AHMEDABAD,January13: Ten students from seven foreign countries were awarded degree certificates at a special convocation at Gujarat Vidyapith here for successfully completing a four-month inaugural course in “Gandhian Non-Violence: Theory and Application”.The young men and women from the US, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Argentina, etc had opted for the unique exhaustive course which had commenced in September and focussed specifically on the non-violence aspect rather than covering general aspects of the Gandhian philosophy. The Vidyapith, a sprawling university set up here by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920, does not charge any tuition fees from the participants arriving from far-off countries for the course exclusively for foreigners. But they have to bear the travel costs to India and back. However, local hospitality and internal travel costs are taken care of by the varsity. Course modules include subjects like defining features of Gandhian non-violence, correlation between truth and non-violence, meaning of non-violence, non-violence as a soul force, non-violence as ‘the law of our being’, non-violence as the moral equivalent of the law of gravitation, principled and strategic non-violence, and more.
For better understanding of the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence, participants were taught theory for two months and then taken to Gandhian institutions and ashrams. The first two months of the programme are held in the Vidyapith and Kochrab Ashram, both in Ahmedabad. Then, they were taken out to stay in Gandhian institutions elsewhere in Gujarat and also in neighbouring Maharashtra. According to Vidyapith Vice-Chancellor Dr Sudarshan Iyengar, the students were also taken round a naturopathy centre and an organic farm for 10 to 15 days. Said American student Logan Fleer: “Firearms play a major role in violence in the US. Since firearms are easily available, people feel they have the right to police the world. I want the next generation to learn how to resolve problems without resorting to violence. If Gandhi can unite people as diverse as you can find in India, I think his teachings are universal.” Chancellor Narayan Desai who gave away the certificates told the students that while they had learnt about the Gandhian way of life and non-violence, it was now their responsibility to not only emulate it in their lives but also propagate it in their countries. “You shoulder this twin responsibility,” said Desai. The students who stayed on the Vidyapith campus and also participated in mass cleaning and charkha spinning programmes said that they were deeply influenced by the Gandhian way of life and would strive to popularise the same in their country.
For better understanding of the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence, participants were taught theory for two months and then taken to Gandhian institutions and ashrams. The first two months of the programme are held in the Vidyapith and Kochrab Ashram, both in Ahmedabad. Then, they were taken out to stay in Gandhian institutions elsewhere in Gujarat and also in neighbouring Maharashtra. According to Vidyapith Vice-Chancellor Dr Sudarshan Iyengar, the students were also taken round a naturopathy centre and an organic farm for 10 to 15 days. Said American student Logan Fleer: “Firearms play a major role in violence in the US. Since firearms are easily available, people feel they have the right to police the world. I want the next generation to learn how to resolve problems without resorting to violence. If Gandhi can unite people as diverse as you can find in India, I think his teachings are universal.” Chancellor Narayan Desai who gave away the certificates told the students that while they had learnt about the Gandhian way of life and non-violence, it was now their responsibility to not only emulate it in their lives but also propagate it in their countries. “You shoulder this twin responsibility,” said Desai. The students who stayed on the Vidyapith campus and also participated in mass cleaning and charkha spinning programmes said that they were deeply influenced by the Gandhian way of life and would strive to popularise the same in their country.