Mangaluru : On the eve of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of former prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mangalore University will organise an international conference on the theme “Rediscovering Nehru’s ideas in contemporary India” at Mangala Auditorium of the university in second or third week of November.

Briefing media persons at the university senate hall on Monday, Vice Chancellor Prof K Byrappa said that Nehru Chintana Kendra (Nehru Study Centre) had been sanctioned to the university and the government had also released Rs three crore for the centre. Using the interest (annually around Rs 27 lakh) various programmes will be organised.

Programme Coordinator Rajaram Tholpadi said the objective of the international conference was to reconstruct the ideas of Nehru. A range of national and international scholars will come to analyse the political philosophy of Jawaharlal Nehru.

A seven-day political leadership workshop, a distinct programme according to the organisers, will be held at Mangala auditorium from November 20 to 26. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, former union minister Oscar Fernandes, Professor Valerian Rodrigues, former Legislative Council chairman B L Shankar and others will participate in the workshop. The event will highlight citizen leadership.

International children’s film fest will be held in the third week of November. Around 128 films will be screened in the fest. Children and jury from 40 countries will participate in the event which will be held in Mangaluru and Udupi. Apart from this quiz will be conducted for college students, a book exhibition and a general exhibition on Nehru will be held during the international conference, Tholpadi said.

Earlier, Vice Chancellor Prof K Byrappa launched the logo of the conference, which depicted Nehru’s monumental contribution to India’s pre-Independence struggle. The VC said that the State government was expecting the Mangalore University to be a role model to others by celebrating the birth anniversary of Nehru and all other freedom fighters to create awareness about their contribution to the nation among young minds.

Registrar P S Yadapadithaya, Student Welfare Officer P L Dharma were present.