Sabarmati Ashram also known as
Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of
Ahmedabad adjoining to famous Ashram Road, at the bank of River Sabarmati, 4 miles from the town hall. This was one of the residences of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi spent approximately 12 years of his life here. This ashram is now a national monument established by the Government of
India due to its significance for the Indian independence movement in the form of the Dandi March in 1930.
History:
The ashram was originally established at the Kochàrab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai on 25 May 1915. The Ashram was then shifted on 17 June 1917 to a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati. Reasons for this shift included: Gandhi wanted to do some experiments in living (e.g. farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, khadi and related constructive activities for which he was in search of this kind of barren land.)
It was believed that this is one of the ancient ashram site of Dadhichi Rishi who had donated his bones for a righteous war, but his main ashram lies in Naimisharanya, near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; it is between a jail and a crematorium, and he believed that a satyagrahi has invariably to go to either place. Mahatma Gandhi said, "This is the right place for our activities to carry on the search for truth and develop fearlessness, for on one side are the iron bolts of the foreigners, and on the other the thunderbolts of Mother Nature."
Present day:
The ashram now has a museum, Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalay. In 1963 the museum building was erected (designed by architect Charles Correa), and memorial activities were then started here.One of the important activities undertaken is the establishment of a Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya. Initially started in 'Hriday Kunj,' Gandhi's own cottage in the Ashram, the Sangrahalaya has now shifted to its own well-designed and well-furnished building which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, on 10 May 1963.
Upasana Mandir:It is an open -air prayer ground, situated between 'Hridaya Kunj' and 'Magan Kutir' (the hut where Maganlal Gandhi, the ashram manager, used to stay).Here, Gandhiji used to refer to individual questions after prayers and as the head of the family analysed and gave his solutions.
Vinoba Kutir: Named after Acharya Vinoba Bhave who stayed here, and also known as Mira Kutir after Mirabehn, Gandhiji's disciple, daughter of a British Admiral.
Nandini: It is on the right hand side of 'Hridaya Kunj'. It is an old Ashram guest house, where guests from India and abroad are put up.
Museum Features:
- "My life is my message" gallery, consisting of 8 life-size painting and more than 250 photo-enlargements of some of the vivid and historic events of Gandhi's life
- Gandhi in Ahmedabad Gallery, tracking Gandhi's life in Ahmedabad from 1915–1930
- Life-size oil painting gallery
- Gandhi quotations, letters and other relics exhibition
- Library consisting of nearly 35,000 books dealing with Gandhi's life, work, teachings, Indian freedom movement and allied subjects, and a Reading Room with more than 80 periodicals in English, Gujarati and Hindi
- Archives consisting of nearly 34,117 letters to and from Gandhi both in original and in photocopies, about 8,781 pages of manuscripts of Gandhi's articles appearing in Harijan, Harijansevak, and Harijanbandhu and about 6,000 photographs of Gandhi and his associates
- An important landmark of the Ashram is 'Hridaya Kunj' where some of the personal relics of Gandhi are on display
- Ashram book store, a non-profit book store selling literature and memorabilia related to Gandhi and his life work and also supports local artisans.
Ashram Activities:
- The Sabarmati ashram which receives about 7 lakh (700,000) visitors a year houses, photocopies of about 34,000 letters written by Gandhi and about 8000 photographs and 165 films and of course, Hriday Kunj, the house where Gandhi and Kasturba stayed from 1918 to 1930.
- Collecting, processing, preserving and displaying archival materials (writings, photographs, paintings, voice-records, films, personal clothes etc.
- A charkha' used by Gandhi to weave khadi and the writing table he used for writing letters are also few of the priceless items kept here.
- Microfilming, lamination and preservation of negatives
- Arranging exhibitions on aspects of Gandhi’s life, literature and activities
- Publication of the "Mahadevbhani Dairy," which chronicles the entire history of the Indian freedom struggle
- The Ashram Trust funds activities that include education for the visitor, the community and routine maintenance of the museum and its surrounding grounds
- Keeping contact with as well as helping and undertaking study and research in Gandhian thought and activities and publishing the results of such study and research and allied literature for the benefit of the people
- Observance in a suitable manner of occasions connected with Gandhi’s life
- Maintaining contact with the youth and student community and providing facilities to them for the study of Gandhian thought
