Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : On the occasion of the 151 st Birth Anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today paid rich floral tributes to the statue of Gandhiji at Gandhi mandap here today. On the occasion Chief Minister Sonowal also took part in an all faith prayer meeting organised by Kamrup Metropolitan district administration. Talking to the media, Chief Minister Sonowal said that on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti the global community is paying rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. He also said that Bapuji based on his tenets of non-violence had shown the path of peace to global community.
Bapuji had also given the path of truth and devotion which should be exceedingly applied to strengthen the country. Based on Bapuji’s belief in cleanliness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to give Mahatma Gandhi a fitting tribute. Sonowal on the occasion, expressed his deep gratitude to the people of the country for having embraced ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and made it a successful mission. He also urged upon the people of all sections to emulate the ideals and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi to make a society based universal brotherhood, peace and tranquillity. Following the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Sonowal also said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi giant and promising strides were taken to make India one of the leading nations in the world.
He, therefore, urged upon the people of state and country to extend their cooperation to reach the target emphatically. Guwahati Development Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, Member of Parliament Queen Oja, Deputy Commissioner Kamrup Metro Biswajit Pegu and a host of dignitaries were present on the occasion. On the other hand , On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, a webinar was organized by Indiatourism Guwahati office in association with Avani Travel Services entitled ‘When Bapuji visited Northeast’. Mahatma Gandhi had visited Northeast India a total of 04 times in 1921, 1926, 1934 and 1946. During his visits here he was mesmerized by the beautiful landscape and the weaving skills of Assamese ladies in Sualkuchi village.
The Chief Guest for the occasion was eminent journalist and writer Shri Dhirendra Nath Chakraborty who spoke about the freedom struggle in Assam, Gandhiji’s visits and how the Mahatma played a crucial role during the run up to partition in integrating the Northeast with Independent India and maintaining its ethnic identity. Speaking in the webinar, the regional director of Indiatourism Guwahati Shri Sankha Subhra Devbarman said that the Ministry of Tourism had taken a special initiative this year to spread the teachings and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The Principal of IHM Guwahati, Shri Amitabh Dey also spoke on the occasion. The webinar was hosted by Madhusmita Khound of Avani Travel Services and was attended by participants from Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim.
