India celebrates Mahatma Gandhi’s 152nd birthday

October 2, 2021, 3:50 a.m. NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (Prinsa Latina) Today India celebrates the 152nd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, the central figure in the movement for the country’s independence from British colonial rule.

A series of events were organized in India, its diplomatic missions and in the Raj Ghat (Royal Courtyard), the site where the Mahatma (the composition in Sanskrit and Hindi meaning great soul) was cremated in 1948, baptized by the Nobel Prize for Literature, Rabindranath Tagore.

The birth of Mahatma Gandhi is also celebrated as the International Day of Nonviolence (Gandhi Jayanti or Gandhi Day), declared by the United Nations in recognition of who was the hero of this policy and spreading the important message it carries around the world.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning praised Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat, All India Radio reported.

The President, Ram Nath Kovind, noted that Mahatma Gandhi believed that nonviolence was a philosophy, principle and experience that could serve as the basis for the improvement of society, and also made great efforts to achieve the elimination and improvement of social ills. For the economic situation of farmers and the empowerment of women.

On his part, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Gandhi showed the world a new way to fight injustice and left a lasting imprint on humanity.

He added that the father of India is a symbol of the oppressed and people can draw inspiration from his life and philosophy for sustainable development, self-reliance and empowerment of the marginalized.

Chief Lok Sabha Om Birla, Indian National Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were among the dignitaries who gave the floral salute.

Born on October 2, 1869 in a town in today’s Indian state of Gujarat, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi studied law in England and lived in South Africa before leading the fight for India’s independence from the British Empire.

Gandhi, also called Babu (Father in Gujarati), was a staunch advocate of interfaith harmony and against the oppression of the strict Hindu caste system.

In the third decade of the last century, he became the central figure of the independence movement after the famous salt march along more than 300 km against London’s monopoly on this resource, which marked the national liberation campaign.

An advocate of Ahimsa, a philosophical concept of nonviolence and respect for life, Gandhi crowned his efforts in 1947 when India declared independence.

On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a right-wing extremist resentful of his call for peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims, amid fierce clashes between the two groups.

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