Peace icon Mahatma Gandhi honoured by Indian high commission |03 October 2019
Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy is at the core of the world we live in today. His courage and conviction has stood the test of time and inspired figures such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. To mark Gandhi’s 150th birthday and the International Day of Non-violence, the Indian high commission paid a floral tribute to the peace icon yesterday at the former Indian high commission office, Le Chantier.
In attendance were the Indian high commissioner General Dalbir Singh Suhag, the high commissioner of Sri Lanka Dr Tikiri Gunathilake as well as high ranking Indian officials.
The ceremony started at the Gandhi statue at the ex-Indian high commission’s office where attendees adorned the statue with flowers and garlands. The ceremony then moved to Maison Esplanade, where the high commission office is now situated, for the high commissioner’s speech.
“As we all know Gandhi was instrumental in achieving India’s independence, through a peaceful and non-violent struggle, based on moral principles,” said the high commissioner in his address.
He added that Gandhi’s mode of mass mobilisation and non-violent action brought down colonialism and influenced several leaders in other countries to fight for just cause.
HC Suhag also mentioned that the event marks the halfway two-year celebration of the birth of Gandhi. During the past year several activities have been conducted like planting 150 trees at Morne Blanc forests and Gandhi photo exhibition.
“Without the support of the government of Seychelles, other organisations and the Indian community these would have not been possible. In fact we had the support of even the President of Seychelles H.E Danny Faure, who had written an article vividly on the topic ‘What Gandhi means to me’, an article which will be published in an Indian journal,” said the high commissioner.
To mark the occasion the Seychelles postal services and the Indian high commission formally released a stamp of Mahatma Gandhi. The new stamp was unveiled by the Indian high commissioner and the chief executive of the Seychelles Postal Services, Errol Dias.
The stamp was sponsored by the government of India.
The ceremony ended with a performance by Sandra Esparon who performed a song composed for Gandhi in the 17th Century titled ‘Vaishnava jana to’.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the ceremony yesterday.
