IDC (India Discovery Center), a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts, is organizing a national essay contest on Mahatma Gandhi as a part of its India Heritage Weekend event. The India Heritage Weekend celebrates the centennial of Gandhi’s return to India with a planned set of activities including movies, music concert, exhibition and a lecture. Gandhi returned from South Africa in 1915 and launched India’s nonviolent civil disobedience movement that helped gain India’s freedom. It was also a forerunner to the liberation of several Asian and African countries from 

The contest is open to all school and college students below twenty years of age. The topic is “Gandhi’s message and its influence on the world.” The essay must be in 

English and should not exceed 1,200 words typed double space in Times Roman 12 point font. The deadline for receipt of submission is September 30, 2015. Electronic submission is preferred; please send the essay in MS Word format as an email attachment to IDCinBoston@gmail.com. The cover page should contain the name of author, address, email, phone number, school/college name and address, and class identification, and a 100-word abstract. A self-declaration certificate for age and authorship must be attached. 

The essays would be evaluated by an independent panel of judges and the results would be announced in the second week of October. IDC will award three prizes for the contest. Each prize will carry a certificate and a cash award. The prize amounts are $300, $200, and $100. The prize winners would be invited to attend the events of  India Heritage Weekend. 

You can visit http://www.IndiaDiscoveryCenter.org for further details on the contest. 

Interested candidates can contact Mr. Sanjeev Tripathi at IDCinBoston@gmail.com or by calling him at 781-248-0591.