The 155th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Indian Nation, was commemorated on October 2 with floral tributes, music and rousing speeches at his two iconic memorials in London – Tavistock Square and Parliament Square.
Marked the world over as United Nations’ designated International Day of Non-Violence, the core values of peace and ahimsa (non-violence) resonated through the key addresses on the occasion. Additionally, visiting Indian Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal highlighted Gandhi’s simple message of cleanliness – being marked as the 10th anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) across India this week.
Meghwal, who used Mahatma Gandhi’s popular bhajan Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram to highlight his message of unity, said: “The whole world knows of this man, who was unlike another. No wonder, the United Nations decided to mark International Day of Non-Violence as a tribute to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.”
The event included renditions from students of Bhavan UK of the same bhajan and another favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, Vaishnava Jan. The event at Tavistock Square concluded with a Buddhist chant for peace and harmony.
Councillor Eddie Hanson, the Deputy Mayor of Camden, said: “Mahatma Gandhi remained committed to his belief in non-violence even under oppressive conditions and in the face of insurmountable challenges.
“Today, we commemorate the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, who through his example proved that peaceful protest could accomplish much more than military aggression.”
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami added: “His life is a lesson for all of us, that if we care to make the effort, if we care to understand other people, if we care to learn from the environment around us, there is the inner Mahatma within all of us.”
At Parliament Square, where the Gandhi statue was unveiled in 2015, students and members of the Indian diaspora gathered for floral tributes led by British Indian economist and peer Lord Meghnad Desai – who had led the charity drive for the creation of this new memorial in the UK capital to the apostle of peace known as Bapu.
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