Martyrs day: Nation to observe 2 minutes of silence at 11 am today

As the country pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 68th death anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on the nation to observe two minutes of silence in the memory of those who were martyred in India's freedom struggle.

"Salutations to beloved Bapu on his Punya Tithi. Let us as a nation stand together in silence for 2 minutes at 11 AM today as a mark of respect towards our brave martyrs," the Prime Minister tweeted.

He added that the valour of all martyrs who gave their lives for the nation will always be remembers and that their sacrifices will be etched forever in memory.

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued a directive that silence should be observed at work and all movement must be stopped throughout the country during the two minutes.

The silence period will be indicated by the sounds of 'sirens or Army guns' from 10: 59 am to 11:00 am and after two minutes the sirens will sound again from 11:02 am till 11:03 am.

Stating that in the past the general public did not adhere to the 'solemnity of the occasion' and went about their business, the MHA has asserted that state governments and union territories need to ensure that 'Martyrs Day' is observed with due solemnity and better public participation.