Peace Week Celebrated at St. Thomas College, Bhilai (6–11 April 2026)
St. Thomas College, Bhilai, successfully organized Peace Week from 6th to 11th April 2026 under the aegis of the Peace Club in collaboration with the Department of Education. The week-long celebration served as a vibrant and reflective platform to promote the values of harmony, empathy, and nonviolence among students. B.Ed. trainees participated enthusiastically through presentations on the lives and contributions of renowned global peace ambassadors such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Malala Yousafzai, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Kailash Satyarthi, and Nelson Mandela.
The inaugural ceremony on 6th April was graced by Administrator Fr. Dr. P. S. Varghese, who, in his address, recalled that just two days earlier, on 4th April 1968, the world lost a great prophet of peace and nonviolence, Martin Luther King Jr.. He reflected on the enduring relevance of Dr. King’s vision and drew parallels with the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, inspiring the gathering to embrace peace as a way of life. The ceremony was also attended by Principal Dr. Shiny Mendonce, Dean Academics Dr. Debjani Mukherjee, Head of the Department of Education Dr. Deepti Santosh, and Peace Club Convenor Dr. Reema Dewangan, marking a meaningful beginning to the week’s events.
A major highlight of the programme was the keynote session on 7th April by Dr. Nimmi Varghese, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and a certified trainer in peace and conflict resolution from the University of Rhode Island, USA. Her session on Martin Luther King Jr. began with a reflective meditation exercise, encouraging participants to transform negative thoughts into positive ones. She emphasized that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice and well-being. The session further explored the concepts of negative and positive peace, various forms of violence, and highlighted “nonviolence” as a dynamic and transformative force for social change.
On 8th April, Administrator Fr. Dr. P. S. Varghese, also a certified trainer in peace and nonviolence (University of Rhode Island, USA, 2024 batch), delivered an insightful lecture on the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, inspiring students through Gandhian ideals of truth, simplicity, and nonviolence.
The Peace Club at St. Thomas College, established in September 2024 following the International Trainers Training Programme attended by Fr. Dr. P. S. Varghese and Dr. Nimmi Varghese, has since been consistently organizing programmes aimed at fostering a culture of peace and social responsibility among students.
From 9th to 11th April, students presented thoughtful papers on the peace initiatives of Malala Yousafzai, Dalai Lama, Kailash Satyarthi, and Nelson Mandela, reflecting a deep engagement with global peace movements and their contemporary relevance.
The week-long programme proved to be both enlightening and inspiring, particularly in the context of ongoing global conflicts. It underscored the urgent need to nurture peace-loving, peace-living, and peace-practicing communities, while encouraging students to become committed ambassadors of peace in society.
