Nation celebrates birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi

The nation celebrates the 140th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and 105th birth anniversary of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on Friday. 

Special prayers are being held at Raj ghat to commemorate the father of the nation.

President Pratibha Patil is scheduled to visit Porbandar, where she will pay her tributes and also participate in an all faith prayer organized at Mahatma Gandhi's birth place Kirtimandir.

She will also visit Kanya Gurukul there as part of her five-day visit to Gujarat.

On this occasion the Centre's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will be named after Mahatma Gandhi.

Lal Bahadur was born in 2nd October 1904 in Mughal Sarai in Uttar Pradesh. 

Shastri was known for honesty and humility. After hearing a speech of Mahatma Gandhi at Varanasi in 1915, he dedicated his life to the service of the country.

During the 22-day war with Pakistan, Lal Bahadur Shastri created the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), underlining the need to boost India's food production.

Apart from emphasizing the Green Revolution, he was instrumental in promoting the White Revolution.