President Murmu: Gandhi’s vision of social unity and equality is the way forward

Murmu made the remarks in her address at the first convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari in East Champaran district of Bihar.

Motihari: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday asserted that the vision of social equality and unity shared by Mahatma Gandhi a century ago was still relevant for the country’s march towards becoming a modern and developed nation.

Murmu made the remarks in her address at the first convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari in East Champaran district of Bihar.

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The president, who spoke for less than 15 minutes, devoted a significant part of her speech to the ‘Champaran Satyagraha’, which saw Gandhi leading a passive resistance of indigo planters in the area, which soon caught the national imagination and made the South Africa-returned barrister a household name.

“During the Champaran Satyagraha, people gave up caste barriers, especially in relation to food. They cooked together and ate together. This social equality and unity, which Gandhi inspired 106 years ago, forced the mighty British empire to bow down,” said the president, who spoke in the presence of Governor Rajendra Arlekar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, among others.

“That vision of social equality and unity remains relevant. In modern times that should serve as the foundation on which we shall realise the goal of becoming a developed nation,” she added.

Murmu, who is the first person from the Schedule Tribes to have been elected to the top constitutional post, also said that Gandhi used to encourage academic work focused on “janjaatis” (tribes).

She also recalled Gandhi’s close friendship with Verrier Elwin, a British-born ethnologist and anthropologist who settled in India and devoted his life to supporting the national movement and studying tribals of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

Murmu also lauded the central university for encouraging studies on members of the Tharu tribe, who inhabit the terai region along Indo-Nepal border.

She also paid rich tributes to the historicity of Champaran “which is home to many pillar edicts of Emperor Asoka”.

“All visitors to Rashtrapati Bhavan at Delhi behold the Rampurva Bull Capital, which was found in West Champaran district and has been installed at the entrance of Durbar Hall,” she said.

The president also made a mention of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve situated close by and the famous litchis grown in the area which are exported to far-off lands.

She also said, “I am glad to learn that among top rankers in this university’s various streams, girl students account for close to 60 per cent. I see a bright future for the country when I find girls excelling in studies with confidence. Gandhi was also a great votary of girls’ education.”