Mahatma Gandhis ashes immersed in Arabian Sea

An urn containing ashes of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was immersed in the Arabian Sea here today on his 60th death anniversary.

Mumbai, Jan 30 : An urn containing ashes of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was immersed in the Arabian Sea here today on his 60th death anniversary.

The ashes were immersed in the Arabian Sea at Girgaum Chaupati in South Mumbai in the presence of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, besides Gandhi's descendents and other dignitaries.

A ceremonial guard of honour was given by the Mumbai Police before the immersion of the ashes.

The urn containing the ashes had been kept at the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya in Mumbai for public viewing. Several Gandhi's admirers, including many foreigners, paid their homage to the apostle of non-violence at the museum dedicated to Mahatma.

Mani Bhavan served as Mahatma Gandhi's residence in Mumbai where he stayed from 1917 to1934.

An urn containing Mahatma's ashes was sent to Mani Bhavan by Bharat Narayan, a Dubai-based businessman, in August 2006. The ashes had been with Narayan's parents, who had preserved the remains with utmost respect since 1948.

Narayan is the grandson of industrialist Jamanalal Bajaj. Narayan's parents Madalasaben and Shriman Narayan were Gandhi's close associates.

All of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were meant to have been immersed in the river Ganges in 1948. But many of the urns were taken away secretly by his ardent devotees and followers.

The ashes were sent to towns and villages across the country and also abroad for memorial services. But some of them were never returned.

This is the second instance when an urn containing the ashes of Mahatma was found and later immersed. In 1997, an urn was found in a bank locker in Bhubhaneswar and the ashes were immersed in Allahabad.

Meanwhile, the trustees are unsure whether similar urns containing Mahatma's ashes will surface in future.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known as Mahatma Gandhi, was the apostle of non-violence. He was assassinated by a Hindu radical Nathu Ram Godse on January 30, 1948, while Gandhi was on his way to attend a prayer meeting at the Birla House in New Delhi.

ANI