Prisoners, Maoists, students to write Gandhi Peace Exams on October 2

Around 450 jail inmates of Maharashtra and 90 surrendered Maoists in Chhattisgarh will join around 1.70 lakh students to write the annual Gandhi Peace Exam to mark the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The exams shall be conducted across the state by Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal to give the jail inmates and Maoists an opportunity to feel a sense of remorse by inculcating moral values, peace, truth and non-violence propounded by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Surrendered Naxals pass test on Gandhian principles

Surrendered Naxals pass test on Gandhian principles

The whole exercise is to help them drift away from path of violence

A total of 55 surrendered Naxals who had dozens of murder and arson cases registered against them have fared very well in an exam on Gandhi’s life and principles conducted by Gadchiroli police.
In an effort to reform prisoners, the Maharashtra jail authorities conduct classes on Gandhian philosophy with the help of NGOs in most prisons. After these classes, it holds the Gandhi Peace Exams to gauge the prisoners’ understanding of the philosophy. The exercise would help them in drifting away from violence.

Speaking on the endeavour, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Special Operations, Bipin Bihari said the surrendered Naxals were given lectures on Gandhian philosophy and an exam on the same was conducted in the month of August.

“Naxalites are waging a war against the state and we are trying to stimulate an ideology which shuns violence and preaches non-violence,” Bihari told The Indian Express.

“In order to draw the cadre to the Naxal fold, they are made to believe that armed revolution is the most effective solution. However, by introducing the Gandhian philosophy we are trying to instill the idea that demands could be met through non-violent means or ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence) which Gandhi preached and practised,” Bihari added.

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BAPU IS A STRESS-BUSTER FOR JAILBIRDS

The Mahatma’s lofty ideals are a balm to many bruised minds serving sentences in state jails

Sarvodaya Mandal and Gandhi Research Foundation are organising Gandhi Peace Examination and other reformation programmes in jails. This year, about 1081 jail inmates appeared for Gandhi Peace Exam. Feedbacks of prisoners are overwhelming. Around 3,000 inmates will appear for the exam and reformation programmes such as meditation, yoga, AIDS awareness, adult education are planned to be held in the jails and films like 'Gandhi' and 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' will be screened for about 15,000 inmates throughout the year..

My Experiments with Violence

My Experiments with Violence

After working with the underworld, ‘accidentally’ killing his wife and spending 16 years in prison,  Kripashankar Dawar was reborn as Paul. Here, he talks about how Mahatma Gandhi transformed him.

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Know your Gandhi? Maharashtra prisoners prepare for test

Come Oct 2, and over 1,000 prisoners and officials alike from 14 jails of Maharashtra will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary in a unique manner -- by taking a test on his philosophy and tenets...

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