Type | Public |
---|---|
Established | October 18, 1920 |
Chancellor | Ela Bhatt |
Vice-Chancellor | Anamik Shah |
Location | Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India |
Campus | Urban |
Affiliations | UGC |
Website | www.gujaratvidyapith.org |
Coordinates: 23°2′6″N 72°34′6″E / 23.03500°N 72.56833°E
Gujarat Vidyapith is a university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement.
"Vidyapith," in many languages of India, means university.
The university was founded on October 18, 1920 as a 'Rashtriya Vidyapith' ('National University') by Mahatma Gandhi, who would serve throughout his life as the kulpati (chancellor).
Its purpose was to promote educational institutions run by Indians for Indians outside the financial and governing control of British authorities. The university helped nationalists establish a system of education for all Indians, thus proving the country's independence from British-run institutions and de-legitimizing the British Raj. Its foundation was one of the important event of an initiative satyagraha launched by Gandhi as a means to peacefully terminate British rule in India.
The vidyapith's foundation was emulated by nationalists in Benares, Bombay, Calcutta, Nagpur, Madras and in many cities across India. Answering Gandhi's call to boycott British institutions, influences and goods, many thousands of students and teachers left British colleges to join the Vidyapith.