Tibetans mark Gandhi Jayanti with mass cleanliness drive
DHARAMSALA, Oct 2: The Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) today held a brief ceremony held at the Kashag Secretariat here in Dharamsala to celebrate 150th anniversary birth anniversary of India’s father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
“As Prime Minister Modi has said in his United Nations General Assembly speech recently that India has given the world not ‘yudh'(war) but ‘Budh’ (Buddha), Buddha and Gandhi Ji are the epitome of non-violence and peace and India’s finest export to the world,” CTA President Dr Lobsang Sangay.
Members of Kashag (Tibetan Cabinet), secretaries and senior officials of the CTA attended the ceremony and sung the Indian national anthem as President Sangay hoisted the tri-coloured Indian national flag outside the Kashag Secretariat.
Drawing inspiration from over 100 countries have achieved independence or autonomy since the occupation of Tibet, the CTA President credited it to Gandhi’s non-violence approach.
“We shall overcome too if we stick to non-violence approach which His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been advocating for as well,” President Sangay said.
As India commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary both at national and international level by propagating his message, Tibetans across India, led by the CTA and numerous Tibetan NGO’s are marking the occasion with mass cleanliness drive and he called it a sincere token of appreciation to India and Mahatma Gandhi Ji.
Cleanliness and sanitation are an integral part of the Gandhian way of living and Gandhi once said that sanitation is more important than independence.
Though India gained freedom under the leadership of Gandhiji, his dream of a clean India still remains unfulfilled. Hence on 2nd October 2014, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched a nation-wide cleanliness campaign on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
Meanwhile, CTA’s Health department has launched its special efforts towards banning single-use plastic in line with the GOI’s initiative to outlaw single-use plastic.
The United Nations declared 2 October as the International Day of Nonviolence to honour Gandhi’s message since 15 June 2007.
