This article is about Gandhi Jayanthi which is one of the prominent Indian festivals. Gandhi Jayanthi signifies Mahatma Gandhiji’s birthday on 2nd of October. Gandhiji is one of the well known personas in the world and a great icon of India who brought upon the freedom movement in India. By remembering his birthday in the name of Gandhi jayanthi, we Indians remind ourselves of our past and the ways to cherish the greatness of our nation.
We all know Gandhiji as Mahatma, Father of our nation and an iconic character who brought about the freedom for our nation. Above all he was a good man with great character. Most of us think of him only with respect to our freedom struggle and independence. However the entire world knows about him as a great personality. This cannot be only with respect to our freedom struggle because colonization was common throughout the world during the days of imperialism where many countries fought and attained freedom. However everyone remembers Gandhi for his principle, character and way of life.
Why do we celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi:
We celebrate various festivals based on past events and guidance given by our ancestors. The reason for most of these festivals would mark triumph of Good over evil or emergence of something good which may be human or divine. The purpose of most of the festivals would be to spread happiness, goodness and bring joy. Let us take an iconic festival Diwali for instance, there are various reasons quoted for celebrating Diwali however the overall picture would be triumph of good over evil. Other festivals would mark the birthday of great personalities who brought goodness to humanity and even Gods for example Buddha purnima, Krishna jayanthi, etc.
All these festivals are confined to different religions and mostly everyone do not observe all the festivals. Few of the festivals that all Indians celebrate are Independence day, Republic day and last but not the least Gandhi Jayanthi. I have heard a few perceive that Gandhi is not a great iconic character to be remembered and especially his birthday is being given undue importance. Gandhiji is acknowledged throughout the world, isn`t it enough that he has made his mark in the hearts of people. Let us consider Dr. Abdul Kalam for instance. If he is in your neighbourhood or if he is your teacher won`t you feel proud to celebrate his birthday. I am not trying to compare our leaders, however the leadership, achievements and qualities of Gandhiji are unique and should not be forgotten. Hope everyone knows that teachers day is celebrated on the birthday of Dr. Radhakrishnan. He is an example of a good teacher. Being a great man it is very much important to remember Gandhiji on his birthday, it is way of paying him a tribute.
Each and every religion preaches to remember our elders who have passed away. Hindus pray during new moon for their ancestors, Christians pray during Halloween or all souls day and Muslims pray during Janaza for the dead. Similarly in every religion even tribes remember the dead. Gandhiji being the father of the nation and father to all of us deserve to be remembered by all Indians on his birthday.