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New Delhi : The President of India Ram Nath Kovind chaired the first meeting of the National Committee for the Commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 2, 2018.

The Committee has a total of 125 members including 116 from India and encompasses the President (as chair), the Vice-President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers, former Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, senior MPs and political leaders from across party lines, and eminent Gandhians, social thinkers and activists representing a cross-section of Indian society and regional diversity.

The Committee also has nine international members including two former Secretaries General of the United Nations – Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon – and Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and former US Vice-President Al Gore. Today’s meeting was attended by 82 members of the Committee.

The meeting began with introductory remarks by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who said that the focus of the Commemoration should be to present Gandhian values and principles both to the people and through the people in a contemporary idiom.

In his speech, President Kovind stressed that Mahatma Gandhi does not belong to India alone. He remains one of India’s greatest gifts to humankind and his name finds resonance across the continents. He was the inspiration for our largely non-violent, inclusive and democratic freedom struggle, the President said.  “He remains the ethical benchmark against which we test public men and women, political ideas and government policies, and the hopes and wishes of our country and our people,” said the President, according to a PIB release.

The President said that the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi is more than a celebration of a great life and a remembrance of history. Gandhiji himself would have wanted it to be a moment of renewal of making a fresh commitment to the goals of a just, honest and fair society – at home and abroad. The Mahatma is our past, he is our present and he is also our future, he said.

The President said,” When we work for an India free of caste and religious prejudice, we invoke Gandhiji. When we strive towards Swachh Bharat, and a cleaner and more hygienic India, we invoke Gandhiji. When we speak of the rights of women and children and of civil liberties of small and disadvantaged groups, we invoke Gandhiji. And what is sustainable development if not an expansion of Gandhiji’s simple mantra: The earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”

Following the President’s address, several Committee members including Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and others, made suggestions on how the Commemoration – which will run from October 2, 2018 to October 2, 2020 – could be planned.

Since it would not be feasible for the entire National Committee to be convened frequently, the meeting resolved to set up a smaller Executive Committee headed by the Prime Minister to take forward the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji.

PM Narendra Modi said it is important that this occasion be celebrated in a manner that ensures Mahatma Gandhi continues to be an inspiration for future generations. Globally as well, this occasion should serve to increase awareness about Gandhiji, he said. The Prime Minister stressed that all programmes associated with this celebration should be designed around the theme of “Karyanjali” – or “Gandhi in action”.

 

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