Gandhi Jayanti 2018: PM Narendra Modi pays floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary at Raj Ghat (Express Photo/Tashi Tobgyal)
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary at Raj Ghat. They led a string of leaders in paying respects, including BJP veteran L K Advani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who is in India, also paid tribute to Gandhi this morning.
The government has announced a two-year celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of Gandhi.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or Bapu as he is fondly remembered, is known as the Father of the Nation. He led the independence movement against the British. The United Nations also celebrates October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence to honour Gandhi’s belief in peace and non-violence.
Stressing the need to maintain communal harmony in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesday Mahatma Gandhi had always stood for tolerance and showed respect to all religions Describing Gandhi as a "true leader of the masses" wh could take everyone along in his fight for rights, Banerje said the country was currently going through "difficult times due to rising fuel prices and religious intolerance "We need leaders and statesmen like Gandhiji who could guide us during times of crisis," the chief minister said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the students after paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary, at Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi, Tuesday, October 2, 2018. (PTI Photo)
As the country celebrates the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Tuesday, the annual ‘International Gandhi Peace Prize’, named after Father of the Nation, has not been conferred for the last four years.
An official of the Ministry of Culture, the nodal agency which receives proposals for conferring the award, said nominations were made during the last four years for the coveted award, but an approval has been awaited. READ MORE
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is addressing a rally at Wardha on Gandhi Jayanti.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday led a foot march here to mark the start of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary celebrations and to give a message against what the party called the "atmosphere of fear" in the country.
Congress leaders like K C Venugopal, R P N Singh, state unit president Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and others joined Rahul Gandhi as he began the march after garlanding a statue of the Father of the Nation near the district collector's office in Wardha. (PTI)
Ahmedabad: School students pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary, at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Tuesday, Oct 2, 2018. (PTI Photo)
Political leadership accompanied by public funding, partnership and people's participation can help the world in achieving total sanitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday on the occasion of 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
He said till four years ago, India's share in the world's population that practised open defecation was 60 per cent, which has now come down to below 20 per cent.
Addressing the concluding session of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention here, he said 90 per cent of the toilets constructed are being used even as the government carries out constant follow ups to ensure that cities declared open defecation free "do not fall back on old habits". (From PTI)
Israel on Tuesday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary at the Mahatma Gandhi roundabout in Israel's southern town Kiryat Gat.
The first and only roundabout in the country named after Mahatma Gandhi was inaugurated here in January 2016 to mark 60 years of the establishment of the township.
Paying warm tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, the Mayor of Kiryat Gat, Aviram Dahari, said, "It is an honour to be remembering Gandhi whose message still remains relevant."
"Gandhi Jayanti celebrations here is a reflection of the warm friendly relationship between the people of India and Israel. We have been gathering here to pay respects to the great soul every October and January since the roundabout was inaugurated. It is also a matter of pride for the Indian community in the town and the whole of Israel," Roger Judah, an Indian community leader in the town, said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking at the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention. The Prime Minister recalled how Gandhi once said that we would prioritise hygiene in freedom and sanitation, while fighting the independence battle. He added, "Today I accept in front of you that if I did not understand Gandhi, his views, so deeply, the sanitation campaign would never have been in the priorities of our government. I found Parerani from Bapu, and the guidance of him Swachh Bharat Abhiyan also began."
Expressing pride at the fact that Swachh Bharat has become the world's largest mass movement, he said, "Four years ago, 60 per cent of the global population in the open defecation was in India, it has been reduced to 20 per cent today. 25 States of India have declared themselves free from defecation in open."
"Today, when I hear, I see that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has changed the mood of the people of India, how the disease has been reduced in the villages of India, the expenditure on treatment has been reduced, so much satisfaction," he added.
Pledging support to the government's Swachh Bharat scheme, HDFC Bank has announced several initiatives including a drive to inaugurate sanitation units in 200 Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP) villages, tree plantation drives, distribution of cleaning materials and other awareness campaigns.
In China, school students recite Mahatma Gandhi's popular quotes in Chaoyang Park in central Beijing, to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. In the background, you can see a statue of Gandhi, which was carved by sculptor and artist Yuan Xikun and installed in the park in 2005.
(PTI Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi describes Gandhi as a stalwart who lived for others and to make our world a better place. "The noble thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi have given strength to millions across the world. He was a stalwart who lived for others and to make our world a better place," he tweets. Here are some pictures of him paying tribute to Gandhi at Raj Ghat this morning. Read more
(Twitter/@narendramodi)
Marking the fourth anniversary of the government's flagship scheme Swachh Bharat, Railways employees in Mumbai staged a flash mob at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Here's a video of it, shared by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal.
As we remember Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary, we reflect upon five notable world leaders who actively drew from the Gandhian model of ‘ahimsa’ and ‘satyagraha’. Five world leaders who drew inspiration from the Mahatma
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is in India, his first visit to the country as head of the body. This morning, he paid tribute to Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Speaking to news agency PTI on Monday, Guterres said, "In today's turbulent world, Gandhi's message of communal harmony and tolerance remains as relevant as ever. I believe it is crucial that Gandhi's legacy is preserved, and that nations around the world continue to cherish and celebrate their ethnic and religious diversity."
(Express Photo/Tashi Tobgyal)
Today marks the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma. And four years of Swachh Bharat, the national cleanliness campaign that was launched in Gujarat by the state’s then chief minister Anandiben Patel at Porbandar. The Indian Express reporters fan out across the country to city, town and village that marked milestones in the Mahatma’s journey. To bring you stories of the footsoldiers of Swachh Bharat, women and men, whose job it is to wipe, mop and dust where Mahatma Gandhi once walked.
Read stories from Express' series Mahatma Swachh Bharat here
If you use the following hashtags on Twitter, you will see the Gandhi emoji – #GandhiJayanti, #MahatmaGandhi, #MKGandhi, #BapuAt150, #MyGandhigiri, #NexusOfGood, #MahatmaAt150, #??????????, #??????????. The emoticon shows a caricature of Mahatma Gandhi with the blue and white colours in the backdrop (symbolic representation of colours of the Twitter logo).
Twitter India launches special ‘Gandhi emoji’ to celebrate Bapu’s birthday
Side note: There's also a Swachh Bharat emoji. You can see this, if you tweet #SwachhBharatDiwas
Obama, who scripted history by becoming the first black President of the US in 2009, has often talked about the influence Mahatma Gandhi had on his life. The former US president also had a photo of the Indian freedom leader on the wall of his Senate office. “I am greatly influenced by a man from your nation whose message of love and justice shows us the way ahead," he said.
‘Gandhi rare gift to world’: How the Mahatma inspires former US president Barack Obama
On the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, celebrations are underway at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (Express Photos/Javed Raja)
In pictures | At Raj Ghat this morning (Express Photos/Tashi Tobgyal)
President Ram Nath Kovind
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
BJP veteran L K Advani
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with his deputy Manish Sisodia