Sunday Times 2
Where’s Gandhi?
There will be no prizes for guessing the theme of this fancy dress party. Dressed in matching skin-coloured caps, round spectacles and grey moustaches, these young children are taking part in a lookalike record attempt like no other.
A thousand children donned matching outfits in honour of Mahatma Gandhi, the iconic Indian spiritual leader who was born 143 years ago.
The march, in Ahmedabad, north west India, was confirmed as the biggest Gandhi-lookalike get together ever by Guinness World Records. As well as the peace leader’s trademark round glasses and moustache, the boys also sported white robes to mimic his traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, as well as holding walking sticks.
Their impressive effort eclipsed the previous record for such an event, where 485 marched in the same fancy dress in central Kolkata, West Bengal last January. Before that 255 children dressed as Gandhi in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district in June 2010.
Elsewhere, hundreds of children took part in an identical celebration in Chennai southern India.Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 is commemorated as Gandhi Jayanti – a national holiday which sees tributes across the country.
Mahatma – a name conferred on him, which means Great Soul – was born in 1869 and was an inspirational leader of India and the Indian independence movement.
He is famed for his non-violent means to achieve his goals, which resulted in the independence of the country, and earning him the honorary title of Father of the Nation He was shot at point-blank range in 1948.
Gandhi trained as a lawyer in London and spent most of his life fighting against injustice and for Indian independence – and he was jailed numerous times.
He was disappointed when India was partitioned after independence and strove to stop the killings between Hindus and Muslims.
He was assassinated on January 30, 1948, in Delhi, by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist who felt Gandhi was too sympathetic towards Muslims.
He was taken to hospital after he fell but later died.
© Daily Mail, London
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