Noida, Oct 18 (IANS) Parents are responsible for making their children deviate from the path of truth by making them lie to unwanted callers on the phone and visitors - thereby inculcating in them corrupt practices, Gandhian, educationist and former judge C.S. Dharmadhikari said Thursday.
"Assure me you will not engage in corrupt activities and teach your children likewise," he told parents of students of the Global Indian International School (GIIS) here after inaugurating the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Values and Thoughts (MGCVT) there.
Drawing upon personal examples, Dharmadhikari, a former acting chief justice of the Bombay High Court, said children are born with scruples, but it is parents who make them deviate from the right path by making them lie to unwanted callers on the phone and visitors.
"Truth doesn't have to be taught, but lies are," said the 85-year-old jurist, whose father, freedom fighter and social reformer S.T. Dharmadhikari closely knew and interacted with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the freedom struggle.
He also spoke of the lessons in humility, service and sustainable development such as the use of khadi he learnt from Mahatma in the 10 years he knew him.
Dharmadhikari, who is vice president of the Global Schools Foundation which runs GIIS, also asked the parents to reinforce the discipline their children learn at school at home too, and stressed the school will launch a programme to associate the students' homes with the school to foster a holistic learning and values environment.
The Mahatma Gandhi centre, which is present in all other 19 campuses of GIIS in India and six other countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, displays literature on the Father of the Nation including his autobiography and other writings. It also exhibits publications on India's freedom struggle, ancient civilisation, philosophy and other great leaders.
Each school has a statue of the Mahatma, while Gandhian values including non-violence, integrity and ethical practices, are part of the curriculum.
Along with the centre, an amphitheatre and a 600-seat auditorium at the Noida campus named after late jurist L.M. Singhvi and late economist and diplomat Abid Hussain respectively were inaugurated by their widows. Both Singhvi and Hussain were closely associated with the GIIS.
The young students of GIIS also put up a colourful performance singing an ode to the Mahatma and performing a ballet based on his teachings, while children from the Sai Kripa orphanage sang songs associated with the freedom struggle, including Rabindranath Tagore's "Ekla chalo re".
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