Freedom icon Gandhi's ashes scattered in Arabian Sea

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

MUMBAI (AFP) — Ashes of India's freedom icon Mahatma Gandhi were scattered on Wednesday off the coast of Mumbai in a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of his assassination by a Hindu fanatic.

A copper urn containing some of the ashes was opened and the ashes mixed with water and poured into the Arabian Sea by his great-granddaughter Nilamben Parikh in accordance with Hindu rites.

"This is a day for deep thought. This day will help us think how to move forward," Parikh, 75, told reporters.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi -- called Mahatma or "Great Soul" -- spearheaded a non-violent campaign against the British Raj which finally saw India gain its independence in 1947.

Even as India's economy booms, creating new wealth, Gandhi is still regarded as the...