A sombre day at Aga Khan Palace on the 30th of Jan as the public remembered the journey of one of the most significant people to walk the face of the earth: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Seventy-five years ago, on the same day, the Father of the Nation, a staunch advocate of non-violence, was slain by three bullets fired by the hands of Nathuram Godse. The place where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned for two years, Aga Khan Palace, marked the occasion as Martyrs Day to honour Gandhiji’s teachings and give thanks for his role in India’s Freedom Struggle. Flowers and garlands adorned the place where a part of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are buried and the Samadhis of the Mahatma’s wife, Kasturba Gandhi, and his personal secretary, Mahadev Desai, both of whom had passed away during the two-year imprisonment period in the palace. At around 10 am, a prayer session was held by the caretakers and members of the committee responsible for the proper preservation and maintenance of the monument. Bhajans like “Sarva Dharma Prarthana” and “Shanti Prathana” were among the few that were recited. The session concluded with the singing of “Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram”, a song that was near and dear to Gandhiji and which, to this day, is still associated with him. Sung during the 1930 Salt March, the music was used extensively to project a composite and secular vision of Indian society.
25 Jan 2023
Ashmit Kumar
