'In today's times of social decline, we are in dire need of Gandhian philosophy'

New Delhi: Marking the Father of the Nation's 151st birth anniversary, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday launched the Delhi government Archives Department's coffee table book "Bapu - The Unforgettable" and said, "During today's times of social decline, we are in dire need of Gandhian philosophies."

A webinar on "Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi" was also inaugurated by Sisodia where the key speakers were Manisha Saxena, Secretary (Archives/ACL), Mohammad A Abid, Special Secretary (ACL), Prof Sucheta Mahajan (JNU), Sohail Hashmi (Historian and Heritage Walker) and Rajmani Srivastava (Retd Assistant Director, NAI).

At the event, Sisodia said, "This book cannot fulfill the void created by the absence of Bapu but can certainly make us think, give us ideas, give us a glimpse of his philosophy." He added, "There are several untouched aspects of history in this book, a lot of photographs, epigraphs, and several other details about Delhi which we usually do not get to see."

While congratulating the Art and Culture and the Archives Department, Manish Sisodia said, "Time and again our Art and Culture department has been organizing events showcasing the unseen events of Baapu's life. Our Archives department has also been working with the same zeal and enthusiasm as they were working before the pandemic. I congratulate both these departments today for successfully organising today's event."

Gandhi had a phenomenal relationship with the Capital city and though his birth and education were in Porbander, Gujarat and he used the tool of non-violence the first time in South Africa but from 1915 to 1948, he visited Delhi eighty times and stayed in this historic city for 720 days, according to insights from the book.