The department of Gandhian thought at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University. Picture by Amit Kumar

Students of the Gandhian thought department at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University celebrated the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation on Tuesday with the rest of the country with a difference. Instead of only singing paeans, they focused on Mahatma Gandhi’s metaphysics.

“People all over the country celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 but we immerse ourselves in Gandhiji’s philosophy all the year round,” said C.P. Singh, the head of the department.

Established in 1980, the postgraduate department has conferred 70 PhDs over the years. Some of the clusters that students pursuing an MA take an interest in Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar and Jai Prakash studies, ecological studies, panchayati raj, social work, rural management and human rights.

Gandhiji wrote on different aspects of ecology, local self-government in villages and human rights.

“Students from different parts of the country have come to study at our department. Many of them have had a successful professional academic career,” said Singh.

Among its alumni are Rajnish Kumar, secretary, Rajghat Gandhi Samadhi Committee, New Delhi, Uttam Kumar, the in-charge of the national museum at Raj Ghat, and Niprendra Verma, head of the department, centre for study of non-violence and peace, Mahatma Gandhi Hindi University, Wardha.

Puja for Mahatma

Motihari resident Tarkeshwar Prasad celebrated the Mahatma’s birth anniversary with a puja on Tuesday.

Prasad, in his sixties, is popularly known as “Gandhibhakt” in the town for worshipping Gandhiji since 2000. On Tuesday, he organised a havan and a prayer session that was attended by people from different religions.