150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
Government of India has decided to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, at national and international level to propagate his message. A National Committee (NC) headed by Hon’ble President of India has been constituted for this purpose. This Committee includes Hon’ble Vice-President, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of all states of the country, representatives from across the political spectrum, Gandhians, thinkers, and eminent persons from all walks of life. The NC will guide and approve policies/programmes/activities for the commemoration and will also supervise implementation of the decisions taken from time to time. An Executive Committee (EC) headed by Hon’ble Prime Minister with 19 members has also been constituted. Mandate of EC is to consider policies and lay down guidelines for the commemoration and chalk out the plan, programmes and activities under the commemoration. One meeting each of the National Committee and Executive Committee has been held on 2.5.2018 and 18.7.2018 respectively.
01st October 2019- 31st October 2019
- General Awareness of Dispute Resolution by respective DLAs amongst the Councilor, Village Headman, Legal and Clinics, etc.by Law Department, Govt. of Manipur
- Street Play on Alternative Dispute Resolution by Nokphada Group + Training of PLVs on ADR for Imphal East and Imphal West Districts Law Department, Govt. of Manipur.-
- International Conference On Gandhi by Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India United Nations – 02nd October 2019
- Exhibition on Gandhi Theme by Ministry of Communications, Departments of Posts Bengaluru- 03rd October 2019 -15th October 2019
From Mohan to Mahatma | About Mahatma Gandhi
It has been seventy years since Mahatma Gandhi departed from our midst. But his life and soul continue to animate humanity transcending national and international boundaries. His contribution to human development is far too great and varied to have been forgotten or to be overlooked. The world today recognizes him as a far more compelling social innovator than humanity ever realized.
The life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a story of heroic effort to establish the values of Truth and Non-violence in human life. In pursuing this objective Gandhiji became a Mahatma from a mere ‘Monya’. He became a messenger, for the people of the world surrounded by fire of violence in the twentieth century. He also became ‘The Father of The Nation’. He saved India and Britain from mutual hate and revenge by resorting to the experiment of Truth and Non-violence in India’s struggle for freedom. This created an atmosphere which made it possible for other countries of Asia and Africa to free themselves without bloodshed from the hold of the European countries which had subdued them in the nineteenth century.
Being born in a middle class Vaishnava family and brought up in that atmosphere till he joined school and received instruction according to the system then prevailing, he lived, dressed and dined in the way all children of that class did. Later, he went to England for studies and changed his dress to suit the conditions of that country. But in food and certain other matters, he remained true to the lesson he had learnt early in life. On his return to India after being called to the Bar, he passed through difficult times as all beginners in the profession of the law have to do and it was as a lawyer that he went to South Africa to help a client. He had, however, to spend many years there as the condition of Indians and the treatment they received demanded that he should serve them rather than return to India. His struggle with the authorities brought about a considerable change in his life and by the time he returned to India, he had already become a Mahatma. His dress in India on his return was different from what he used to wear when he was practicing as a Barrister and conformed to the old Kathiawadi type.
If in South Africa it was the Railway Ticket Collector who paved the way for the birth of a Satyagrahi, in India it was a poor peasant from Champaran, Rajkumar Shukla, who provided him a platform to test the power of Satyagraha on the Indian soil. His campaign in favour of the non-co-operation movement brought about another change which identified his outward appearance with that of the humblest and lowliest of the land and he stuck to the loin cloth till he departed with the name of God on his lips.
Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned several times in his pursuit of non-cooperation and undertook many ‘fasts’ to protest against the oppression of the down trodden in India.
He invented the techniques of mass –civil disobedience in South Africa which were later emulated in India and across the world.
On January 30th, 1948, the assassin’s bullet ended the physical existence of Mahatma Gandhi and made him immortal who left an indelible legacy to the mankind –‘My life is my Message’.