JEDDAH — Indian expats from all walks of life residing here celebrated the birth anniversary of the father of nation Mahatma Gandhi (Oct. 2) at a restaurant recently.

The All India Overseas Cultural Congress (AIOCC) Jeddah Chapter organized the event commemorating the life of Mahatma Gandhi and his contributions not just to India but to the entire world and his exemplary teachings that fostered unity and harmony.

The program started with the famous Gandhi Smrithi “Raghupati Raghava Rajaram” sung by Lincy Baby and Lina Baby. While welcoming the audience consisting of all community leaders and dignitaries of Indian Diaspora, Surendra Pal Singh, president of Indian Youth Welfare Association, while extolling the virtues of the great Indian leader called on all to follow the Mahatma’s teaching. He also explained the objectives of AIOCC.

Speaking at the event, keynote speaker L. Ramnarayan Iyer, executive editor of Saudi Gazette, emphasized the importance to remember Gandhiji for his actions and his teachings, especially with the icon being the apostle of truth in this era. “As long as we stay on the path of truth, we can hold our head high and be firm with our stand,” he said, adding, “Gandhi advocated education for all but stressed that this education should be inclusive of our history and geography.”

Zakariya Biladi, a well known personality in the community, said it is a great opportunity to remember freedom fighters of our great nation. “Let us pay our tribute to great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and ‘Sarhadi’ Gandhi, Khan Ghaffar Khan.” He also said that without their efforts we would not have a free and vibrant India.

Mohammed Iqbal, former Chairman IISJ-MC, said the teachings of Gandhiji are getting more and more relevant nowadays and it is the duty of every citizen to spread his message to the society and to the next generation. “Swachata for Gandhiji does not mean just physical cleanliness of the surroundings but it has got a vast meaning of cleanliness of the soul,” he added.

KTA Muneer, regional president OICC Jeddah, expressed his anxiety on the issues in our society nowadays while stressing that Congress is the only party that can keep the country united with its secular policies as the communal fringe elements from BJP are just talking about destroying Congress not any other party. “With this statement, they mean destroying the communal harmony of the country and in order to prevent that, Congress will have to be strengthened.”

Sherief Kunju, global general secretary of OICC, said that Gandhiji was not just the leader of Hindus or Muslims, but was the leader of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, for he was the leader of India. This statement got a massive applause from the audience.

A documentary film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi was the main feature of the event.

Syed Nasir Khursheed, convener of AIOCC and member of KNRI Forum Jeddah, anchored the event and entertained the audience with Urdu poetries.

While delivering the vote of thanks, Mohammed Siraj Mohiuddin, leader of Tamil Sangham and with vast connections in almost all Indian community circles in Jeddah, expressed his deep sense of appreciation for the executive committee of AIOCC for organizing this event successfully. He thanked all the distinguished guests who attended the event at such a short notice and made it successful. The program concluded with the rendition of the Indian national anthem.