Belagavi getting set to celebrate centenary of historic session of Congress helmed by Mahatma Gandhi

The government of Karnataka set up a consultative committee, including freedom fighters and activists, to organise the celebrations.

This Independence Day is special for Belagavi as it celebrates the centenary of the 1924 Belgaum session of the Congress. It was the only session chaired by Mahatma Gandhi. While the Karnataka government has formed a consultative committee to seek suggestions on the celebrations, a group of Gandhians is planning a ‘Charaka marathon’ to commemorate the event.

The 39th all-India session of the Congress was held for three days in the last week of December 1924, in a field on the outskirts of Belagavi city, on Goa road. The road is now called Congress Road, and the venue is Veera Soudha.

Three celebrations are being organised by three bodies this year — the State government, the Congress, and a set of Gandhians.

The Karnataka government will organise a grand event to celebrate the centenary. A consultative committee, including freedom fighters and activists, has been formed. The first meeting of the committee took place recently. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan said the State government had set aside a budget of ₹2 crore for the celebrations. “We could raise additional resources by seeking CSR funds from corporates,” Mr. Roshan said.

A group of Gandhians met at the residence of Vaibhav Lokur, a young activist and theatre personality, in Belagavi. Participants included Sanjiv Kulkarni from Dharwad, and Dilip Kamat and Subhash Kulkarni, both of whom served as president of the district khadi union.

“We plan to organise a charaka marathon, where at least 100 people will work the charaka for at least 12 hours to send a message of sustainability and self-reliance among the youth,” said Dr. Kulkarni, who runs Bala Balaga, an open school in Dharwad. A workshop would be organised to introduce the device to young men and women in the run-up to the marathon.

Mr. Kamat said the celebrations should centre around the values preached and practised by Gandhiji. “We should use the occasion to spread the ideals of economic self-reliance, and the idea of India that is rooted in liberal, secular value systems, among the youth,” he said. Efforts should be made to counter fake news and online abuse being created and spread by vested interests. “We need to do it constructively by creating true content about the Father of the Nation, his visit to Belagavi, and the freedom movement in north Karnataka.”