Peace Education- Need of the Time

‘Peace is its own reward’ 

    One of the quotes by Mahatma Gandhi says it all. His words should make a lot of sense for those who have lost it. But why peace in a society which is not on cooperative terms? Why today we feel the urge to live in a peaceful society? Why do we feel that apart from academic education, peace education is the need of the hour? The answer to this question is rightly given by Dalai Lama- ‘World Peace begins with inner peace.’

    I believe in being a pacifist. I would choose to walk away than rather pacify my desire to argue. It is not always advisable to prove oneself right through a battle. We should be selective in choosing our battles because being at peace is better than being right. In today’s modern world or rather call ultra modern world, every other person, every other country is trying to prove to be superior either by hook or by crook. Let’s brood over it- Is it necessary? If not, then what is needed? The answer to this is ‘PEACE

EDUCATION’.

PEACE EDUCATION; 

we can call it a source of gathering values, skills, personality traits, knowledge and our composure and behavior to maintain brotherhood, harmony, fraternity with oneself, our countrymen, our nature, our environment and our world. We should not forget that we are GLOBAL CITIZENS. 

    Our lives today have taken a huge leap post scientific, technological, cultural and industrial development. But we have paid a huge price for it. It has become a rat race to prove one’s superiority. With this ambition creeps in the evil to demolish the peace which binds us together. We humans are the most superior race. We have the ability to learn, think and understand. The main irony that lies here is that when we know what is right or wrong for us, but we are unable to differentiate between serenity and disruption. 

    What do we fight for? Is it worth a fight? THINK THINK THINK. War is not the only solution to end all conflicts. This can be learnt from the great epic ‘MAHABHARATA’. The Pandavas and Kauravas fought against each other but both the sides suffered irrecoverable losses. Same with the two world wars which was witnessed by many. Though being the victors the countries lost. This loss couldn’t be mended. We must therefore understand that there is the path of PEACE & SERENITY.

    We Indians do have a history of conflicts over religious issues. We die to fight for our religions but fail to understand that all religions have the same belief towards peace. The Bhagvad Gita says, “Free from all thoughts of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’- that man finds inner peace.” 

    “Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amidst the storm”, says the Bible.

The Holy Quran mentions similar views, 

“Humanity is but single brotherhood, make peace with your brethren”.

The righteous quote, from Guru Granth Sahib

“The giver of peace is eternally blissful”. 

So, when all the holy books insist on the same, who are we to defy it, who has given us the authority to nullify it through our thoughts and actions. Try to be better choosers than being a loser. 

    We have a very big lesson to learn from the recent pandemic of COVID-19. All nations are fighting against a common enemy, with their maximum grit, but this war is without any weapons. We have warriors but they are bound to their duty to serve the society- the COVID-19 warriors. They are serving the true purpose of humanity. The doctors, the nurses, the policemen, the medical staff and all those who are the soldiers of this unarmed army; their selfless gestures spread the message of what humans are really capable of. Selfless are the deeds of the Corona warriors! But there are few who are beyond repair, so forget about them, lets see if they can be peace makers. In our country we witnessed the fly past by our defense forces, Wow what a way to show one’s gratitude! Splendid are their gestures! Defence forces are meant for wars but this gesture is and should be an eye opener as to what peace education is all about.

    Don’t wage the war. Stop worrying, it will not help you to solve your future problems, but will only add to the misery and mar your today’s peace. Remember to choose peace over worry. Wake up!. It’s a wake up call. Better late than never. Its not too late to mend our ways. Open your arms, open your heart, embrace peace, accept everyone, spread love, be human, spread humanity. Don’t forget we are the travelers, not owners of this planet. So why quarrel and bawl over things which we will never and cannot carry to our heavenly abode. We don’t even know what will be our abode- heaven or hell?

    The best way to start is, “SMILE”. Many say it’s the longest word, it carries you far coz there is a ‘Mile’ in it. Moreover, the same thing has been said by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mother Teresa-

“Peace begins with a smile.”

Smile, Love, Accept, Cooperate, Unite, Understand, Befriend, Try to recollect all the positive words. Ignite the lamp of peace not the dynamite of destruction. Show your grit through peace and not war.

Impart the knowledge of peace that’s much needed today. People will fight for their greed, but we

know our need that’s -peace. Peace is blissful. Great are those who embrace peace over argument. To conclude I would like to mention the words penned by the great scientist Albert Einstein- 

“Peace cannot be kept by force, it can be achieved by understanding.”

By,

Ridhhi Rajendra Gurav

Faculty

Sri Ma Bal Niketan High School, Thane

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

“The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their

revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future”

                                        

                                                                                                        -Marya Manes

Introduction

    Sustainable development represents an opportunity to construct a new approach, and the success of these efforts has powerful implications for issues of peace and security

    In 1992, the Rio Declaration,presented at UNCED said that "peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible. In the Brundtland Report, sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Elements of sustainable development

    Sustainable livelihood, sustainable economic growth, living in harmony with nature, and appropriate technology are the core elements of sustainable development. Social sustainability can harbor gender equality, development of people, communities, and cultures to help achieve a reasonable and fairly distributed quality of life, education, health care across the globe. 

