Harmony as the Horizon of Higher Education 55Education should give wings to the seekers to fly high in
order to see everything with right reason and to act rightly
as members of the same family. Another powerful
imagery illustrating the oneness and relatedness of the
whole universe is the metaphor of “different members in
one body” (1 Cor 12:12) the microcosm, the miniature of
macrocosm. The horizon of education has to grow into
and go out to this all-embracing, all-flourishing, all-
emancipating and yet bonding world vision. This world-
family is the temple of learning, loving, and living our life
with wider horizons and greater passion.
(ii) UNITY IN DIVERSITY (Vividhata mein ekata):
The story of Kanhaiya Kumar, the Student Leader of
Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, one of the
reputed universities in India, has been making huge waves
in all spheres of life, triggering public debate on the
question of dissent and democracy since 9 February 2016.
Heated debate on nationalism and anti-nationalism is still
gathering steam, even as I sit to write this note. Kumar
was allegedly accused of shouting anti-nationalist slogans
during a memorial celebration on the campus and was put
behind bars for a fortnight. Later it was found that the
video clipping produced in the court by the petitioner was
a doctored one, and he is now out of prison on bail.
By and large, Kanhaiya Kumar has been acquitted by both
the public and the media. The whole debate opened up
once again a fundamental, vital, and national issue of
diversity and unity, the soul of Indian nationalism. The
real is diversity. The ideal is unity. It is toward the ideal
we need to walk and work together. It is in recognizing,
respecting, and responding to the diversity that one can