Chinese dancers, schoolchildren celebrate Gandhi Jayanti in Beijing

Gandhi Jayanti was celebrated on Wednesday at China's sprawling Chaoyang Park, with schoolchildren reciting his teachings in Mandarin. Besides, Beijing-based dancers showcased an Odissi performance on his favourite ‘bhajan’.

Beijing's picturesque Chaoyang Park where Gandhi's statue, sculpted by famous Chinese sculptor Yuan Xikun, was installed in 2005, came alive with recitation of his teachings in Mandarin by a group of Chinese school children. It was followed by a graceful Odissi dance performance on ‘Vaishnav Jan To’ by noted Beijing-based Odissi dancer Zhang Jinghui and her troupe. The Indian community came together to stage a play, ‘Ahimsa: The Gandhi Way’, directed and written by Ketkee Thakar and Ayushi Sugandhi, respectively.

A host of Indian diplomats led by Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat, besides Chinese Ambassador to Maldives, Fazeel Najeeb, Beijing-based Indian diaspora and local admirers of Gandhiji paid floral tributes to the widely-admired statue.

Rawat, in his speech, conveyed his deep appreciation to Yuan Xikun for creating the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the first statue in the Chaoyang Park honouring great leaders of the world. He also recalled Yuan saying that he was deeply inspired by Gandhiji’s vision. The installation of the Gandhi statue in the Chinese capital has its own political significance as Gandhiji and the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Mao Zedong headed their respective national liberation movements with contrasting ideologies. While India became independent from the British rule in 1947, the PRC headed by Mao was formed in 1949. “Gandhiji was not just a leader of the Indian independence movement; he was a visionary, who championed the values of truth, non-violence and social justice. It is only fitting that Gandhiji's birthday is observed worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence,” Rawat said.