After months of anticipation, Delhi University’s Gyanodaya Express set off for North-East on Thursday with 870 students and teachers aboard. The train, which was introduced nearly two years back to help students to go on study tours, is en route to the North-East this year with an aim to enrich students about the rich culture and heritage of the region.
The Dharohar-Gyanodaya Express was flagged off from Safdarjang Railway Station by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Sarbanda Sonowal, MoS Youth Affairs and Sports.
Both the Ministers hail from the North-East. This train began as a college-on-wheels project in 2012 and this is fifth edition of Gyanodaya Express. “This is a very unique concept to be pursued by any educational institution and we have drawn an inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi who had travelled in trains for over a year. Real education means ground exposure to students. I hope more universities will join hands with us for future Gyanodaya editions to enable students studying in universities across the country to benefit from the initiative,” said Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh.
The trip, which will conclude on December 29, will cover all eight States — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
The university had offered short-term courses in Assamese, Nagamese, Manipuri, Arunachali and Tripuri languages of the North-East. Foundation courses in Nepali and Bengali, which are widely spoken in Sikkim and Tripura, were also offered by DU as part of the preparation for the heritage tour.
“The 14-coach train has two classrooms with all infrastructural facilities, including projectors and lCD screens. As many as 70 students will be given class at a time. There is a library and the train is equipped with Internet facilities to aid students in studies,” said Malay Neerav, Media Coordinator and Joint Dean of Welfare.
DU had invited proposals from students about projects they would like to undertake on such a journey. The colleges had selected the best proposals and nominated them for the tour with the final call on the selected students having been taken by a project selection committee.
“A total of 65 projects will be undertaken. Students have been divided into groups of 10 each supervised by one mentor. Each group also has a student from North-East to help the students familiarise with the area or language,” he added.
The students will meet representatives of local universities as well as senior functionaries of the States during the trip. DU also plans to publish a book titled Dharohar: The glory of the North-East on the experiences of the students during the journey as well as the projects churned out by them.