India on Saturday celebrates Gandhi Jayanti to mark the 152nd birth anniversary of "Father of the Nation" Mahatma Gandhi. To celebrate the day, the country's government, politicians, and citizens are conducting various programmes and events to pay homage to the great man. The day began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tweet to pay his respect to "Bapu".
2 October also marks the birth anniversary of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Indian President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Modi along with other leaders and personalities also paid their respects to Shastri, whose contributions and sacrifices still reverberate in the hearts of Indians.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son, together with former party chief Rahul Gandhi, visited Raj Ghat and Vijay Ghat, memorials to Mahatma Gandhi and India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, respectively, to pay floral tributes to them today.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi also interacted with Pani Samitis under the government's Jal Jeevan Mission to applaud their efforts of water-system management in villages.
As a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj (self-reliant village), the Indian government will organise a Gram Sabha across the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian government's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has launched the month-long Clean India mission to rid the country of single-use plastic.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres took to Twitter and called for peace and tolerance across the world.
At Gujarat's Sabarmati Ashram, which is one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi, prayer meetings are being held to celebrate his birthday.
Born on 2 October 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was given the title of "Mahatma" by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, was a pioneer leader non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi led India's freedom struggle along with other national leaders against British rule.