Prayers, floral tributes to Gandhi mark Martyrs' Day

Interfaith prayers, tributes and various programmes in educational institutions to spread the message of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, marked his 61st death anniversary in the capital on Friday.

Interfaith prayers, tributes and various programmes in educational institutions to spread the message of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, marked his 61st death anniversary in the capital on Friday.

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A large number of people, including school children, made a beeline to his memorial Rajghat from early morning to pay their tributes with flowers.

While dignitaries were set to visit the memorial later in the day to pay their respects, an interfaith prayer meet and devotional song recital was scheduled in the afternoon at Gandhi Smriti, to be attended by a number of school children and others.

At the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), an NGO organised a special campaign "Let Gandhi talk" to spread his message on Martyrs' day. The campaign saw students and others stepping into a pair of two feet tall shoes and reciting one of Gandhi's quotes.

"The idea behind this campaign is to make people absorb what Gandhi's teachings and his words mean. After this, we are planning to circulate a petition to the government which we are asking people to sign," said Shailendra Uniyal, the campaign coordinator.

"The petition simply says that beside the face of Gandhiji on the currency notes, there should be one of his sayings inscribed. That way every time we look at a note, we will be reminded of his teaching," he added.