Ahimsa, Satyagraha and the Mahatma revisited

The Gandhi Ashram in Noakhali, along with the High Commission of India, Dhaka, organised a discussion on ‘Ahimsa, Satyagraha and the Mahatma – Revisited’ at Gandhi Ashram, Noakhali on 2 October 2021 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. The discussion was organised to commemorate the 152^nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi which is also marked as the International Day of Non-Violence since 2007, said a press release issued by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

Law minister Anisul Huq was chief guest on the occasion, with foreign minister Abdul Momen as guest of honour along with High Commissioner of India Vikram Doraiswami. Also attending the event were former cultural affairs minister Asaduzzaman Noor MP, Aroma Dutta MP, interim UN Resident Coordinator and ILO Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen, as well as UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukherjee. Justice Soumendra Sarkar, Chairman of Gandhi Ashram Trust chaired the event. Advocate Misbah Uddin Siraj, trustee of Gandhi Ashram Trust, was also present.

Law minister Anisul Huq, foreign minister Abdul Momen and Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami inaugurated the newly renovated Gandhi Memorial Museum. The renovation of the museum housed inside the Gandhi Ashram campus was supported by India. The guests visiting the Gandhi Memorial Museum appreciated the display of memorabilia and artifacts related to Mahatma Gandhi, said the release.

Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami said that Gandhiji’s life and his message holds relevance even today. He recalled the remarks made by Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina during a UN event organised to commemorate 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. She had said that Gandhiji’s love for the common people and ideals of non-violence contributed to shaping Bangabandhu’s vision of struggle against oppression and tyranny perpetrated by the then regime.

He also expressed his delight that during Mujib Borsho, the Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition was on display in Bangladesh. He invited the audience to visit the Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition that is on display in Dhaka till 11 October 2021 and would later move to Chattogram, Sylhet, Khulna and Rajshahi. He said that the exhibition celebrates in a uniquely thematic way, the life and legacy of the fathers of each of the two nations, Mahatma Gandhi and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

A dance drama based on Rabindranath Tagore’s Chandalika was specially presented by Spandan Cultural Center from Dhaka on the occasion.