Ahmedabad, March 12
A frail old man’s gruelling march to the salt flats in south Gujarat to protest the salt tax levied by the British Raj was remembered with pride 75 years down the line as Congress President Sonia Gandhi today flagged off a re-enacted Dandi Yatra. The trip down memory lane, deriving inspiration from the motto, “Gandhi is not the past, but also the future”, began here this morning with the Congress President asking the people to follow the Mahatma Gandhi’s messages, teachings and be torch-bearers of “truth, non-violence and national unity”.
More than 400 persons from across India and abroad are participating in the March which culminates on April 6 at Dandi in south Gujarat.
It was here 75 years ago that Father of the Nation picked up a handful of salt from the sea and broke the Draconian salt tax law, and also shook the foundations of the British Raj on the long road to Independence.
Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, rendered a favourite of the Mahatma, ‘Vaishnav Jana Ko’.
The Congress President also visited ‘Hriday Kunj’, the place where Mahatma Gandhi stayed, and paid her respects.
Union Sports Minister Sunil Dutt, who is also the chairman of Dandi Yatra, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress leaders Digvijay Singh, Margaret Alva, Renuka Chaudhary, Ashok Gehlot among others participated in the flag-off ceremony.
A great-grandson of the Mahatma, Tushar Gandhi, is also participating in the March.
— PTI
