Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], October 2 : Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi on Wednesday paid floral tributes to the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at the Secretariat, here on the occasion of their 155th and 120th birth anniversaries respectively.
On this occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and Shastri Jayanti, Bharatkhande Music College sang Gandhi ji's favourite bhajan " Vaishnav Jan" in unison.
In her address on this occasion, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said, "Every year on this day we remember two great leaders Gandhi Ji and Shastri Ji. Father of the Nation Gandhi Ji's favourite bhajan 'Vaishnav Jan' contains a complete philosophy, which inspires us to maintain many human values of life. Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts and principles are relevant to us even today. We should follow the path shown by him, so that we can build a better society. We should take inspiration to walk on the path of truth, non-violence and love. Mahatma Gandhi's life teaches us that truth and service to humanity are most important."
She further said the true tribute to Gandhiji would be for government servants to give top priority to public interest and to perform their duties and responsibilities with utmost humanity and sensitivity."
Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is also known to be the 'Father of the nation'. The whole nation pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on this day and it is marked as a national holiday.
Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar town of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi adopted a non-violent resistance and was at the forefront of the freedom struggle against colonial British rule with utmost patience. This led to India finally achieving its independence in 1947.
Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1904, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of India and served from 1964 to 1966. He died in Tashkent on January 11, 1966, at the age of 61, soon after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan.