JUSTICE RAJINDAR SACHAR FORMER PRESIDENT
OF PEOPLE UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT.
There are three Holidays in the
country which are not religious oriented – 15th August –
Independence Day & 26th January – Republic day.
And then most important 2nd
October,(Gandhi Birthday) – this day reminds one in concentrated form the sacrifices
and the morality in politics in the fight for independence of the country. Any
tinkering with grandeur and sobriety of 2nd October is sacrilege. But this is what Modi Government is doing
by emphasizing the day as a day of cleanliness. What cheek –That Gandhi
believed in cleanliness is no reason for the mischievous act to lessen the sobriety
of Gandhi’s birthday. The programmes associated with the birthday must not be
diluted by this so called fad of cleanliness day. Cleanliness has to be
actually maintained and not by unnecessarily calling to duty all the government
servants and make them go through the hypocrisy of arranged photo opportunity
item.
I would therefore strongly demand
that government should observe Gandhiji’s birthday in the same sober,
respectful manner as before. And as government servants and Ministers have been
called let them repeat what was Gandhijis main philosophy which he expressed in
1921 and again repeated in 1947, thus; “I would say that Hindus and Muslims are
the two eyes of mother India just as the trouble in one eye affects the other
too, similarly the whole of India suffer when either Hindu or Muslim suffer.”
This sober reiteration would alone symbolize the real significance of
Gandhiji’s philosophy – a proper tribute to his memory.
Rajindar Sachar
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