Every year, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on October 2 to mark the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi. Observed across the nation, the day is also a national holiday.
Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, and this year marks his 152nd birth anniversary.
As a mark of respect to the leader, the day is celebrated with prayer services and cultural events in schools, colleges, and even government institutions. The leaders of the nation usually pay homage at Raj Ghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi. His favourite song, Raghupati Raghava, is also sung on the occasion. His birth anniversary is celebrated in many other parts of the world, too.
A freedom fighter who tread the path of non-violence, Gandhi’s words and actions won over the masses and several people joined him as he led the Dandi Salt March in 1930. In 1942, he launched the Quit India Movement.
On June 15, 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that declared October 2 as International Day of Non-Violence. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence”.
Background
Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of India’s fight for freedom. He was a law graduate and was the biggest follower of Jainism. Between 1888 and 1891, he stayed in London and promised himself to be a vegetarian. Later, Gandhi joined the executive committee of the London Vegetarian Committee and then began reading a variety of holy books to gain knowledge on cross-religions.
Gandhi Ashram
Gandhi travelled various parts of India to motivate the countrymen and fight against British rule. In Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, in 1951, he established an ashram, which was common to all castes and religions. He spent a good amount of life at this ashram. In 1932, Gandhi embarked on a 6-day fast to safeguard the decision of the British to separate untouchables.
Symbols
The following three places play a vital role in celebrating Gandhi Jayanti:
- The Martyr’s Column is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was attacked on 30 January 1948.
- The Raj Ghat, the place where the body of Mahatma Gandhi was scalded on 31 January 1948.
- The Triveni Sangam, the place where the river Ganga, the river Yamuna, and the river Saraswati join together.
Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quotes
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes on humankind
- “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
- “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”
- “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
- “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes on truth
“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there is no public support. It is self sustained.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes on self-respect
- “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
- “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
- “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes on human mind and positive thinking
- “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
- “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
- “We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.”
- “Change yourself – you are in control.”
- “When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.”
- “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
- “If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.”
- “It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
- “Your beliefs become your thoughts,
- Your thoughts become your words,
- Your words become your actions,
- Your actions become your habits,
- Your habits become your values,
- Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi on the importance of hard work
“Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes on freedom, religion and service
- “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
- “My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.”
- “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi on women empowerment
“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior”
Mahatma Gandhi on the power of truth, love and non-violence
- “It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”
- “Love is the strongest force the world possesses.”
- “All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.”
- “Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.”
- “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.”
- “A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”
- “Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.”
- “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
- “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
- “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
