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On this day of Gandhi Jayanti, the President and Prime Minister, along with other eminent political leaders, pay homage at Raj Ghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi where he was cremated. Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday and hence, all offices and schools, throughout the country, remain closed. Verses and prayers are read out from the holy books of all the religions. Gandhi’s favorite song, ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’, is invariably sung at all the meetings associated with him. Prayer meetings are held in various state capitals as well. Gandhi Jayanti is observed all over the country, both in government and non-government forums.

Gandhi, as he was popularly called, proved that non-violence is the most effective instrument of social change. His teachings are promoted even today to avoid violence and find peaceful solutions to conflicts.Through his sheer dedication and self-belief, Gandhi freed India from the British Raj (British Rule). He proved to the world that freedom can be achieved through the path of non-violence.

For Gandhi ‘Non-violence’ and truth were two inalienable virtues. He summed up the entire philosophy of his life as : “The only virtue I want to claim is truth and non-violence. I lay no claim to super human powers : I want none”.The United Nations General Assembly announced on 15th June, 2007 that October 2nd will be celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace and the father of the nation was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat. In his autobiography My experiments with Truth ,Gandhi recalls that his childhood and teen age years were characterised by education in a local school, marriage to Kasturba at the age of 13 and an intrinsic love for ‘truth’ and ‘duty’.

At the age of the eighteen, he went to England to study law. In 1891, Gandhi returned to India and set up practice at Rajkot. In 1893, he received an offer from an Indian firm in South Africa. With his two minor sons and Kasturba, he went to South Africa at the age of twenty-four. Gandhi returned to India in 1915. His famous march to Dandi in March 1930 started a countrywide movement to violate the Salt-Law. Gandhi was arrested on 4 May 1930.

On 8 May 1933 he announced a fast for 21 days for the Harijan cause. After coming out of prison Gandhi devoted himself exclusively to the cause of the ‘Harijans’. The weekly Harijan now took the place of the Young India, which had served the national cause from 1919 to 1932.

In 1942, his ‘Quit India” slogan was to serve as the final signal to British dominion in India. The partition of India and Pakistan came as a personal shock to Gandhi. When the nation was rejoicing independence (1947), Gandhi went to Naokhali to ameliorate the conditions of the communal riot victims. On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi.

The birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, popularly known as the ‘Father of the Nation’, is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti with reverence all over the country. He was the man who played a significant role for achieving independence for India from the British Empire, with his simplicity and strong willpower! Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as ‘Bapu‘, or Gandhiji, was born on the October 2nd 1869, in Porbander, Gujarat.

Gandhiji was a preacher of truth (Satyagraha) and ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence). He started the ‘Satyagraha’ movement for the Indian freedom struggle. He believed in living a simple life and in ‘Swadeshi’. He proved to the world that freedom can be achieved through the path of non-violence - a true symbol of peace and truth!