Keekli Bureau, 23rd September, 2019, Shimla
Dr Daisaku Ikeda, President, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), receives Honorary Doctorate from India’s Manav Rachna University
Manav Rachna University (MRU), a leading Indian private university, conferred an honorary doctorate to Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President Dr Daisaku Ikeda, at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. This was in recognition of Dr Ikeda’s spectacular contribution towards global peace and building a humane society. Minoru Harada, president of Soka Gakkai, received the honor on behalf of Dr Ikeda from Dr Prashant Bhalla, President of Manav Rachna Educational Institutions.
While talking about Dr Ikeda’s path-breaking peace initiatives, Dr Bhalla said, “We at Manav Rachna, had a close tryst with some of his profound philosophies while reading about his works.” He quoted from a speech delivered by Dr Ikeda at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies in New Delhi in October 1997, “Education makes us free . … It is through education that we are liberated from powerlessness, … Education enables us to look beyond superficial difference to perceive the great earth, the great sea of life that sustains us all.”
He further said, “Observing his illustrious credentials in making world a better place to live in, his spectacular contribution to creation of a culture of peace in the field of humanities, and taking human happiness to the next level, it is an honour and a privilege to confer Doctor of Philosophy, Honoris Causa upon Dr Daisaku Ikeda.”
In his acceptance speech, read out by President Harada, Dr Ikeda emphasized the importance of education: “The ultimate goal of education is the happiness and growth of each individual.” And that, “Wisdom, creative ingenuity, and relentless effort exerted in the field of education has the power to draw the outlines of a new future for humanity and for our planet, beyond all limitations.”
Bharat Soka Gakkai Chairperson, Vishesh Gupta echoed this sentiment and said, “In one of his essays titled ‘Why Education’, Dr Ikeda says, ‘I consider education to be the culminating undertaking of my life. That is because the victory of education means the victory of the people’.”
Daisaku Ikeda is the President of Soka Gakkai International is a peace builder, philosopher and prolific writer. He is a recipient of around 390 honorary doctorates from universities across the globe. In India, he has been the recipient of 15 academic honours including honorary doctorates/professorships from the University of Delhi, Rabindra Bharati University, Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, Himachal Pradesh University and Bharathidasan University, among several others. Recognizing his contribution to peace, Dr Ikeda has been conferred with over 800 honorary citizenships. Among the various awards and accolades, he has also been conferred the UN Peace Award in 1983.
