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.
About Mahatma Gandhi:
Gandhiji was born in the year 1869 on October 2nd in a well to do family. He had a normal young life where his family wanted him to become a barrister. He studied in London to become a barrister. After an incident where he experienced impartial treatment by British personnel he began to transform. He witnessed many such treatments towards Indians wherever he went. He stayed in South Africa for 21 years where he identified and retaliated against the difference of treatment towards Indians. It is in South Africa he devised the non violence movement against the colonization. This movement is popularly known as Satyagraha which was adopted by many colonies throughout the world to attain freedom. He was strictly against violence. His principle was very much advanced though it may have been conceived so many years ago. Now assertiveness is being preached and propagated in work places as well as real life. Satyagraha is nothing but assertiveness. Nowadays we can find several books on assertiveness by various authors in self help section of libraries and bookstores. Gandhiji was a living example of assertiveness. Gandhiji respected all religions and was not biased at all in religious aspects.
Gandhiji then returned to India and captured the hearts of Indians by his humbleness, spirited nature, sacrifice and straight forwardness. He had avid followers throughout the nation even the British feared such a simple man. Gandhiji and several other leaders together teamed up to get us our independence. Gandhiji is considered great and a mahatma because other leaders respected and followed him. He formed the Indian national movement in India. There are many who may not accept certain views or his stand in Indian Independence however his principles are strong, pure and unadulterated. He brought about independence and a great nation called India out of it. He was sadly assassinated on 30th January 1948 by Nathuram Godse.
How we celebrate Gandhi jayanthi:
Indians celebrate Gandhi jayanthi in several ways to pay tribute to Gandhiji. Prayers are conducted in religious places remembering Gandhiji. Indians pray for Gandhiji irrespective of religion and remember him on that day. In schools, competitions with relation to Gandhiji are initiated so that children get to learn more about Mahatma Gandhi. Exhibits and art gallery are arranged to emphasis the import works by Gandhiji. There are even avid followers who pay visit to Sabarmati ashram in Ahmedabad during his birthday. Programs and news tributes related to Gandhiji is telecast TV, radio and articles are published in newspapers. Some even avoid consuming alcohol and non vegetarian on Gandhi Jayanthi. Even meat shops and liquor shops remain closed that day in India.
When we celebrate or remember a great personality it is important to adopt their way of life, principle and qualities in our own life. In short the important traits or qualities of Gandhiji are humbleness, acceptance, humor, kindness, empathy, innovation or creativity, assertiveness, openness or straight forwardness, ability of good judgment, benevolence or graciousness and dedication or sincerity. If one observes all these qualities are the attributes required for a good leader. That is the same reason why Mahatma Gandhi is considered a role model for a great leader. If we are to adopt these qualities not only that we would personally benefit from the same but we would also help our nation to grow. We should make it our duty to remind us of the qualities of Gandhiji that we need to adopt in our life on this auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanthi. This is somewhat similar to new year resolutions that we renew every year.
Let us not forget to pay tribute to Gandhiji a great man who is a face of our nation to the world. We Indians have lot of festivities based on religion and region. Let us not forget that Gandhi Jayanthi is a national festival and at least make a point to remember the father of our nation in this auspicious day.