02 October is very special day and historical day for India. October 2nd is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti and the International Day of Non-Violence. In India, not only the birthdays of two great personalities are celebrated on October 2, but the birthdays of other famous Indian personalities are also celebrated on October 2. Here are the names of those famous Indian personalities whose birthdays are celebrated on October 2.
(1) Late Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Father of Nation) (Born : 02 October 1869 at Porbandar ,Gujarat -Died 30 January 1948) – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahatma , first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout the world. Born and raised in a Hindu OBC family in coastal Gujarat, Gandhi trained in the law at the Inner Temple in London and was called to the bar at the age of 22. After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, Gandhi moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. There, Gandhi raised a family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against discrimination and excessive land-tax. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and, above all, achieving swaraj or self-rule. Gandhi adopted the short dhoti woven with hand-spun yarn as a mark of identification with India’s rural poor. He began to live in a self-sufficient residential community, to eat simple food, and undertake long fasts as a means of both introspection and political protest. Mahatma Gandhi was the only person who played the most important role in liberating India from the slavery of the British of that time. It was he who inspired millions of Indians to agitate for freedom. Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 after living in South Africa for 20 years. Before his arrival, freedom from the British seemed like a dream to the people of India. The majority had no interest in the politics of the country. They had considered the British rule as the destiny of India. It was Gandhiji who explained the importance of freedom to millions of countrymen. It was due to his efforts that millions of sleeping people of India woke up and started uniting for freedom. The foundation of British rule in India was uprooted through the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) and Quit India Movement (1942) run by Gandhiji, and the British were forced to leave India in 1947. The British army was forced to bow down in front of the main principle of truth and non-violence of the movement led by Gandhiji. The whole country respectfully addresses him as Bapu. He is called the father of the nation because it was because of Gandhiji that India became an independent country after 750 years of slavery. Gandhiji not only got India freedom from 750 years of slavery but also made India a democratic country and inspired the country to run on the basis of the constitution. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930 and in calling for the British to quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India. Gandhi’s birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Nonviolence. Even today, India is known throughout the world as the country of Mahatma Gandhi. His thoughts are still inspiring for the entire world. Gandhiji’s statue has been installed in almost all the countries of the world.
(2) Late Mr. Lal Bahadur Shahtri (Former Prime Minister of India) (Born ; 02 October 1904 at Mughalsarai, UP , Died on 11 January, 1966, Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union, Present-day Uzbekistan) – Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Home Minister from 1961 to 1963. Shastri was born to Sharad Prasad Srivastava and Ramdulari Devi in Mughalsarai (present-day Uttar Pradesh) on 2 October 1904. He studied in East Central Railway Inter college and Harish Chandra High School, which he left to join the non-cooperation movement. He worked for the betterment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur and dropped his caste-derived surname of “Srivastava”. Shastri’s thoughts were influenced by reading about Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Annie Besant. Deeply impressed and influenced by Gandhi, he joined the Indian Independence movement in the 1920s. He served as the president of Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal), founded by Lala Lajpat Rai and held prominent positions in the Indian National Congress. Following independence in 1947, he joined the Indian government and became one of Prime Minister Nehru’s key cabinet colleagues, first as Railways Minister (1951–56), and then in numerous other prominent positions, including the Home Minister. As prime minister, Shastri promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy Development Board. Underlining the need to boost India’s food production, Shastri also promoted the Green Revolution in India in 1965. This led to an increase in food grain production, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. He led the country during the Second India–Pakistan War. His slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” became very popular during the war. The war formally ended with the Tashkent Declaration on 10 January 1966; Shastri died the next day.——–
(3) Asha Parekh (Born : 2 October 1942 in Mumbai) -Asha Parekh is an Indian actress, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema’s finest actresses, Parekh has worked in more than 85 films, in a career spanning over four decades. She has received several accolades including two Filmfare Awards. In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution to the field of cinema and was honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2020. Parekh made her acting debut as a child artist with Maa (1952). She made her lead debut with Dil Deke Dekho (1959) and went onto establish herself as a leading actress in the 1960s and 1970 with films including — Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Bharosa (1963), Ziddi (1964), Mere Sanam (1965), Teesri Manzil (1966), Love in Tokyo (1966), Do Badan (1966), Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966), Upkar (1967), Kanyadaan (1968), Shikar (1968), Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke (1969), Sajan (1969), Chirag (1969), Kati Patang (1970), Aan Milo Sajna (1970), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Caravan (1971), Samadhi (1972), Heera (1973), Udhar Ka Sindur (1976), Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) and Kaalia (1981). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kati Patang. In 2002, she was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. She released her autobiography, The Hit Girl, in 2017.
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