Now, a little bit of Gandhi in colleges

Gandhi — both the man and the idea — is seeping into city campuses. At least four colleges have set up centres for Gandhian studies, aimed at teaching the Mahatma’s principles and their applicability in day-to-day life.

The colleges — KJ Somaiya College, Birla College, CHM College and Shailendra Education Society’s College of Arts, Commerce and Science — have also decided to jointly conduct outreach programmes on Gandhian studies.

Vaidehi Daptardar, principal of KJ Somaiya College, said new-age jargon like crisis management and anger management, but with a Gandhian twist, would be in the course’s “priority list”.

Funded by the University Grants Commission, the centres will provide a three-month certificate course and organise seminars, besides conducting research on Gandhian literature.

Some colleges have also decided to hold study tours to places where Gandhi stayed and carried out political movements. Birla College will send teachers to Gandhi Bhavan in Delhi to learn about Gandhian literature.

“With the kind of environment students are exposed to, it has become essential to teach them moral values. The film, Lage Raho Munnabhai, has made students want to learn more on Gandhi,” said Birla College principal Naresh Chandra.