 9th grade. At THSS, I attended machine shop, electric shop and wood working shop, in addition to the other courses taught at regular higher secondary schools.
After Higher Secondary, I entered yet another competition for admission to Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT/K) where I earned a B. Tech. degree in Aeronautical Engineering. There, for the first time, meeting students from all around, I learned about India, its rich heritage and its diversity of different languages and cultures. I also learned a lot about the USA, because my instruction all through my major years was delivered by professors from the USA.  Two observations were noticeable: 1. India is a land of diverse faiths, races, caste systems, genders, languages and dialects, and 2. it is important to make good grades and be at the top, if we’re to get a better job. Beginning summer 1966, after graduation, I worked for 2 years at the Civil Aviation Department in New Delhi. My assignment was to increase the performance of sailplanes using flight data.
With a desire for world travel, I applied to a few universities in the USA to secure an admission. In 1968, I got an opportunity to go to the University of Minnesota for graduate studies, where I earned an MS degree in Mechanics and Mathematics and completed all the requirements of a PhD undertaking. I later completed Ph.D. in Computational Fluid Dynamics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In the meantime, circumstances necessitated that I take a job during the then slump aerospace industry. I worked for the aerospace industry, and had a small business with NASA and the US Army. I also taught at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  Some of the professional areas of interest were Solid Rocket Booster Recovery System, Hollow-Nosed Cavity Infra-Red Seeker system, Space Debris capture concept, Hypervelocity guns, Aerodynamic analysis and testing.
Then, out of the blue, one of the tragedies hit me so hard that compelled me to seek who I am. That persistent thought sent me to places such as Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, Self-Realization Fellowship in Anaheim, California, Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthy, Chardham in Uttaranchal, and Mount Kailash in Tibet. I’d notable experiences at all of those places. It is because of those self-searching journeys, that today I’m at peace with myself.

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An appeal and request to students all over the world

student appeal

An earnest appeal …

  1. My generation and several previous generations have not lived responsibly to assure human sustainability.
  2. You are the future of human kind, so assume responsibility to steer us in the right direction.
  3. You know that the Earth is sick. Here’s the proof: There is a global climate change; greed, selfishness and aggression have entered the psychosomatic makeup of most human beings. These things are making the planet uninhabitable.
  4. Only you through understanding can reverse the unsustainable trajectory of the sick Earth and its inhabitants being coerced and constrained by aggression of the nation states and greed of the big businesses.
  5. You can do so by knowing who you are – a unit of the Knowledge Order.
  6. Just like the Material Order, Plant Order, and the Animal Order, who are in harmony with each other, you can also create an Undivided Human Society under a Universal System of Human Conduct.
  7. This will create a harmonious civilization. And I’ll share with you a paradigm shift in education to do so.
  8. You can take the first step by joining the Institute of Global Harmony.
  9. I value your time to read this.
  10. The decision is yours.
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Institute of Global Harmony (IGH) is an idea whose time has come

There are five proper nouns and/or phrases and an abbreviation in the above phrase that need to be explained:
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An Institute is an organization founded for a religious, educational, professional, or social purpose; it can be an organization providing residential care for people with special needs, such as an ‘an academic institution;’ or it can be an established official organization having an important role in a society, such as the educational, religious or political.
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