India’s Independence Day special: a Gandhian trail in Gujarat

Gujarat, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, has historical signposts and the towering presence of this father figure. Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Kasturba and the Mahatma, lists the destinations for a Gandhian trail.

Porbandar, a coastal city, is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. The Rana Bapu Mahal, the old house of Gandhiji, is located inside the Kirti Mandir complex. It is now a national museum and displays rare old photographs, objects and books. Also visit the ancestral home of Kasturba, right behind Gandhiji’s birth home.

Rajkot was Gandhiji’s family home for a period when he was a student. The home, Kaba Gandhi No Delo has Saurashtra’s architectural features, and is now a museum called Gandhi Smriti. It was where he brought home his bride and began life as a married man; went to study to be a barrister and lived and worked until he left for South Africa. The Alfred High School, where Gandhiji studied is in Rajkot as is the Rashtriya Shala, an educational institution associated with him is now a Gandhi museum.

Ahmedabad is home to several iconic monuments associated with Bapu. His first ashram established in India after his return from South Africa in 1915 was Kochrab Ashram. When Bapu admitted a family of untouchables he faced a revolt from many of his companions and moved across the river to establish Sabarmati Ashram (Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya) on the banks of River Sabarmati. The erstwhile cottage, Hriday Kunj, home of Kasturba and Bapu, has been preserved.

Dandi near Navsari, 60km south of Surat, is where the historic Salt Satyagraha was launched by Bapu. The 26 days and 380km Salt March began from Sabarmati Ashram on 12, March 1930 and ended at the beach at Dandi on 6, April 1930 when Bapu defied the British Empire by picking up a fistful of seasalt. In 2005, on its 75th anniversary, the Dandi Path, along NH 65, was declared a historical heritage route. Bapu’s 150th birth anniversary, in 2019, will be marked by a “Dandi Salt Challenge” where people can march, run and cycle on the 400km path from Sabarmati to the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi. There are plans to make this an annual event in the future.

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