From school kids offering floral tributes at Rajghat to social media enthusiasts using special 'emojis' and hashtags, from political leaders talking about his message of non-violence and inclusive development to foreign dignitaries recalling him as "guide" in a troubled world, Mahtma Gandhi was remembered by one and all on his 149th birth anniversary on Tuesday.
While Rajghat, the memorial dedicated to Gandhi in the national capital, was thronged by visitors since early morning by commoners and VIPs alike, special prayers and cleanliness drives were held throughout the country and at several places abroad to remember the national icon.
However, thousands of protesting farmers marching towards Rajghat were stopped at the Delhi-UP border by the police, citing law and order issues. The police action was used by the opposition parties to slam the government for what they alleged was an "anti-farmer" stand to stop farmers from their peaceful protest on the 'International Day of Non-Violence'.
Top leaders including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid their tributes and urged the people to rededicate themselves to the values espoused by Gandhi and fulfil his dreams.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also paid homage to the father of the nation at Rajghat amid strains of 'bhajans'.
Kovind and Modi also greeted people on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and urged people to imbibe the values he stood for.
"Let us rededicate ourselves to the values espoused by Mahatma Gandhi - peace, fraternity, harmony and inclusive national development. Gandhiji's message remains relevant for all and he continues to be our guiding light," the President tweeted.
Modi also took to Twitter to extol the virtues of Gandhi, who led the nation to freedom, riding a path of non-violence.
"The noble thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi have given strength to millions across the world. He was a stalwart who lived for others and to make our world a better place. Paid tributes to Bapu at Rajghat this morning. #Gandhi150," he said and shared pictures of Rajghat.
The birth anniversary of Gandhiji is a wonderful opportunity to come together and fulfill his dreams, the prime minister said.
The government has planned grand celebrations to mark beginning of the 150th year of Gandhi's anniversary which would culminate on October 2, 2019.
The Congress chief was among the first of the senior leaders to pay homage at Mahatma's solemn memorial bedecked with flowers.
Several other leaders, foreign diplomats and senior government officials joined in paying tribute to the Mahatma at Rajghat.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is on a visit to India, also visited Rajghat and hailed Mahatma as a "great soul" and humanity's "guide in our troubled world".
Social media platform Twitter unveiled a 'Gandhi Emoji' which users around the world were seen using in their tweets to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birthday. The emoji was officially launched by Prime Minister Modi on Twitter, the micro-blogging platform said.
India also released special commemorative stamps to mark the beginning of the year-long celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary in the Netherlands.
In Washington, half a dozen influential US lawmakers, including four Indian Americans, moved a resolution to posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of peace and non-violence.
Gandhi's popular quotes and bhajans also resonated in the sprawling Chaoyang Park in Beijing, while rich tributes were paid to the leader at the Mahatma Gandhi roundabout in Israel's southern town Kiryat Gat in Israel as well.
Cleanliness and plantation drives were held in various parts of the country from Mizoram to Mumbai, including by the state governments, corporates and civil society groups to remember Gandhi, who is also revered as a mascot of cleanliness.
An inter-faith prayer ceremony was also observed at Rajghat to promote the spirit of peace, amity and communal harmony as espoused in Mahatma's principles of 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav'.
The prayer began with a four-minute-long Buddhist chant followed by prayers of Bahai and Christian faith. The Christian prayers then segued into shlokas from the Hindu scripture and invoking of values espoused in Islam, symbolising communal harmony that Gandhi always asked people to practice in letter and spirit.
Faith leaders from Jain, Jewish, Parsi and Sikh community followed in succession with 4-minute-long prayer each. A Sikh prayer also touched many a heart as people sat with eyes closed in meditative pose.
It was followed by recitation of Gita exceprts and Gandhian thoughts, as also by soulful renditions of Gandhi's favourite bhajans.
The leaders who paid tributes at Rajghat included Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and senior BJP leader L K Advani.
Mahatma was remembered at various programmes across various states as well, including in Maharashtra, UP, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
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