Special lecture on ‘Sister Nivedita’ organised at Central University of Punjab

Bathinda, December 4, 2021: As a part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav programme series, the Central University of Punjab, under the guidance of Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, organized a special lecture on Sister Nivedita. The keynote speaker of this programme was Kumari Alkagauri Joshi, Vivekanand Kendra, Kanyakumari.
While addressing the participants, Kumari Alkagauri Joshi stated that Sister Nivedita was a social activist and educator, who worked to uplift the women of India during the freedom struggle. She informed us that Sister Nivedita (Margaret Elizabeth Noble) was born in 1867 in Ireland, where she worked as a teacher after completing her education. She was recognized as an educationist and intellectual academician in London before she met Swami Vivekananda in 1895. The interaction of Nivedita with Swami Vivekananda not only enlightened her spiritually but also inspired her to dedicate her life to social service.
Kumari Alkagauri Joshi mentioned that the quest of Sister Nivedita to search for the truth motivated her to visit India in 1898 on an invitation from Swami Vivekananda, where she decided to serve the people of India. She shared the work done by Sister Nivedita in promoting women's education, Indian history, and culture. She also highlighted the pivotal role of Sister Nivedita in helping Indian scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose to publish his path breaking research and motivating writers and philosophers such as Subramanya Bharathi and Auribindo Ghosh to ignite the spark of freedom through their writings. In this way, Sister Nivedita is an iconic woman in Indian history who played a major role in the nationalist movement. Towards the end of her talk, Ms. Joshi paid tribute to Sister Niveditita and asserted that her selfless contribution to the upliftment of the Indian people will always be remembered.
The programme commenced with the welcome address by Dr. Kulbhushan Sharma and concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. R.K. Chaitanya. On this occasion Dr Vipan Pal Singh, Dr Ramanpreet Kaur, Dr. Jyoti Parkash and Dr. Narender, expressed their gratitude towards the esteemed speaker for delivering a scholarly address. Dr Sumedha Dutta felicitated Ms. Joshi, at the end of program. Faculty and students of the university attended this programme.