The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi varsity to celebrate ‘Hind Swaraj’ centenary

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Delhi varsity to celebrate ‘Hind Swaraj’ centenary

Parul Sharma

Action plan being drawn up for the activities during 2009

“The Mahatma’s ideas are highly relevant in these times. They need to be reinterpreted and understood”
“Issues like environment, anti-corruption, educational reforms and non-violence to be addressed at seminars”

NEW DELHI: Delhi University will celebrate year 2009 as the centenary year of “Hind Swaraj” – one of the thought-provoking works of Mahatma Gandhi that he authored in 1909.

Gandhi Bhavan at the University is taking the lead in devoting the entire next year to “Hind Swaraj”.

An action plan is being drawn up on the kind of activities to be spread out over the whole of 2009.

“We held a meeting this past week on how to plan the centenary year celebrations. A number of scholars, journalists, and directors of Gandhi Bhavans across the country took part at the meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental. The Principals and teachers in charge of the Gandhi Study Circle at different colleges also attended the brainstorming session,” said Ashum Gupta, director of Gandhi Bhavan at the University.

“We feel that Gandhi’s ideas are highly relevant in these times. They have to be reinterpreted and understood in today’s society. In ‘Hind Swaraj’, he wrote on problems that we are still facing, issues like environment, anti-corruption, educational reforms and non-violence. Some of these issues will be addressed at seminars and lectures,” she added.

The main thrust of all the year-long activity would be the involvement of the youth.

As a part of one of the initiatives, students will serve as volunteers in and around the National Capital Region for a short duration during which they will interact with the local community and get exposed to village life.

It has been planned that different activities like quiz, essay-writing, photo exhibition and painting exhibition on issues covered in “Hind Swaraj” will be held first at the college level. The best entries will then compete at the University level.

“The college level programmes will begin by October, while the final rounds will start next year. The main event that will kick start the centenary year celebrations will be an international seminar on ‘Hind Swaraj: Hundred Years and After’. We will also hold a festival of films and documentaries on Gandhi in collaboration with colleges,” Prof. Gupta added.

“Another meeting will soon be held to fine tune the programme. We want to involve everyone in the University community -- teachers, students as well as the non-teaching staff. There is a lot of turmoil in today’s world and that’s why Gandhi’s message will have to be spread all over,” she said.

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