Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the foot march to re-enact the historic Mahatma Gandhi-led Salt March, while launching the ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’, the government's initiative to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.
The padyatra is being undertaken by 81 persons on April 5. The march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari district, a distance of 386 km, will take them 25 days. It will mark the 91st anniversary of the historic march against the tax on salt imposed by the British in India.
Prime Minister Modi said the 75th anniversary celebrations would continue till August 15, 2023. He reiterated the five themes of the celebrations, Freedom Struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolves at 75, as the guiding force for moving forward, keeping dreams and duties as the inspiration.
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At the flagging off ceremony, Mr. Modi said salt was in fact a symbol. Salt was never valued on the basis of mere cost. For Indians, salt represented honesty, trust, loyalty, labour, equality and self reliance. At that time, salt was a symbol of India’s self-reliance. Along with the values of India, the British had also hurt this self-reliance. People of India then had to depend on salt coming from England.
He said Gandhiji understood this chronic pain of the country, understood the pulse of the people and turned that into a movement.
The Prime Minister urged the youth and scholars to take the responsibility of documenting the history of our freedom fighters. He urged them to showcase the achievements in the freedom movement to the world. He exhorted the people associated with art, literature, theatre, film industry and digital entertainment, to explore the unique stories that lay scattered in our past and bring them to life.
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