Chennai: “Tamilnadu was always close to Gandhi’s heart. When he started the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in which there were initially 25 inmates, 13 of them were Tamilians,” said Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘Gandhian Thoughts and Philosophy’ on the occasion of month-long 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Bhavan here recently, he said, “Gandhi visited Tamilnadu 20 times between 1896 and 1946. During his first visit in 1896 he tried to learn Tamil and bought nine Tamil books for the purpose. During a subsequent visit in 1921, when in Madurai, Gandhi made a change from donning the typical elaborate attire to wearing the simple dhoti and upper cloth that clothed him for the remaining years of his life,” he added.
“Gandhi, the father of the nation, is an inspiration to all of us. There are so many facets of his contribution to the nation which need elaboration. Millions of peoples know him as the person who brought freedom to India. A greater number is aware that the path of truth and non-violence that he practised was unique. In world history this spiritual path of virtue was never traversed before,” Governor said.
Speaking on the occasion, Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, said the present day generation had forgotten Gandhi, except on Gandhi Jayanthi.
He said, “let our secular country, India, progress and develop steadily, instead of indulging in communal conflicts of hatred and divisiveness, which has become the order of the day.”
“If Gandhi’s thoughts and philosophy are adopted in today’s atmosphere, there will be total peace and harmony in the country,” he said.
Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore, S Stanley Sebastian and Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute – West Bengal Vice-Chancellor Swami Atmapriyananda also spoke about “Gandhian Thoughts and Philosophy”. Additional Chief Secretary to Governor R Rajagopal delivered the welcome address.