Bangalore, Oct 2, 2013: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday announced that the State government is contemplating to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, as an official event from 2014.
Speaking on the 142nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi held at Gandhi Bhavan here, the chief minister said the government’s intention is to give the celebrations the seriousness it deserves.
“In a society where moral values are eroding each day, the Mahatma’s teachings need to be given more importance. We (ministers) are of the opinion that, henceforth, the birth anniversary of Gandhi should be celebrated as an official government function,” said Siddaramaiah.
Expressing his disappointment over the decline in the number of Gandhians, Siddaramaiah said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a follower of the Mahatma.
“Once the few surviving Gandhians depart this world, whom do we call a Gandhian? Very few people seem to be following the principles of Gandhi. Gandhian literature needs to be popularised by printing books and distributing them,” he said. Earlier, Dr H Srineevasaiah, the working secretary for Gandhi Bhavan appealed to the government to set up a Gandhi Bhavan in each district and include a chapter on Mahatma Gandhi in school textbooks from Class one to Class 10 and beyond. However, a non-committal Siddaramaiah said: “I agree with Sreenivasaiah that a chapter on Gandhi should be included in textbooks to inculcate the values of the Mahatma in children. In fact, every citizen of this state needs to be reminded of the Gandhian values.”
Sleeping Siddu
Sitting in the midst of many Gandhians during the event, Siddaramaiah dozed-off for close to half-an hour. Even when speakers praised him for his ‘straight forward’ governance, he could not stop his weary eyes from shutting down. So much so that, at one point, he had to jump off his seat to catch his spectacles that slipped off his face.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H K Patil tried his best to keep Siddaramaiah awake, but to no avail.
Finally, he woke up to listen to the last few speakers, including Minister for Women and Child Welfare Umashree.
Booklets on Mahatma
The Information department on Wednesday released two booklets – one in English and the other in Kannada to disseminate information on the life and death of Mahatma Gandhi. The government intends to distribute the booklets to all the school children in the State.
The booklets, however, differ in their version of the assassination of Gandhi. The English one, ‘Grand-Pa Gandhi,’ states that the Mahatma was killed by a ‘Khaki-clad person’ with the bullets piercing his chest, stomach and lungs. The Kannada version says “As Gandhi tried to get on to the stage, Nathuram Godse came in front of him and shot him in the chest and stomach thrice.”
The booklets suggest that Gandhi was assassinated mainly for demanding immediate release of Rs 50 crore to Pakistan by India. The Kannada booklet is authored by Gandhian H Sreenivasaiah.
