PM to launch events on March 12, may flag off ‘Dandi March’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to launch the celebrations of the 75 years of Independence — Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav — on March 12 by flagging off a ‘Dandi March’ from the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati, top sources in the Gujarat government told The Indian Express.

Modi is also visiting Gujarat on Saturday to address the valedictory function of the Combined Commanders’ Conference that began Friday at the Tent city near the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, when he is also likely to review the Central government commissioned Rs 1,200-crore Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will also be present at the conference.

Modi is scheduled to arrive in Ahmedabad on March 12 to flag off 21-day march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Navsari district to mark the anniversary of the historic Salt Satyagraha, which will also mark the launch of the celebrations of 75th year of Independence.

Another government official connected with the matter said, “The PM is expected on March 12 at the function near Sabarmati Ashram. The Dandi March is going to be flagged off from the Ashram with 81 participants who will take the same route which was taken by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930. Some prominent personalities will also participate in the march, the list of which will be finalised in some days.”

On March 12, Modi is expected to preside over an event held near Abhay Ghat — the samadhi of former prime minister Morarji Desai, next to the Sabarmati Ashram, sources told this paper. The organisers, primarily the ministry of culture, has sought information of all the original marchers and the current co-ordinates of their families to help plan the march, said sources.

For the celebration of 75th year of independence, a statement from the Ministry of Culture released by Press Information Bureau stated, the Central Government has constituted a National Committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister with 259 members.

The National Committee which includes dignitaries and eminent citizens from all walks of life, “will provide policy direction and guidelines for formulation of programs for the commemoration of 75th anniversary of Indian Independence, at the national and international levels”.

As per the release, March 12, commemorating the 91st anniversarty of the historic Salt Satyagraha was chosen as it is “75 weeks prior to 15th August 2022” , the 75th independence day.

“PM Modi is scheduled to arrive on March 12 to attend a programme at Sabarmati Ashram where he will also flag off Dandi March. The details of the programme will be finalised shortly. An official announcement will be done then,” a top government official said.

The programme is likely to be a large-scale event especially when the central and Gujarat government are planning to consolidate around 63 buildings related to Mahatma Gandhi around the Sabarmati Ashram and turning them into a “world class memorial”, work for which has begun.

The redevelopment of the Gandhi Ashram, commonly known as the Sabarmati Ashram, a brainchild of the Prime Minister, plans to consolidate 55 acres of land in and around the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT) , which houses the Hriday Kunj, formerly residence of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba.

The Ashram premises will eventually have only three owners as per the plan — the Gujarat government, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the SAPMT — instead of the six trusts that are currently aligned with it.