Mahatma Gandhi's earthly journey came to an end on January
30,1948. The body was cremated the following day here on the western
bank of river Yamuna. The ashes were strewn in the seas and all the
principal rivers of India. It was decided that the cremation ground
offered the most appropriate site for a monument in his honour. Thus
the Samadhi was built in token of reverence for the Mahatma.
Gandhiji was in harmony with the elements of nature. The structure
of the Samadhi reflects his ceramic simplicity. The brick platform
on which his body had been burned, a black marble platform of the
same size - some twelve feet by twelve feet square, and two feet
deep, surrounded by a while marble fence - was erected and the
shores were landscaped. Around the cenotaph were built earthworks to
protect it from the flooding Yamuna, and these high protective walls
have the effect of transforming an open space into an enclosed
garden. The walls are so broad that a carriage could drive around
them. Trees were planted in the enclosure, and little square plots
of white pebble stones were added for decoration. Usually the black
marble cenotaph is heaped with flowers, and the marble is polished
so brilliantly that it reflected the passing clouds.
The affairs of the Samadhi are managed by an autonomous statutory
body, known as Rajghat Samadhi Committee, created by an Act of
Parliament in 1951.
SEVEN SOCIAL SINS
* Politics without principle
* Pleasure without conscience
* Wealth without work
* Knowledge without character
* Commerce without morality
* Science without humanity
* Worship without sacrifice
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