‘Gandhi Jayanthi’ is celebrated as the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) who was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar in Western India. He went to England to study law in 1888. He returned to India as a fully fledged barrister. Then he took a job in South Africa and got involved in Social Work and fought to obtain justice for the Indian community. In 1915, Gandhi returned to India where he was the leading exponent of non-violence and became a hero with brilliant strategy. Gandhi was the greatest social reformer in Indian history and fought against ‘Untouchability’. All his life Gandhi had preached non-violence and brotherly love. Truth, peace, nonviolence were fundamental principles of his life. Thanks to Mahatma Gandhi, the great father of the nation, Britain gave up Colonialism and then India became a common wealth country after Independence of India on August 15, 1948. Every year the Indians celebrate ‘Gandhi Jayanti’ on October 2nd in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi and his values. On this ‘Gandhi Jayanthi’ 2021, let us pay our tribute to the messenger of non-violence and take leadership in creating a better world.
PRAYER
Almighty God, we thank and praise you for the gift of Mahatma Gandhi to our nation. We gratefully recall the hardships that he endured while devoting his life for the attainment of truth and goodness; for the eradication of social evils within his own society and for the restoration of India’s dignity as an independent nation. It is with gratitude that we remember that the legal emancipation of women and ‘ Untouchability’ were the effect of Gandhiji’s tireless efforts. May the priority that our great Leader gave for the development of villages through the grass root economic progress and through self-employment programmes that the poor and the middle class people could gain a decent living and earning. In this era when the government authorities concentrate on urbanisation and commercialism, where migration of the poor becomes a reality and those in peripheries are left out of any development, help us to follow the noble lessons of non-violence, simplicity, truthfulness, equality and brotherhood among people. We pray these values guide each and every citizens of the nations and the RA’s may be a source of social change by upholding the values of Mr. Gandhi. Amen.
Sr. Therese Koottiyaniyil RA, India
