Gandhigiri sweeps University of Mumbai campus

A quiz contest based on Mahatma Gandhi’s life will be organised on Oct 1 in varsity.

The charm of Gandhigiri has even flooded into the campus of the University of Mumbai and especially caught the attention of students who will pass out from the varsity.

Inspired by the theme of actor Sanjay Dutt’s movie, Lage Raho Munnabhai, the University Students Council has decided to organise Kaun Karega Gandhigiri? - a quiz show for students based on the Mahatma’s life. The event will be judged by Gandhiji’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi as well as actors Hemu Adhikari and Dilip Prabhavalkar who acted in the film.

“I am very happy that students are showing interest towards Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts. But these thoughts shouldn’t be a trend for a short while and should continue in the long run,” said Tushar.

The USC believes that such competitions will encourage the youth to walk on the path of satyagraha. “We have decided to organise such competitions in order to pay tribute to the Mahatma on the eve of his birth anniversary, which will be celebrated on October 2. Postgraduate students will participate in the quiz competition,” said USC General Secretary Rajesh Bhonkar.

Members of the Council told DNA that in order to make the competition more interesting, they have decided to divide it into two parts. “The first part will observe participants answering questions on Gandhi’s life and his work. The second part would be more exciting. Taking cue from the film, Lage Raho Munnabhai, the judges will ask the participants to solve a particular problem through non-violence and truth,” said Kulbhushan Yadav, USC deputy general secretary.

Another student’s union, Marathi Bharati has also decided to organise competitions based on the concept of Gandhigiri.

“We have decided to hold discussions, debates and essay and elocution competitions exploring the impact of Gandhigiri on today’s generation. Our competitions commencing from October 5 will cover topics like Youth and Gandhigiri, Impact of the film Lage Raho Munnabhai on the Youth and Importance of Gandhigiri,” said Jyoti Badekar, member of Marathi Bharati.

Students are already preparing for the quiz. “We have started reading a lot of books on Gandhiji to win the quiz contest. Already we have been inspired by the film, Lage Raho Munnabhai.

“The quiz contest on the Mahatma’s life will definitely encourage us to practise his thoughts in our daily life,” said Manoj Tekkade, a second year postgraduate student from the university.