New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday joined a host of dignitaries from various walks of life in paying homage to the Father of the Nation on his 66th death anniversary at lawns of India Gate which came alive with soul-stirring patriotic songs.
Rahul Gandhi and others at a function organised by Flag Foundation of India to commemorate Martyrs Day, at India Gate in New Delhi. PTI Photo
Gandhi, along with actor John Abraham and many others, pledged to follow the path of Mahatma Gandhi's principles - satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence) - at the function, which also marked the culmination of the flag week celebration on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the judgement by the Supreme Court on 23 January, 2004.
The Flag Foundation of India, the event's organiser, hosted a musical tribute, "Sadbhavna Sandhya - Mahatma Ke Path Par" (An Evening for Harmony - In the Footsteps of Mahatma), to the Mahatma.
"Indians may fly our national flag in the morning time or at night. But the flag actually resides in our heart... People generally respect their own truth. But, if we can respect truth of all, then we can achieve non-violence," Rahul said.
Rahul was joined by Gandhiji's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, surgeon Naresh Trehan, Olympians Sushil Kumar and Vijay Kumar, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, actor John Abraham, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh, ace shooter Heena Sidhu, and many others.
People from various walks of life, including the dignitaries, joined hands to form a human chain as they chanted 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' remembering the Mahatma.
FFI founder Naveen Jindal, who incorporated the body 10 years ago, said, "The Mahatma called the tri-colour as the identity of an Indian cutting across religions, and we must proudly fly it on top of our houses and wear it on our lapels if we want to."
"We fought a long legal battle before both the Houses (of Parliament) ratified it in 2005 to allow a common man to fly a flag or wear it, as long as it was above the waist-level," Jindal said.
A short film extolling the Indian Flag as a symbol of pride was also screened on the occasion.
The event also saw a choir performance by over 200 students of Vasant Valley School, followed by a special speed painting on the life of the Mahatma by famous artist Vilas Nayak.
Singer Sunidhi Chauhan also treated their fans with a patriotic performance by singing songs like 'Ae Mere Pyare Watan', 'Tu Kahan Main Kahan', 'Bharat humko jaan se pyara hai' and 'Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye'.
Actor Annu Kapoor, who had played Gandhi in the 1993 film Sardar, hosted the event.
Meanwhile, a minute (from 6:35 pm to 6:36 pm) of silence was observed by 55 cities in unison across the country to mark the day. In New Delhi, it was observed at the India Gate lawns.
PTI
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