The University Grants Commission sanctioned the establishment of a Gandhian Studies Center in Bhavnagar University under Ninth Five Year Plan in1999, at the Department of History. Bhavnagar is the place where Gandhiji studied for one term in Samaldas Arts College in June 1888, a conducted college of Bhavnagar University. Bhavnagar is near to Porbander where Mohandas was born. Saurashtra region was the first where Gandhiji declared his first satyagrah about " Viramgam Jakat Bari ". Bhavnagar is located in Gujarat where Gandhiji started his first " Ashram ". Hence Gandhiji has obviously a great influence on Gujarat.

The objective of the centre is to spread Gandhian thoughts and philosophy among the young generation and in society at large.

For this purpose we have used some of the most effective media like seminars, workshops, quiz, elocution, essay competition, reading workshop and symposium during 2000-2006.

During this period we have utilized part of the U.G.C. grant to raise a small but quite significant ' Library ' for researchers interested in doing research on Gandhi. This resource is further enriched by our publication of the lectures delivered by experts on various aspects of Gandhian Philosophy in the course of our Programs.

This effective media gave us tremendous success to fulfill our mission. You can see in our brochure that we used almost all ways and methods to make most of the charge given to us by the U.G.C. We also went in the Midst of the people and to colleges located in comparatively very small towns to achieve our goals in the true sense of the term.

In the future our plan is to go to the schools secondary as well as higher secondary where there is a greater need to sensitize the young minds towards what Gandhi meant and will mean in the life of the nation in times to come. But this project requires some field-work and more finances and we hope the U.G.C.-taking into consideration the worth of our work will ungrudgingly sanction the grant.

Dr. Mehboob Desai
Director
Gandhian Study Center,
Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar.