Coimbatore: A 49-year-old Madurai resident and his wife plan to cover 700 kilometres on foot to spread awareness about Gandhi’s life in South Africa.
M Karuppaiya and K Chitra, national coordinators of the All-India Gandhian Movement, started the journey to Tiruvannamalai on Wednesday from the Thavathiru Santhalinga Adigalar Arts, Science and Tamil College at Perur here.
The couple is carrying some clothes, utensils and groceries on a bicycle to cover the distance in 40 days. They spend nights at government buildings or on the veranda of houses. On Saturday, they distributed pamphlets and addressed the public in Tirupur.
“We will pass through 24 places including Dharapuram, Oddanchatram, Kumbakonam, Pondicherry, Auroville and Tindivanam, and distribute pamphlets about Gandhiji and speak to the public about him. We have divided his life in South Africa into 84 parts based on the timeline of important events,” said Karuppaiya. “We had embarked on several foot marches to explain about Gandhiji, who went to South Africa to become a barrister. He stayed there for 21 years and led a freedom struggle there. People need to be informed about this part of his life.”
Not many people, especially the young generation, do not know about the father of the nation, said Chitra. “We thought it is the right time to spread his message among them as schools are closed now due to the pandemic. We will walk at least 20km a day. By the end of 40th day, we would have travelled a total of 91,000km on foot.”