Opposing the appointment of Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat as the Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidhyapith, an autonomous university, nine Gandhian trustees resigned contending that the appointment of a non-Gandhian as the Chancellor were against the ethos of Gandhian values based on which the institution was founded.
There are 24 members of the trust of the 102-year-old prestigious institution that imparts education in Gandhian values and thought and is an autonomous university in Ahmedabad.
The mass resignations with a strongly worded joint statement by the trustees came on the eve of the convocation function of the instruction which had Mahatma Gandhi as the founder Chancellor till his assassination and other illustrious leaders like Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Morarji Desai after Mahatma.
In a strongly worded joint statement, the nine trustees held that appointment of the Gujarat Governor as the Chancellor of the institute was under “crass political pressure” and called it a move to “erase and alter” the history.
“We humbly appeal to the newly elected Chancellor, that as you would be aware of the circumstances of your selection. It was neither spontaneous nor the unanimous decision of the Board of Trustees. It was under crass political pressure. It was in total disregard for Gandhi’s values, methods and practices. How can that do credit to your honour and dignity?” they said in the statement which was shared with media on Monday evening.
“Your Excellency, to uphold the fundamental values of democracy and transparent autonomous decision-making you have the opportunity to set an example by declining to take charge as Chancellor,” read the statement, in an appeal to the state Governor to step down from the position.
In a strong assertion, they held that the Government, without specifying the state or the centre, was hell-bent on taking over the Gandhian institutions like Vidhyapith.
“Any healthy democracy can only be rooted in principled public policy. Through this action, the Government has made clear its intention of taking over big, small, strong and weak Gandhian institutions and thereby erase and alter history.”
Earlier, the appointment of Acharya Devvrat was paved after the resignation of the 89-year-old noted Gandhian and founder of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Elaben Bhatt, who resigned citing her advanced age.
After accepting her resignation, the Vidyapith Board passed a resolution inviting the state Governor to be Chancellor. However, the nine members who resigned on Monday had opposed the resolution voting against it.
However, the majority favoured the resolution inviting Acharya Devvrat, who accepted the invitation and became the Chancellor on October 11.
Condemning the Government’s high-handed approach in dealing with this heritage institution, the trustees mentioned that the government even threatened to withhold grants and withdraw the deemed university status of the Vidhyapith.
“Over 150 letters written by Vidyapith to concerned authorities have remained unacknowledged. What is more, the issue of the Vice Chancellor’s appointment was raked up, and the threat of withdrawal of Vidyapith’s deemed university status and withholding of grants. This, in our view, was patently malicious, unfair and without any sense of proportion.”
The nine members of the board of trustees who resigned are, Narsihbhai Hathila, Dr. Sudarshan Iyangar, Dr. Anamik Shah, Mandaben Parikh, Uttambhai Parmar, Chaitanya Bhatt, Neetaben Hardikar, Michael Mazgaonkar and Kapil Shah.
In a statement after the mass resignation of the nine board members, Vidhyapith stated that the board has decided to not accept the resignation of any member and instead would hold a dialogue with them to sort out the issue.
Published - October 18, 2022 09:29 am IST
