1.7 lakh students, 450 jail inmates to appear for Gandhi Peace Exam

Giving details of this significance day, Somaiya, President of the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal whose brain child is the Peace exam informed that even after his assassination in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings and values regarding nonviolence are an inspiration to ordinary people as well as to those who went on to become eminent personalities and world leaders. As declared by United Nations, Gandhiji’s birth anniversary as an International Non-violence Day will be observed on October 2, the world over. 

While inculcating Gandhi’s ideology among the youth, it is essential to help bring about a change of heart amongst the jail inmates and make them responsible citizens. Those who commit crimes in a moment of fury are neglected by the society and they are forced to enter the world of crime. Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal has got permission from the Inspector General of Prisons, Maharashtra, to conduct the Gandhi Peace examination in all the jails in Maharashtra. 

Prisoners will get an opportunity to evoke the sense of remorse through inculcation of moral values in the minds of prisoners and make them realize the power of truth and non-violence. During Gandhi Jayanti Week, around 450 prisoners from Chadrapur, Akola, Yervada, Bhandara, Nagpur and Byculla jail of Maharashtra will appear for the examination. About 90 surrendered Naxalites of Chhattisgarh will also appear for Gandhi Peace Exam. Around 1,200 jail inmates in remaining jails will appear for Peace Examination during the year. This year, so far, about 1,150 jail inmates from Arthur Road, Thane, Kalyan, Taloja, Alibaug, Jalna, Aurangabad, Nasik and Pune Open jail will appear for the exam. 

Increasing violence in the society has made it pertinent for the youth to inculcate Gandhiji’s teachings of honesty, truth, non-violence, conflict resolution and peace. Every year Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal and Gandhi Research Foundation organise a Gandhi Peace Examination, in schools and colleges in Maharashtra. In 2015, 89 inmates of Mumbai Central Jail took the exam. And so far, 10,000 prisoners in Mumbai Central Jail have taken this exam from 2004.