In India, October 2 is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti -- Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary -- and this year it is the 151st. In 1969, Gandhi Centenary Year, I happened to be working as an agricultural volunteer based at a Gandhian ashram in Bodh Gaya -- the birthplace of Buddhism -- in Bihar. This particular ashram had been founded by a dedicated follower of Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, and it was set up to study all religions. Many followers of Gandhi came to that celebration including the much admired “Frontier Gandhi,” Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan from Pakistan. There are many reasons that Gandhi would have been prepared to go on fast in order to bring people to their senses.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 01, 2020 15:33 UTC