An interactive website set up by a Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal is proving that even in the age of fast paced technological change, the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi do not become obsolete.
www.mkgandhi.org, the largest online repository of writings on the life, work and philosophy of Gandhi, garners around 9,500 visits per day, from around 200 countries, showing that people from around the world continue to be inspired by Gandhi’s messages of peace and non-violence.
This is a comforting fact, given that non-violence is the only solution to the many conflicts around the world today, according to T.R.K. Somaiya, of the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal. He was speaking at a discussion on ‘Learning Gandhi through websites,’ organised at the Gandhi Bhavan, Trivandrum.
The repository is intended to be not just a platform for learning, but also an authority to clear myths about Gandhi’s messages, he said.
The website was set up by the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal on January 30, 1998 and now maintain jointly by Sarvodaya Mandal and the Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon. It is a comprehensive source of information about Gandhi, with around 50,000 pages of Gandhi’s writing in 100 volumes, six different biographies and about 800 articles on Gandhi’s views on a variety of topics including environment, education, politics, management and economics. Over 150 e-books on Gandhi are available for free download on the website.
In order to ensure free access to knowledge about Gandhi, all resources on the website are free of cost, and copyrights are not enforced on any of the works. People from around the world are welcome to use these resources as well as translate them to other languages. Further, writers can also submit their contributions to the website.