Gandhi's ideals remembered on 76th anniversary of the Dandi March

Ahmedabad, Mar 12 (UNI) Special prayers and 'ram dhun' programmes were today organised at the Sabarmati Ashram here to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the historic Dandi march.

It was on this day in 1930 that Mahatma Gandhi had embarked on a 241-mile march to defy a British tax law on salt along with 78 followers, heralding the beginning of the civil disobedience movement. The historic march culminated at Dandi on April 5, 1930.

In another programme, about 300 Congress activists gathered at the IT circle in the city, where there is a huge statue of Gandhiji.

They offered prayers and remembered Gandhiji's contribution to nation-building.

''The Mahatma's ideals of 'sarv dharma samabhav' are of utmost importance in the present political scenario of the state. The BJP's policy of divide-and-rule has vitiated the atmosphere in the state,'' said Rajkumar Gupta, city Congress president.

Last year, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation had organised a re-enactment of the historic march, naming it as the ''International Walk for Peace, Justice and Freedom.'' Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi and several hundred fellow marchers followed the same route to Dandi. The march was flagged off by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

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