Congress corporator uses TikTok to pay homage to Gandhiji

If Mahatma Gandhi was an innovator in terms of propagating non-violence as a means in the struggle for independence, be the use of charkha for the upliftment of masses or use of swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods, now efforts are being made to use innovative methods to connect Gandhi to the youth of the country. Shahnawaz Shaikh, a corporator from Jamalpur ward has organized a social media contest where people can post videos of speech, drama, song or acting on Gandhiji. He has also planned for gifts on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Shaikh said that this is an innovative way to present Gandhiji to the youth who are more on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok but do not have the habit of reading books and therefore do not have authentic information about the Father of the Nation. The country is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji.

"We have an example of Hindi movie Lage Raho Munnabhai, in which Gandhiji and his ideas were presented in a manner that easily appeals to the youth. The scenario is changing very fast and older methods are no longer so effective to connect Gandhiji with the masses. So we thought of using social media as the youth is constantly hooked on this new media," said Shaikh.

Participants can make a video on Mahatma Gandhi, which may be in the form of a speech, drama, song, poem or an act and post it on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram, with the hashtag #RememberGandhiOnTikTok. Quotes of Gandhiji will also be regularly put on Twitter to give an idea of Gandhiji's ideologies to the youth.

Recently, Shaikh had asked citizens to post photos of potholes on roads and send him on Whatsapp. He had received over 2,500 photos of damaged roads from across the city and these were presented to the AMC.

Congress' twin yatra to kick-off today

Congress party in Gujarat will kick-off its twin yatra 'Gandhi Sandesh Yatra' on Friday to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. One of them will begin from Dandi village in south Gujarat, famous for the Dandi March and Salt Satyagraha, and will reach Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad on October 2, the birthday of Gandhiji. It will be led by Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda.

The second yatra will commence from Porbandar, the birthplace of Gandhiji and will also reach Gandhi Ashram on October 2. It will be led by Paresh Dhanani, leader of the opposition.The first yatra will cover a distance of 368 km, while the second one will cover a distance of 412 km.

"Gandhiji had fought against unfair taxes by the British government on Indian citizens as well as conducted atrocities on locals. For the past few years, rulers in India and a number of states are trying to erase the ideals which Gandhiji stood for. These yatras will not only revive the ideas but encourage the masses to fight against unfair administrative practices like unfair fines under the amended Motor Vehicles Act," said a statement from Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.