Mesmerised by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, a group of 15 undergraduate students from Stanford University, US, are in the city to learn the fundamentals of Gandhigiri.

The students, who are pursuing a course titled 'Gandhi, King and Non-violence' at Stanford, are visiting Ahmedabad as part of their Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) of the University, wherein they will also visit New Delhi and Kolkata.

The BOSP also includes a three-week seminar on Gandhi, which will be held in all the three cities. The seminar will introduce the students to Gandhi's life, thought, and legacy in the settings where he lived and struggled.

The 18-member group, which includes 15 undergraduate students, 2 faculties and 1 seminar assistant, will organise a three-day camp on sanitation and health in Pimpal village of Chanasma taluka from September 10-13, with the help of Gandhinagar-based Environment Sanitation Institute.

“People in the US often think of Gandhi as a saint or an angel. But there was so much more to his personality. As a determined political fighter and strategist, he challenged the racist white government of South Africa and then took on the British Empire,” said Clayborne Carson, seminar faculty and Director of Martin Luther King (Junior) Research & Education Department Institute, Stanford University.

He added: “The basic questions that will be addressed are what is violence, how relevant is non-violence as a principle for resolution of serious conflict in the world and who is following Gandhi's path today.”

Linda Hess, seminar faculty, lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for South Asia, Stanford University told Newsline: “This is a nice opportunity for the students to familiarise with Gandhi's work, by living and spending time in his land.”

Harley Adams, one of the students in the group, said: “My grandfather and his family moved to Mumbai in 1920. He was very much impressed with Gandhi's work. Just like Gandhi, my grandfather went to study law from London, and once he returned to India as a barrister, he started following the Mahatma's path.”

He added: “I decided to apply for this seminar after hearing so much about Gandhi from my mother. In order to better understand Gandhi and India, I started learning Hindi at my university.”