Special Cover to honour Gandhi released

Manipal: A Special cover of Mahatma Gandhi was released by Chief Post Master General of Karnataka, Dr Charles Lobo in the counselling hall of Manipal Academy of Higher Education here on Monday. The occasion was to commemorate the Mahatma’s visit to Udupi 85 years ago on February 25, 1934 and the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi in June 1949 by Dr TMA Pai. Incidentally, MGM was the first college started by the founder of MAHE.  

This year also marks 150 years of Gandhi Jayanthi. The Special Cover was released by Dr Lobo and Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman MEMG and Registrar, Academy of General Education. Also present on the occasion were Pro Chancellor, MAHE, Dr H.S. Ballal, Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr PLNG Rao, Registrar Dr Narayana Sabhahit, Secretary and Administrator, AGE, Dr H Shantaram and Superintendent of Post, Udupi, Mr Rajashekhar Bhat. 

Gandhi visited the undivided Dakshina Kannada, Mangaluru on February 24 and Udupi the next day. The Mahatma’s two-day trip to this city, known for the Krishna temple world over, was highlighted by the chief guest Dr Lobo in his brief speech at the Special Cover release function. In fact, he read out the speech by Gandhi to the gathering at Ajjarkad. “The significant part of that speech was about untouchability,” Dr Lobo said.

The quote he picked from the speech to elaborate was, “I cannot imagine a nobler task for citizens of any place in India than that they should remove the sin of untouchability from their midst. We are all children of one and the same God and God would not be God of justice if He discriminated between children”.

Dr Ballal spoke of how MGM College was founded. He said that Dr TMA Pai was so impressed by Gandhi that he decided to name the first college established under Academy of Higher Education after the Mahatma. He added, “Dr Pai wanted to name the medical college started in 1953 also after Gandhi. But owning to some hitch, he couldn’t do so and decided to name it after Kasturba”.

Member Manipal Philately and Numismatics Club of MAHE, Dr Joseph Thomas, Prof Department of Urology said, “He did not win a Nobel Peace Prize, but was immortalized by the world. Over 100 countries have issued stamps on Gandhi, with US being the first to release it. More than 350 stamps have been released by different countries. This is the highest for any one personality”.