29-Jun-2017: PM attends centenary year celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today attended the centenary year celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat.

He said Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts have the power to mitigate the challenges the world is facing today. it is essential, as a society, to stay connected to our history.

Speaking about cleanliness, Shri Modi said it must become a habit. He said this would be a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.

He urged people from all over the world to visit the Sabarmati Ashram.

Making a strong statement on cow vigilantism, the Prime Minister said, “We are a land of non-violence. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. No one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Yes. It should be done.”

However, he emphasized strongly that killing people in the name of cow worship (Gau Bhakti) is not acceptable. This is not something that Mahatma Gandhi would approve of. As a society, there is no place for violence; no person in this nation has the right to take the law in his or her own hands.

The Prime Minister urged people to work together and create the India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams, which our freedom fighters would be proud of.

Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha Ashram) is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on the banks of the River Sabarmati. It was from here that Gandhi led the Dandi march also known as the Salt Satyagraha on 12 March 1930. Before starting the march to Dandi, Gandhiji declared that he will not return to the ashram before the independence of the country. The Ashram was started in all earnest with a two-fold purpose- one was to carry on the search for Truth, and the other was to create a non-violent group of workers, who would create a non-violent group of workers, who would organize and help to secure freedom for the country.