Gandhi Jayanti ki Subhakamanaye!!!

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” - M.K. GANDHI

Mahatma Gandhi, he is one of those few leaders whose persistent efforts left an imprint on India’s young generation. His legacy is still remembered till date. To continue this legacy and to remember a "great-souled" person we celebrate GANDHI JAYANTI on second of October every year.

• Who was Mahatma Gandhi?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat in the British-ruled India. He was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Mahatma is like an honour that has been given by people to Gandhiji and later known as Mahatma Gandhi due to his nobel cause.

About "GANDHI JAYANTI"

Gandhi Jayanti is one of the major national festivals holidays which is celebrated all over the country and even outside India as well i.e. South Africa, United States, United Kingdom, Geneva, Denmark. Furthermore, October 2 is also announced as International Day of Non-Violence by the United Nations. The festival is certainly a momentous occasion in India. This is certainly one of the great occasions in India. His various incident are as follow:

Salt March

Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. On 31 January 1930, he sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest; others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging, so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone could be brought together in a united campaign. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the most essential items of food. The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declared, revealed the most oppressive face of British rule.

Mahatma Gandhi’s letter was, in a way, an ultimatum. If the demands were not fulfilled by 11 March, the letter stated, the Congress would launch a civil disobedience campaign. Irwin was unwilling to negotiate. So Mahatma Gandhi started his famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day. Thousands came to hear Mahatma Gandhi wherever he stopped, and he told them what he meant by swaraj and urged them to peacefully defy the British. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea waste.

Gandhiji's South Africa Incident

At the age of 24, he travelled to South Africa in order to pursue law. At that time, he also raised his voice against racism as he himself was subjected to racial segregation system while travelling on a train. He was thrown out of a first class railway compartment as he was of Indian descent and did not belong to white race.

He returned from South Africa in the year of 1915. After that, he became an active member of Indian National Congress and he soon became the president of Congress party due to his relentless efforts.

Gandhiji's struggle to gain Swaraj

Gandhiji developed a humongous amount of disliking towards the British, then ruler of India, he quit being a lawyer and adopted a nonviolent resistance to lead many noteworthy campaigns against the British for India’s independence. Some of the noteworthy non-violent civil rights movements to attain freedom led by Mahatma Gandhi were Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha. The non-cooperation movements were Salt Satyagraha and Quit India movement.

Celebration of GANDHI JAYANTI

Learners must know the import