452 jail inmates to appear for Peace Exam on Gandhi Jayanti

Mumbai: Altogether 452 inmates of Taloja, Nagpur and Aurangabad jails in Maharashtra would appear for an examination on Gandhian thoughts on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"The preacher of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, devoted his life for spreading non-violence and he proved that it is an effective weapon. He spent six and a half years of his life in jail. He utilised this time to develop his qualities.

"Years after his departure, his thoughts are seen prevailing in the society and also in the prisons where the inmates are undergoing imprisonment as a result of violent anger that lasts only a fraction of minutes," T K Somaiya of Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal said.

The Mandal, in association with other Gandhian institutions, is organising the Gandhi Peace Examination for last 10 years in various jails of Maharashtra as part of reformation programmes for prisoners, he said in a release.

"The result has been inspiring. The aim of the examination is to evoke the sense of regret among prisoners and to inculcate qualities of 'Satya' (truth) and 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) amongst them," he added.

Convicted for a number of crimes in 2005, Laxman Gole has been preaching Gandhi's views among prisoners in jails all over Maharashtra through Sarvodaya Mandal.

"Books written by Mahatma Gandhi and his thoughts are made available to the inmates free of cost.

"We shall conduct an examination of 80 marks in which the inmates would have to answer 80 objective type questions. Those who pass the exam will receive Certificate and Khadi clothes as a prize," Gole said.