Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Information & Broadcasting today presented 100 Volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi to Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan for Parliament Library.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan said that Gandhiji’s simple message to the common people during the national movement evoked a sense of popular participation, feeling of oneness and unity for the nation. The Salt Satyagraha was a classic example of people’s participation in the quest for freedom. His philosophy also influenced the global community with regard to service to the nation. On the receipt of 100 volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Hon’ble Speaker said that the collections would be kept in Parliament for members so as to enable them to peruse the heritage collection. The Hon’ble Speaker appreciated the efforts of Ministry of I&B and complimented the I&B Minister for his efforts in taking forward this initiative and development agenda of the Government.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Venkaiah Naidu said that the writings of Mahatma Gandhi played an instrumental role in weaving the freedom movement together with the morals of truth and non-violence. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi “Let our lives be open books for all to study” he said that collected works of Mahatma Gandhi gave an invaluable opportunity to study from the life teachings of Father of our Nation. It was our responsibility to preserve his thoughts/ writings and disseminate it to our future generations.
Elaborating further, Shri Naidu said that The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi’(CWMG) is a monumental document of Gandhiji’s thoughts which he spoke and wrote from 1884, when Mahatma was a 15 year old boy, till his assassination on January 30, 1948. His writings, scattered all over the world, were collected and constructed with stringent academic discipline and with an earnest sense of loyalty. He added that these titles enumerate the ideals and principles by which Mahatma led his life and provided a great inspiration to all of us. Each volume in this series was a heritage book in itself, meticulously reproducing speeches as well as notes, letters etc written by Gandhiji on various topics which touch various facets of human lives - personally, socially and politically.
The CWMG-original-KS-edition, named after Prof. K. Swaminathan, the chief architect of the original series, had taken about 38 years for the completion from the year 1956 to 1994. The original edition is a series of one hundred volumes, running into over 55,000 pages, intricately connected across the series, as an integrated whole. The task of preparation of the Digital Master Copy based on the original KS Edition of CWMG was undertaken through a specially set up CWMG Cell, and an expert committee comprising noted Gandhian scholars under an MoU between Publications Division and Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, established and nurtured by the Mahatma himself.
The Digital Master Copy is also hosted on the Gandhi Heritage Portal, maintained by Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, Ahmedabad. The complete volumes are now available online for purchase and each volume is nominally priced at Rs 100/- to ensure it remains affordable to the enthusiasts across the globe and the complete set is available at 25% discount, amounting to Rs 7,500/- for all 100 volumes.
Publications division, a media unit under Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is one of the major publishers of Gandhian Literature as part of its mandate to preserve our rich national heritage. Over the decades, the Division has brought out many prominent Gandhian Literature titles, which have now acquired the status of heritage literature, and are considered seminal works in the field of Gandhian studies.
CP/GV