A tribute to Gandhi
INDIAN OFFICIAL HIGHLIGHTS QUALITIES OF LEADERS AT 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
The UAE yesterday joined India to remember the legend on his 150th birth anniversary
Students from 20 Indian schools in the UAE planted 250 saplings to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation of India, and the Founding Father of the UAE Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, yesterday.
Marking the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, students planted 150 saplings. They also planted 100 saplings in honour of Shaikh Zayed, whose 100th birth anniversary is being observed as the Year of Zayed,
Gandhi Jayanti (Gandhi’s birthday) on October 2, a national festival in India, is also celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Green event
The green event was held at the Urban Forest, on The Indian High School’s campus in Oud Metha.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) joined hands with the school to organise the event celebrating the leaders’ vision for a sustainable future.
Dr Abdullah Al Karam, chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the KHDA; Vipul, Consul General of India in Dubai; Sunil Umrao Singh, the chairman of the school; and Ashok Kumar, the CEO of the school, led the ceremony.
Al Karam said both great men who led their countries understood that “we rise so we must value our deep roots.”
“It is very fitting that we are honouring this day by planting 250 trees just like our two counties are both rooted and rising. As we continue to grow and rise, we will never forget our values and our roots and the lessons taught to us by our leaders,” he added.
Vipul pointed out that “it is by sheer coincidence that we are having the 100th year of Shaikh Zayed’s [birth] and we are commencing the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.”
Highlighting the human values that both the leaders held high, he said: “Apart from sustainability, there is much that can be said about teachings of Gandhi and how we Indians are much indebted to him for getting us our independence.
“He fought against racial discrimination, apartheid, slavery and colonialism. And he fought all this not by using violence but truth and non-violence. Similarly, Shaikh Zayed worked for tolerance, peace and progress and this can be witnessed best here in the UAE where so many nationalities live and work together in harmony and peace.”
Commenting about the plantation initiative, he said: “This is again testament to the great friendship that the UAE and India have and you all [students] have a responsibility to nurture and cherish this relationship and take it forward in a manner that all of you imbibe the values given by the towering leaders of both the countries.”
Earlier, Singh noted that the efforts of both the leaders have affected not only their countries but the whole world.
A few white doves, a symbol of peace, and hundreds of balloons in the colours of the two countries’ national flags were also released during the ceremony.