Mumbai: India all set to commemmorate the 100th anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa a hundred years ago.
The Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal, a Gandhian institution, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress party will congregate at various places including the Radio Club and Gateway of India in Apollo Bunder in South Mumbai on Friday for the celebrations.
“We plan to re-enact that historic day by starting off a procession from Radio Club, Colaba, and have a horse buggy carrying a couple dressed up as Gandhiji and his wife Kasturba and make our way to Mumbai University where a meeting will be held,” Jayant Diwan, head of the Sarvodaya Mandal, an institution devoted to spreading Gandhi’s message of peace and ideals, told Gulf News.
An open invitation has been given to the public for the 2pm event. Diwan said there would be no clash of programmes with other events since the timings are different.
A couple of days ago, the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee raised objections to the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) holding celebrations at the Gateway since there were no directives from its central body.
However, the two units of the Congress will celebrate “this important event in the history of India at 10am on January 9 and then march to Gandhi’s statue near Mantralaya, the state headquarters,” said Abhijeet Deshmukh, Secretary, MPCC.
According to Diwan, “we don’t know the exact place where Gandhi landed but are sure it was in Apollo Bunder, barely a kilometre stretch from the Gateway to the Radio Club.”
He also said many members of the Gandhi family will be present as well as Sunil Gokhale, grandson of freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who is said to have persuaded Gandhi to return to India. Other events will be held at Mani Bhavan on January 10 and at Hira Baug, C.P. Tank on January 13 where a public meeting will be held in the evening, once again reenacting history.
Gandhi, along with Kasturba, returned to India on the SS Arabia from South Africa via London and landed in Apollo Bunder, Mumbai, on January 9, 1915 and were received by the city’s prominent personalities — Narottam Morarji, J. B. Petit, Bhalchandra Krishna, B. G . Horniman, and Revashanker Zaveri—as well as a large crowd gathered to see him.
Gokhale had come from Pune to welcome him back to India. His cousin Maganlal Gandhi took a launch to reach the steamer to welcome him. In a letter to him, Gandhi wrote, “I was filled with joy when, nearing Bombay I sighted the coast. I am still beside myself with joy.”
Various receptions and felicitations were organized for Gandhi across the city. On January 12, 2015, J B Petit held a reception at his bungalow Mount Petit on Pedder Road. Over 600 distinguished citizens—both Europeans and Indians were present. Prominent among them were M A Jinnah and others.
