
People’s Initiative to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi on the 30th of January 2025, as a Day of National Unity, Communal Harmony, Non-Violence & Peace.
Zindabad! In recent years, the country has been witness to the growing threat of communal fascism, leading to fear, hatred, divisions & violence. Evidently, the very founding principles drawn from the values and morals of our freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi are under continuous serious assault. The vituperative and hateful speeches against Mahatma Gandhi and the principles that he stood for are indeed a matter of national shame.
Gandhiji’s message of unity and harmony, of satyagraha and resistance against tyranny, of peace and non-violence, today resonates across the world. It’s time for the secular democratic forces to give a fitting reply to these divisive forces.
Gandhiji initiated a programme whereby people from different faiths could come together and recite prayers & hymns from the various religions. Gandhiji thus created a common sacred social space for people to come together and understand, appreciate, and experience the diversity of the divine.
The Proposed Programmes are as follows:
1) National Call for 2-minute silence to be observed at 11.00 am.
This will also be followed by observing silence at precisely 5.17 pm, when the Mahatma was assassinated.
We will pay our respects and homage to Mahatma Gandhi. The programmes will be organised across the length and breath of our country, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Kutch to Kohima.
2) The programme at 11.00 am will be organised on a decentralised basis, where people will gather locally. We will observe a 2-minute silence and will be followed by a few speeches.
3) Then precisely at 5.17 pm, when Gandhiji was assassinated, programmes will be organised centrally across every city, town & village across the country. We will gather at the Gandhi Statue, which is present at most locations, or then at any appropriate location.
4) On that day, we appeal to all the People to WEAR WHITE FOR PEACE.
Do Hang a piece of White Cloth outside your door and post your photo wearing a white apparel whilst holding a message – ‘My Faith is Truth, Ahimsa, Peace, Inclusiveness, Compassion, Equality and Justice.’
5) We appeal to all organisations producing Khadi textile and garments to offer 25% discount from 26th January to 30th January!
6) A Social Media Campaign Twitter/X Trend, Instagram, Facebook.
Mahatma_Gandhi_Zindabad must be organised & posted at precisely 8.00 am
on the 30th of January.
7) National Unity & Communal Harmony Marches to be organised in every city, town and village across the country. Sarva Dharma Prarthana & Songs for Harmony & Peace.
8) We also appeal to every State Government to blow the siren precisely at 11.00am as has previously been the norm
We thus appeal to all the Peoples’ Movements & citizens from all walks of life to endorse the above statement and organise and participate in the forthcoming programmes.
The National Initiative to Commemorate the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi on 30th January is a People’s Movement!!
In Solidarity
Dr. G. G. Parikh, Tushar Gandhi, Feroze Mithiborwala, Guddi S L, Sharad Kadam, Santosh Ambekar, Dhananjay Shinde, M A Khalid, Faraz Khan & Vanita Tondwalkar
Endorsed by: Medha Patkar, Prof. Anand Kumar, Prof. Ram Puniyani, Shyam Dada Gaikwad, Anand Patwardhan, Adv. Prashant Bhushan, Dr. Sunilam, Kumar Prashant, Chandan Pal, Javed Anand, Teesta Setalwad, Prof. Rakesh Rafique, Shabnam Hashmi, Sandeep Pandey & Irfan Engineer.
Endorse the statement