HISTORY AND MISSION

HISTORY AND MISSION

Welcome to The Official Website of Project Ahimsa

OUR HISTORY

Project Ahimsa is a global effort to empower youth through music. The organization was founded in 2001 in response to the violent attacks on Sikhs and South Asians after 9/11. The organization operates under the auspices of the Patel Foundation for Global Understanding, a registered 501c3 non-profit based in Tampa, FL. Project Ahimsa’s mission is to empower youth though developing and supporting community based music education.

The organization was founded in 2001 by Vijay Chattha, Tejas Patel, and Nihal Mehta in response to the violent attacks on South Asians after 9/11. The impetus behind forming the organization was to transcend socio-economic and religious boundaries to create a unifying force bridging all cultures, religions, regions, generations and classes.

The name 'Ahimsa' was thus chosen to effectively describe a movement and organization through which non-violence and cross-cultural understanding could be spread. Because reaching perfect non-violence is an ongoing process for us individually and collectively, the organization was given the title Project Ahimsa. Our chosen medium through which to raise the awareness for non violence? Music and the arts.

Operating in many violence affected parts of the world, Project Ahimsa believes that music can be a outlet for creativity and can create cross-cultural understanding that ultimately brings people together to communicate and heal in a constructive and peaceful way.

Since its inception the Project Ahimsa family has grown wider to include many talented and passionate music teachers, students, performers, djs, artists, partner organizations, corporations and gracious donors. Project Ahimsa's website, newsletter and blog communications reach over 10,000 people worldwide and are the primary methods

THE MISSION OF AHIMSA