{"id":838,"date":"2019-01-11T08:47:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T08:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/?p=838"},"modified":"2020-02-17T10:57:24","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T10:57:24","slug":"i-want-to-change-the-world-but-with-non-violence-a-conversation-with-prof-ramin-jahanbegloo-of-jindal-global-law-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/2019\/01\/11\/i-want-to-change-the-world-but-with-non-violence-a-conversation-with-prof-ramin-jahanbegloo-of-jindal-global-law-school\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI want to change the world but with non-violence.\u201d \u2013 a conversation with Prof. Ramin Jahanbegloo of Jindal Global Law school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/0-66.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/0-66.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/0-66-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/0-66-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>&#8220;You can\u2019t be an armchair philosopher or an artist. You have to go out and struggle with life to make it stimulating and add meaning through your work. You just can\u2019t be a passive observer to life.\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><em>\u201cAs a lawyer you have to fight for truth and justice; there is a heroic side to it.\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><em>\u201cYou need to pay attention to the otherness of others for an unbiased view.\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><em>\u201cAs educators our job is also to go beyond taboos.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.licdn.com\/dms\/image\/C5112AQGSXSsEGdVVvg\/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232\/0?e=1576108800&amp;v=beta&amp;t=e9bu7uZ_SYu8EN6iV1GVZdFihsjBm-6to2ewYr1l428\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When you hear such thought provoking words, you know you are talking to a revolutionary, a philosopher and an agent of change himself. Luckily, Ramin Jahanbegloo, who holds Canadian and Iranian passports, is also an academic spreading the good word amongst students all over the world. Luckier is the fact that for the past two years he has been the Professor and Vice Dean,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jgls.edu.in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jindal Global Law School<\/a>&nbsp;at JGU and the Director of its Mahatma Gandhi Center for Peace and Non-Violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having lived through the revolution in Iran, fighting against the Shah regime, and thereafter making home in 7 different countries, Prof. Jahanbegloo has a unique perspective on the world. But his passion for learning, meeting other influencers and sharing his ideas continues to \u201cmake his life meaningful\u201d. He has written 27 books in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Persian, three in the last year itself. Interestingly he also teaches a course \u2018Law and lawyers in American movies\u2019 and indulges in lighthearted banter, open friendships with students. Intrigued? Read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The India connect and Gandhi influence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.licdn.com\/dms\/image\/C5112AQHSsljMtXGVEA\/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488\/0?e=1576108800&amp;v=beta&amp;t=ZYJbe_mf-QfWx01JZDbtdqXW6lrkJDLAJe15oejnlAk\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The son of an artist mother and an Economist father, Prof. Jahanbegloo studied in Switzerland, UK, Algeria and Iran till the age of 17. He recalls India always being present in his home through friends, books by Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. \u201cMy parents knew the Indian ambassador well and had already visited the country with an invitation from Indira Gandhi\u2019s office. I started reading about Gandhi because non-violence was an important concept for me. But at the age of 17, I went to France because I wanted to become a doctor; medical humanism was always with me,\u201d he reminisces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The land of&nbsp;<em>liberte, egalite and fraternite<\/em>&nbsp;strengthens his ideologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the radical regime in Iran to being surrounded by Marxists and Anarchists friends and Professors in Paris led to interesting discussions on ideologies. Later in 1978-79, Prof. Jahanbegloo fought the Shah\u2019s regime in Iran as a student. But he didn\u2019t associate with any political party and was steadfast in his belief for non-violence. In his early 20s he started working closely with a French non-violent group. \u201cAn Indian delegation in UNESCO saw my work around Gandhi and invited me to visit India. I traveled around for a month, spoke to Gandhians in their 90s who had gone to prison during emergency. I wrote those interviews in an article for a French magazine and decided to work extensively in the field,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The relentless learner, thinker, writer and guide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.licdn.com\/dms\/image\/C5112AQH2dgjVhtu0Zg\/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232\/0?e=1576108800&amp;v=beta&amp;t=ij-3A4kkz_bt3qTaW5_5Wy-bb6S0BxvYR2du03ShJE4\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Jahanbegloo carried on his work on the topic through his dissertation and several books. Only last year he published two books on Gandhi. He has also written several books that are conversations with the best philosophers, writers, artists of the 21st century. \u201cOne thing I can\u2019t stand is mediocrity. The world today is more complacent, conformist and mediocre than the one I grew up in. I tell my students they have to go and struggle with life. Everyone wants to be a corporate lawyer, but there is a sense of romanticism to law. It\u2019s completely absent in 21st century and we need to fight for it,\u201d he adds passionately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\ufeffBringing about change- one movement at a time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof. Jahanbegloo has fought for democracy, started \u2018Students for Peace\u2019, first in Latin America and now in India, and is steady in his efforts to make a difference. He admits that for him the worst thing is to come into the world and lead a meaningless life. His work with JGLS, the centre and interactions with students\u2019 minds in the country gives him the meaning he looks for. \u201cStudents are not stupid, they are lazy, and you see that often with those who come from privilege. But putting effort is maturing in life. I ask my students to participate, not cheat because it is an insult to their talents,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides the Students for Peace movement, theMahatma Gandhi Center for Peace and Non-Violence also runs&nbsp;<em>Schooling Nonviolence programme<\/em>&nbsp;where students teach kids of labourers. With talks at conferences around the world, collaborations and his writing, Prof. Jahanbegloo remains at the heart of it, just like he would like to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You can\u2019t be an armchair philosopher or an artist. You have to go out and struggle with life to make it stimulating and add meaning through your work. You just can\u2019t be a passive observer to life.\u201d \u201cAs a lawyer you have to fight for truth and justice; there is <a href=\"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/2019\/01\/11\/i-want-to-change-the-world-but-with-non-violence-a-conversation-with-prof-ramin-jahanbegloo-of-jindal-global-law-school\/\" class=\"btn btn-link continue-link\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions\/840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}