M. Aram (1927–1997) was an educator and peace advocate from India.

Positions held

Aram was the founder and president of Shanti Ashram (located in Coimbatore,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India), a community development organization that carries out projects in several areas, including education, health, and environmental restoration. He also served as the president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace International. In 1993, the President of India appointed Aram to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He served on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource, Environment and Technology.

Peace Service

From 1964 to 1980, Aram participated in the Nagaland Peace Mission, and he helped design the Shillong Peace Accord of 1975. He was also involved in a number of other peace organizations, including the Asian Peace Council, the Delhi-Peking Peace March, the Gandhi Peace Foundation, the

World Conference of Religions for Peace Religions for Peace is an international coalition of representatives from the world's religions dedicated to promoting peace founded in 1970. The International Secretariat headquarters is in New York City, with regional conferences in Europe, As ...

, and the Sarvodaya Peace Movement.

Educational and other services

From 1954 to 1963, Aram was the principal of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya in Coimbatore. From 1980 to 1986, he was the vice-chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University. He was involved in programs that expanded higher education in rural areas, and he was also a proponent of Shanti Sena, a peace education program. He served as a visiting professor at

North Eastern Hill University North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The university has two campuses: S ...

Dibrugarh University Dibrugarh University is a collegiate public state university in the Indian state of Assam. It is located at Dibrugarh, Assam, India. It was set up in 1965 under the provisions of the Dibrugarh University Act, 1965 enacted by the Assam Legislat ...

, Gandhigram Rural University,

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

, and

Madurai Kamaraj University Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, wh ...

Awards

* In March 1990, the President of India awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, in the field of Literature and Education, to Aram. * In 1995, Aram became the 12th recipient of the Niwano Peace Prize. * The Sarvodaya Movement of India conferred the award of Defender of Peace to Aram. * Dr. Ramachandran Award for International Peace and Understanding To recognise Aram's peace mission work in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

awarded him an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

degree.

Publications

* "The Future of Mankind" * "Micro-Planning at the Village Level" * "Towards 2000 A.D."-Special Lectures. * "Peace in Nagaland."-Arnold Heinemann. * "Gandhian Dialectic"-Special Lectures. * "Gandhi on Education"-in Tamil. * "Gandhian Perspective on Integrated Rural Development." * "Apostle of Peace"-Lectures on Gandhi. * "Kumara Ullam" (Adolescent Mind)-in Tamil. * "Evolution on Naga Politics." * "Some Aspects of Creative Thinking"-Research paper. * "Standardised Achievement Tests"-Research Monograph. * "Micro-Experiment in Population Education."

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aram, M. Tamil Nadu politicians Academic staff of Gandhigram Rural Institute 1927 births 1997 deaths Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education