THE ANNUAL celebratory outpouring of tributes to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was held yesterday at the Promenade Gardens here in the Georgetown.
In attendance at the auspicious occasion were Prime Minister Mr. Samuel Hinds; Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Subit Kumar Mandal; City Mayor Mr. Hamilton Greene; Senior Counsel, Mr. Ashton Chase and other distinguished guests.
Honoured in India as the ‘Father of the Nation’, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the pioneer of satyagraha, the resistance to tyranny founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence.
In his tribute, Mr. Hinds pointed out that Gandhi-ji was selfless and sincere in his persistent quest for justice for the oppressed, and that it is through his principles of nonviolence and advocacy that he was able to propel India towards independence.
He said that in light of these attributes, it is indeed appropriate that his birthday is also commemorated worldwide as International Day of Nonviolence.
“A fitting tribute for one whose name is synonymous the world over with peace and tolerance,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that Gandhi’s message was meant not only for India and Indians, but for all humanity to garner wisdom from and to emulate.
Alluding to the principle of nonviolence, he pointed out that it is even more important for persons in society today to draw on the wisdom of Gandhi’s thoughts on the subject, which states: “When it appears to do good, the good is only temporary but the evil does is permanent.”
In closing, he stressed the importance in the 21st Century of keeping the spirit of what ‘The Mahatma (Sanskrit for ‘Great Soul’)’, as Gandhi was sometimes called, stood for in his lifetime, as many persons are still exposed to discrimination and oppression.
As High Commissioner Mandal observed in his address: “Mahatma Gandhi was not just a great leader but a spirit and an idea.”
Noting that Gandhi’s message, which is a universal one speaking to all times, societies and peoples is even more important today, Mandal said: “As long as there is strife and injustice, pain and suffering the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi will resonate and follow us everywhere.”
Chase lauded the High Commission for their tribute to India’s “son of the soil.”
Alluding to The Mahatma’s leadership role in the struggle for India’s Independence, he said many personal sacrifices were made, for which highest praise is required. “I am pleased to say that his endeavors inspired us to fight for the Independence of British Guiana, “ he said, adding: “That he will be remembered is my sincere hope.”
Born October 2, 1869 in Porbandar in present-day Gujarat, Gandhi was raised in a very conservative family that had affiliations with the ruling family of Kathiawad and was educated in law at University College, London.
In 1891, after having been admitted to the British bar, Gandhi returned to India and attempted to establish a law practice in Bombay, without much success.
Two years later, an Indian firm with interests in South Africa retained him as legal adviser in its office in Durban, where Gandhi found himself treated as a member of an inferior race.
He was appalled at the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights to Indian immigrants to South Africa and as a result, threw himself into the struggle for elementary rights for Indians.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking to a platform from which he was to address a prayer meeting; he was the leader of the Indian Independence and the non-violence movements.
Gandhi’s death was regarded as an international catastrophe and his place in humanity was measured not in terms of the 20th Century, but in terms of history as his teachings came to inspire nonviolent movements elsewhere, notably in the U.S.A. under the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and in South Africa under Nelson Mandela.