Thousands begin re-enactment of Gandhi's protest march

[struggle4progress]

AHMEDABAD, India : Thousands of people began the long march across a vast expanse of arid western India to honour the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, India's independence hero and apostle of non-violence. <snip>

Similar marches to mark the 75th anniversary of one of the first acts of defiance in India's fight for independence from Britain were to be held in 15 cities around the world including in Durban, South Africa where Gandhi took his first political steps. <snip>

Watched by thousands, he picked up a lump of salt and broke it in defiance of a ban on Indians producing salt. The act sparked mass civil disobedience across India, leading to thousands of arrests including that of Gandhi.

But it is credited as having marked the turning point in the independence movement, with the British administration eventually being forced to open formal talks with Indian freedom fighters and granting independence in 1947. <snip>

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/137015/1/.html

[struggle4progress]

1. BJP takes a dig at Congress over 'Dandi March'

BJP takes a dig at Congress over 'Dandi March'
Press Trust of India
New Delhi, March 12, 2005|15:47 IST

Taking a dig at the Congress and its President Sonia Gandhi for re-enacting the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi, BJP on Saturday said while Mahatma undertook the march to fight against the imposition of salt tax by the British the "Videshi" Gandhi's march would be followed by the imposition of tax on salt. <snip>

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1276547,0008.htm

BJP will cleanse Dandi Bridge
March 12, 2005

The state BJP on Friday announced that it would "cleanse" the Dandi Bridge and Gandhi Ashram to protest the contradictions in what the Congress proclaims it follows and its actions.

BJP general secretary Suresh Gandhi said what the Congress has done in Goa and Jharkhand is nothing but gross violation of what Mahatma Gandhi believed in and stood for. "Congress has no right to claim that it emulates Gandhian philosophy. The so-called Dandi Yatra it has organised stands for nothing but its political vindictiveness," he said. The BJP will undertake the cleansing process at 3 pin on Saturday.

http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/15937/section/14

Dress code for Dandi March: No skin show
Abantika Ghosh

New Delhi, March 11: If you want to pay tribute to Father of the Nation, be ready to come covered from head to toe. That’s the subtle message students’ unions in the city have for participants in the sundry Dandi marches that will criss-cross the city on Saturday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s salt initiative. In Gujarat, the Congress plans to take the 1930 route.

The common dress code for the marches: all whites, preferably khadi, with a Gandhi cap for good measure.

Even though organisers are willing to make a few exceptions for ‘‘hostellers who may not be able to procure the uniform at such a short notice’’, there is a strong consensus on one issue: ‘‘No skin show’’. <snip>

Some spell it out, some do not, but the emphasis on the outer strata cannot be missed. Narinder Tokas, president of the Delhi University Students’ Union, says, ‘‘We will not allow any revealing clothes. White shirt is the norm, but even if somebody does not have it, we will allow him/her to participate. But anybody in blatant western clothes showing a lot of skin, will be barred from participating.’’ <snip>

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=120927

Congress Dandi Yatra - Family close to Gandhi wins `participation'
March 11, 2005

A family of skilled vankars, revered by Mahatma Gandhi for the special khadi they spun for him as well as others, was almost forgotten by the Congress when they planned to re-enact the Dandi Yatra. Even though three members of this Badhia family had marched with the Mahatma during the historic Dandi Kooch from Sabarmati Ashram, the Congress failed to consider the family for participation until the Mahatma's great grandson Tushar Gandhi intervened. <snip>

http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/15928/section/14

70 foreigners to join Dandi Yatra
March 12, 2005

In their quest for peace and harmony that Mahatma Gandhi preached, western countries, once being arrogant have begun to look towards India. About 70 foreigners from across the globe have arrived in the city to join the re-enactment of Dandi Yatra. Another 150 people from Pakistan are expected to join the yatra in the next couple of days. <snip>

http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/15939/section/14

[struggle4progress]

2. Dandi: Now a march amid ruins

TIMES NEWS NETWORK< THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2005 04:29:47 AM >

<snip> In focus once again, following All-India Congress Committee's plan to retrace the route starting from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12 till Dandi, the fact that there is not a single memorial en route to commemorate the event also shows the utter lack of consideration. The Dandi Pul could have been the bridge that Gandhi walked when he left the Sabarmati Ashram, pledging not to return till the country was Independent. However, now it reeks of dung with slums spreading menacingly close. <snip>

In Raas village in Anand district, 94-year-old Maujibhai Patel recalls how he had got together with other children to pave the road that Gandhi took through their village. "He had a night halt here. For us, it was a great moment," says Patel, who cannot hold back tears as he looks at the stretch, now riddled with potholes. Successive governments have only made promises to lay the Dandi Yatra Marg.

If it were tears for Patel, for a Surat resident, the historic footpath on the banks of river Tapi near the Ashwin Kumar railway bridge in Varachha, through which Gandhi had entered Surat during the march, proved to be fatal.

"He tried to get on the bridge, lost his balance and fell in the river," said city Congress chief Sunil Bhukanwala. <snip>

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1048113.cms

[IndianaGreen]

3. BBC: Gandhi's 1930 march re-enacted

In pictures: Gandhi Salt March

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4343307.stm

Last Updated: Saturday, 12 March, 2005, 09:42 GMT

Gandhi's 1930 march re-enacted

The famous 1930 "salt march" by India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi to defy British colonial rule is being re-enacted for its 75th anniversary.

The march of several hundred is led by Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi undertook the 24-day walk from Ahmedabad to the coastal village of Dandi to manufacture salt.

It sparked India's civil disobedience movement as thousands joined him on the beach to pick up salt, the production of which was under government control.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4342745.stm


His historic march is being re-enacted 75 years later by hundreds of followers, led by his great-grandson Tushar.