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In the spirit of Gandhi ji – Thoughts on higher education
We have been celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, in October 1869. Gandhi wrote very little on higher education, although he had a central role in the creation of two universities in the 1930s, the Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad and the Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi.Both of these universities were created to prepare young people intellectually and spiritually for the struggle for India’s Independence. Gandhi also praised Santiniketan in West Bengal, the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore as an important support for the movement.
But do Gandhi’s ideas have value in the face of issues facing higher education institutions in the first quarter of the 21st century?
I was privileged to reflect on this, having taken part in a two-day symposium jointly organised and hosted by our UNESCO chair (in community based research and social responsibility in higher education) in cooperation with the Association of Indian Universities, UNESCO New Delhi and the Asian Office of the International Development Research Centre last month.
The participants and speakers included senior leaders in Indian higher education, leaders of Gandhian practice today and representatives from higher education institutions.
Gandhian concepts were discussed. Nai Talim is the idea that mental and manual work are necessarily connected and that work and knowledge are organically linked. Sarvodaya is the concept of lifting up all people in society. Swaraj is the concept of self-rule coming from the Independence movement and can be used as an expression of decolonisation of knowledge in higher education. Jai Jagat is the concept of collective commitment to all life forms on the planet.
The Jai Jagat Yatra march was launched on 2 October in Delhi and will cover the distance of 14,000 kilometres to Geneva within a year, carrying the message of non-violence and inviting students along the route to reflect on the relevance of Gandhi’s ideas today.
Our international guests shared practices from their universities that they thought were in the spirit of Gandhi ji. Gandhi’s thoughts interacted with Ubuntu in South Africa, which focuses on inclusionary practice in higher education, Ujamaa na Kujitegemea or self reliance in Tanzania, indigenous epistemologies in Canada and Sejahtera in Malaysia (with its focus on a more holistic view of education).
Gandhian principles
Of the many stories of higher education innovation that were presented, the story of Dayalbagh Educational Institute provided the most complete example of a contemporary higher education institution incorporating practices that could be said to reflect Gandhian principles. Dr Anand Mohan, the registrar of Dayalbagh, made the presentation to the conference.
I was reminded of the visit that I had made to Agra for a field visit to Dayalbagh in April 2015. What was fascinating is that Dayalbagh Educational Institute was founded in the early 20th century by followers of the Radhasoami faith, many years before Gandhi’s own ideas on education were to be articulated and practised.
The goals of Dayalbagh are to reach the least, the last, the lowest and the lost. This corresponds well with the Gandhian concept of Antyodaya, or service to the last or lowest person. Fees are kept low so young people of little means may attend.
They have a system of education from primary through to university. Mental and manual labour are united, with all students taking a role in farming, cleaning and making practical items.
Respect for manual labour is combined with the newest technological approaches to the running of the school. Solar power provides all the electrical needs. The students grow the food that they eat. Heat from solar-generated steam cooks the food.
Students are treated the same without reference to caste or class. I have never seen such a complete integration between core functions of teaching and research in a university with the society around it. This university truly practises the core principle of engaged teaching and scholarship in its fullest manner.
Teaching and service
The practice of Nai Talim by Mahatma Gandhi emphasised several of these principles of learning and doing, of teaching and service, of expertise for the larger service to society.
Dayalbagh’s spiritual moorings have given it the inspiration and an institutional ethos that integrates theory and practice in everyday life. What I saw four years ago in Agra is still unique in this respect.
Our conclusion after several days of conversation was that Gandhi’s ideas can indeed provide important philosophical grounding for our contemporary concerns with community-university engagement and the social responsibility of education for the common good.
Further, we have evidence of many smaller innovations already in place around the world and at least one institution, Dayalbagh, shows us how total institutional transformation is possible. Its spiritual and normative foundations provide lessons for sustainability and social justice.
Dr Budd Hall is UNESCO co-chair in community based research and social responsibility in higher education and professor emeritus, University of Victoria, Canada.