Environment and Economic Sustainability

    Environment and Economy are independent and need each other. Hence development that ignores its impact on the environment will destroy the environment that sustains life forms. It can be achieved by environment conservation, investment in renewable energy, saving water, and innovation in sustainable construction and architecture. Economic Sustainability focuses on equal economic growth that generates a wealth of all, without harming the environment. It helps in eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions.

Integration of Scientific and Traditional knowledge

    If the people can contribute their local resources and practices into the process of change, the development becomes not only sustainable but also get accelerated. Traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge are combinedly called Community knowledge. To achieve Sustainability in many areas, it requires community knowledge also. Indigenous knowledge is also a potential source for the conservation of biodiversity.It has been recognized in India through initiatives such as National Ayush Mission (NAM) and the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL).

Global Issues related to Sustainable Development

    As a global problem, climate change requires a global solution which leads to a rise in the sea level, despite mounting efforts over the past 20 years, the loss of the world’s biodiversity continues. Deforestation, desertification, drought, flood, soil erosion which was threatening our nature. Recently, Australia's bushfire crisis, the loss here is almost hard to fathom. A staggering 1.25 billion animals are now estimated dead. Therefore tackling climate change and fostering sustainable

development are two mutually reinforcing issues.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

    United Nations (UN) has launched the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and SDG.This universal, integrated, and transformative agenda aims to spur actions that will end poverty and build a more sustainable world over the next 15 years. There are 17 goals and 164 specific targets to be achieved by 2030. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts from government, businesses, civil society and people everywhere all have a role to play. But SDG's are not legally binding.

Roadblocks to Global Initiatives

    Resolving the ‘sovereignty' by the member of states with growing environmental interdependence and the need for concerted action. The major hurdle World facing is the North-South divide as the North world has just over 20% of the world's energy. On the other hand, the South comprising a developing nation still struggling to provide the basic need for its population. Being nobody's property like the ocean, space, and Antarctica may act as a disincentive for protection.

Regional Initiatives

    Regional mechanisms are effective means for addressing transboundary issues such as atmospheric pollution and pollution of shared rivers and water bodies, which nations are unable to solve on their own. Regional mechanisms have higher chances of success. As the European Union (EU) enforced certain environmental principles regionally. SAARC adopted Environment Action Plan (1997) Convention on Cooperation on Environment has been ratified by all member states and entered into force in 2013.

Community Initiatives

    A significant initiative comes directly from the community level for sustainable development IUCN, 1948 has provided a secretariat for several important international conventions. Biodiversity Act, 2002 is almost completely built on inputs from a network of NGOs working across the country. Similarly, the Chipko movement and Save the Silent Valley movements were results of community efforts.

Progress and Challenges Ahead

Progress

    As per the Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2019, Extreme poverty has declined considerably. By Immunization the under -5 mortality rate fell by 49% between 2000 and 2017. The vast majority of the world's population now has access to electricity. 186 parties have ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change. Marine protected areas are doubled since 2010. Many countries are making concerted efforts to address illegal fishing. More than 70 countries in the European Union now have more than 300 policies and instruments supporting sustainable consumption and production.

Challenges

    As per the Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2019, Extreme poverty declined from 36% in 1990 to 8.6% in 2018 but the pace of poverty reduction is starting to decelerate as the world struggles to respond to entrenched deprivation. Extreme poverty is three times higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Tremendous improvements in gender parity in education but problems like low representation in

legislatures, violence against women continues. The natural environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate like ocean acidification, global warming, extinction of several species, and local degradation.

Conclusion

    The process of sustainable development must be feasible and operational, it is important to establish a common focus that can integrate the outlook and efforts of various participants in development, worldwide realizing the diversity, in terms of geography, society, economics, level of science and education standards. Developed countries need to limit the usage of fossil fuel and plastics and to encourage public and private investment that aligns with the SDGs. All stakeholders must work together to conserve, restore, and sustainably use natural resources. The much deeper, faster, and more ambitious response is needed to unleash the social and societal norms and policies that are supporting the current, unsustainable status quo. A far more optimistic future is still attainable only by drastically changing development policies, incentives, and actions.

References

1. Hák, T., Janoušková, S. and Moldan, B., 2016. Sustainable Development Goals: A need

for relevant indicators. Ecological Indicators, 60, pp.565-573.

2. Holden, E., Linnerud, K. and Banister, D., 2017. The imperatives of sustainable

development. Sustainable Development, 25(3), pp.213-226.

3. ICSU, I., 2016. Review of the Sustainable Development Goals: the science perspective.

Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU); 2015.

4. Keeble, B.R., 1988. The Brundtland report:‘Our common future’. Medicine and War,

4(1), pp.17-25.

5. NCERT Class 11, Economics book.

By,

Affra Thusneem S

Tamilnadu