UP, close and personal with Bapu? Homing in on Mahatma’s principles and philosophy, Gujarat Vidyapith plans to set up Gandhi Study Centres in city’s minority schools so as to ‘revive’ the ‘lost’ Gandhian ideas.
Helping students connect with Gandhi will be school teachers who would head the centres. Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, Sudarshan Iyengar, perceives opening of such centres a way to resurrect Gandhian ideology. “It’s an attempt to revive Gandhi in a city where the two communities —Hindus and Muslims— have been polarized. For Gandhi, neither Pan-Islamism nor Hindu fundamentalism, was a solution to the country’s problems. Although schools, wherein Gandhi study centres will be set up, have not been identified, such centres may come up in schools in Juhapura, Jamalpur and Rakhial. If successful, we may then replicate the project in other public and private schools. However, these schools will have to approach us in case they wish to open study centres,” he said.
The project is already on the go as the Shams High School in Rakhial, an Urdu medium school, has asked Vidyapith for copies of the Urdu translation of Hind Swaraj for its library.
Hind Swaraj, written by Gandhi in 1909, was translated into Urdu by the Swarajpeeth Trust, Delhi. Mushtaq Khan, trustee of the school says, “In today’s modernised world, the ideas of Gandhi have got lost. His ideas need to be talked about and discussed among students. Therefore, we requested translated copies of the book which we will receive shortly to start the centre.”
Once students are through with specific books on Gandhi, including his autobiography, as a part of the syllabus, they will sit for their final tests.
Lalubhai Rabari, exam co-ordinator at the Hindi Bhavan in Gujarat Vidyapith says, “Study centres will have Urdu, Hindi, English and Gujarati versions of Gandhi’s books. Students can, therefore, take exams in any language they are comfortable with. However, they’ll appear according to sections they are in, that is primary, secondary and higher secondary,” he said.
“While students of primary section will take the test called, Gandhi Jivan Jhankhi (A glimpse into Gandhi’s life), for students from the secondary section it will be called Gandhi Vichar Pravesh, while students from the higher secondary section will take the test titled, Gandhi Vichar Parichay,” he said.
Helping students connect with Gandhi will be school teachers who would head the centres. Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, Sudarshan Iyengar, perceives opening of such centres a way to resurrect Gandhian ideology. “It’s an attempt to revive Gandhi in a city where the two communities —Hindus and Muslims— have been polarized. For Gandhi, neither Pan-Islamism nor Hindu fundamentalism, was a solution to the country’s problems. Although schools, wherein Gandhi study centres will be set up, have not been identified, such centres may come up in schools in Juhapura, Jamalpur and Rakhial. If successful, we may then replicate the project in other public and private schools. However, these schools will have to approach us in case they wish to open study centres,” he said.
The project is already on the go as the Shams High School in Rakhial, an Urdu medium school, has asked Vidyapith for copies of the Urdu translation of Hind Swaraj for its library.
Hind Swaraj, written by Gandhi in 1909, was translated into Urdu by the Swarajpeeth Trust, Delhi. Mushtaq Khan, trustee of the school says, “In today’s modernised world, the ideas of Gandhi have got lost. His ideas need to be talked about and discussed among students. Therefore, we requested translated copies of the book which we will receive shortly to start the centre.”
Once students are through with specific books on Gandhi, including his autobiography, as a part of the syllabus, they will sit for their final tests.
Lalubhai Rabari, exam co-ordinator at the Hindi Bhavan in Gujarat Vidyapith says, “Study centres will have Urdu, Hindi, English and Gujarati versions of Gandhi’s books. Students can, therefore, take exams in any language they are comfortable with. However, they’ll appear according to sections they are in, that is primary, secondary and higher secondary,” he said.
“While students of primary section will take the test called, Gandhi Jivan Jhankhi (A glimpse into Gandhi’s life), for students from the secondary section it will be called Gandhi Vichar Pravesh, while students from the higher secondary section will take the test titled, Gandhi Vichar Parichay,” he said.