Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This institute was founded in 1920 by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, India's "

Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. (plural ), also seen as , was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", best ...

" and the leader of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. It has been deemed university since 1963.

Etymology

"Vidyapith," in many

languages of India Languages spoken in India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians, both families together are sometimes known ...

, means university.

History

Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit to Gujarat Vidyapeeth, February 1949

The university was founded on 18 October 1920 as a 'Rashtriya Vidyapith' ('National University') by

, who would serve throughout his life as the ''kulpati'' (chancellor) and all needs of Fund collected by sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by his personal relations and capacity. The Gujarat Vidyapith was started in Dahyabhai Mehta's bungalow behind the Kocharab Ashram (the Kocharab Aashram was started in barrister Jivanlal Desai's bungalow). Its purpose was to promote educational institutions run by Indians for Indians outside the financial and governing control of British authorities. The university helped nationalists establish a system of education for all Indians, thus proving the country's independence from British-run institutions and de-legitimizing the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. Its foundation was one of the important event of an initiative satyagraha launched by Gandhi as a means to peacefully terminate British rule in India. The vidyapith's foundation was emulated by nationalists in

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

, Madras and in many cities across India. Answering Gandhi's call to boycott British institutions, influences and goods, many thousands of students and teachers left British colleges to join the Vidyapith. People like

Jivatram Kripalani Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1 ...

and Nanabhai Bhatt volunteered to teach. The Gujarat Vidyapith became a 'deemed university' in 1963. It is funded and governed by the University Grants Commission, under the Union Ministry for Human Resources Development in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. Although considerably modernized in its structure and curriculum, the university maintains its commitment to Gandhian ideals, human studies, social service and development work.

Goals

The institution officially embraced Gandhi's goals as its mission: *Adherence to truth and non-violence *Participation in productive work with a sense of

dignity of labour The dignity of labour is the philosophy that all types of jobs are respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and none of the jobs should be discriminated on any basis. Regardless of whether one's occupation involves physical wor ...

*Acceptance of equality of religions *Priority for the needs of village dwellers in all curricula *Use of mother-tongue as a medium of instructions

Central facilities and administration

The university offers a wide range of degrees, including Ph.D. programs and doctoral studies. Institute's central library has grown over the years to become one of the richest repositories of books, journals and manuscripts in

. As of March 2022, central library has a collection of 5,93,533 books, 252 journals, 17 newspapers and 691 manuscripts. Institute has 7 boys hostels and 3 girls hostels. It continues to emphasize social service, Gandhian studies and subjects associated with religion and culture.

List of chancellors of Gujarat Vidyapith

The following have held the post of the Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith.

References

{{authority control Gujarat in Indian independence movement Universities and colleges in Ahmedabad 1920 establishments in India Educational institutions established in 1920