Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in Delhi on Friday, October 2, on his 157th birth anniversary.
The leaders attended the Sarva-Dharma Prarthana, a multi-faith prayer, held at Gandhi’s samadhi at Rajghat to mark the day.
President Murmu said Gandhi’s message of peace and non-violence is even more relevant amid conflicts across the world. Prime Minister Modi said Bapu’s life continues to guide humanity.
Modi also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat on his birth anniversary. Shastri was born on the same date as Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, and served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1966. His slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ is one of the best-known phrases from that period.
Rajghat is the memorial in Delhi at the site where Gandhi was cremated in January 1948, and Vijay Ghat is the memorial to Shastri. October 2 is also observed by the United Nations as the International Day of Non-Violence.
The day also marked the start of the implementation phase of the government’s Special Campaign 6.0, a nationwide drive on cleanliness and the reduction of pending work in government offices, which runs from October 2 to October 31.
The Special Campaign 6.0 had a preparation phase from September 15 to 30, and an evaluation phase is scheduled for November 16 to 30. Ministries and departments including Power, Textiles and Fisheries, and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, are taking part.
The United Nations General Assembly declared October 2 the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007. In India, Gandhi Jayanti is one of three national holidays, along with Republic Day and Independence Day, and the BSE and NSE were closed on October 2.
Raj Ghat, memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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