The rot rose to the surface on July 26 when the Vidyapith's 14-member Senate met with the agenda of appointing a new vice-chancellor. The three-year term of the incumbent, Govindbhai Raval, had ended on June 23. Senate member Navalbhai Shah proposed that a committee be set up to consider amending the Vidyapith's constitution to make it consistent with University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines, such as a 65 year age limit for vice-chancellors and their appointment by search committees.

Several members opposed this. Meanwhile, nine members proposed that Raval be given another term, and so also pro-vice chancellor Vinodbhai Tripathi, whose term expired on June 23 too.

When the nine members started cheering for Raval and Tripathi,Chancellor Ramlal Parikh reportedly got enraged and walked out with his four supporters. The rest elected Natwarlal Parmar as chairman of the meeting, moved the resolution again, and adopted it ``unanimously''.

However, Parikh denied he had walked out. He said he wanted to adjourn the meeting for considering these proposal, but some members opposed it. ``So I adjourned the meeting and left. All the decisions they took in the parallel meeting are unconstitutional,'' he said.

But the rebelling nine say the senate alone is empowered to appoint a chancellor, vice-chancellor, and pro-vice chancellor as Vidyapith is a deemed-to-be university. Only the senate can appoint people who have truly imbibed Gandhian thoughts to those posts, they say. ``Just because it takes UGC grant, Vidyapith should not be bureaucratised,'' they argue.

The real cause of the showdown is that many Vidyapith functionaries are up in arms against Chancellor Parikh. Tripathi blames Parikh's ``greed for power'' for the crisis. He says theonly reason Parikh wants to appoint a search committee is to scuttle Raval's reappointment. Raval, a one-time confidant of Parikh, has fallen out with him of late.

Senate members also accuse Parikh of spoiling the decorum of his post by interfering in day-to-day affairs. ``All previous chancellors like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Morarji Desai used to visit Vidyapith only to attend convocations,'' says Tripathi.

However, Parikh says that he favours setting up of a search committee because there is no unanimity on appointment of vice-chancellor. Besides, he argues that Vidyapith's constitution has to be consistent with UGC Act. ``I believe that a vice-chancellor should be appointed in a way that does not make him dependent on any group,'' he says.

He also says that UGC wrote to him this June 3 clearly stating that a vice-chancellor should be appointed through a search committee and that the age-limit for V-C is 65 years. Refuting the allegation of interference, he said, ``It is my legitimate duty aschancellor to oversee the functioning of Vidyapith.''

Parikh's arch-rival in the game is Pro-Vice Chancellor Tripathi. Sources point out that Parikh brought in Raval so as to prevent Tripathi from becoming vice-chancellor in 1996. Differences between Parikh and Tripathi have sharpened since then. By returning as Pro-VC, Tripathi has clinched a coup.

However, the spectacle has caused only pain to Gandhians. Says veteran Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, ``I feel deeply pained about it. Because Gandhiji's name is associated with Vidyapith, this showdown should have been avoided. It has tarnished Gandhians' image.'' However, Vaidya said that just because Vidyapith takes grant, it should not be allowed to lose its autonomy.

He said the day this happended he was in Mumbai otherwise he would have found ``some way out''. He says, ``I have still not given up. I will bring both sides to a compromise.'' Another Gandhian Prakashbhai Shah, too, thinks the matter should be sorted out mutually.