Bengaluru: A senior physical education lecturer in Bengaluru has spent the past decade taking Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings on truth, non-violence, honesty and self-reliance to students across Karnataka through free educational workshops.
Abida Begum, a senior lecturer in the Physical Education Department at Government First Grade College in T. Dasarahalli, began the initiative in 2016 at a college in Ramanagara. Since then, she has travelled across all 31 districts of Karnataka and conducted programmes at more than 400 government and private colleges without charging students any fee.
Begum said her interest in Gandhian philosophy was influenced by her father, Aftab Ahmed Khan, who followed Gandhian principles.
The workshops focus on values including punctuality, honesty, self-reliance and non-violence. Begum also discusses misinformation about Gandhi circulating on social media and encourages students to distinguish between verified information and false claims.
She said many young people develop misconceptions about Gandhi after encountering inaccurate information online. During her sessions, she addresses students’ questions, explains historical facts and recommends books for further reading.
In collaboration with the Karnataka Gandhi Memorial Fund and the National Service Scheme (NSS), Begum also organises seven-day state-level youth camps under the theme ‘Human Values through Gandhian Thoughts’. Participants receive training in leadership and communication skills, along with practical sessions on spinning yarn using the charkha.
Her work also includes coordinating the Karnataka chapter of the ‘Gandhi Vichara Samskara Parikshe’, an annual examination organised by the Gandhi Research Foundation in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
The examination is conducted every February, with study material provided free of cost to participating students. This year, around 8,000 students registered, while 325 students cleared the examination.
Through her continued outreach, Begum aims to present Gandhi’s ideas in a contemporary context and encourage students to apply values such as truth, discipline, compassion and non-violence in their daily lives.
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