Gandhi Jayanti: Air India pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on 150th birth anniversary.
To celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, air carrier Air India paid special tribute to the father of the nation on Gandhi Jayanti by painting his image on the tail of one of its aircraft. Mahatma Gandhi's image is 11-feet high and has been painted on the tail of the Airbus-320 aircraft.
"Air India pays tribute to Bapu on 150th birth anniversary. Image of our Beloved Bapu painted on VT-CIO A320 aircraft," the airline tweeted.
"This is the first time that we are doing something like this. The image of Mahatma Gandhi on an aircraft's tail will serve as a reminder to people of Gandhiji's message," Ashwani Lohani, Air India's chairman told news agency ANI.
The company is planning to paint Mahatma Gandhi's image on all its aircraft models.
"The next step is to have a sketch of Gandhiji on the tail of all aircraft models - 787, 777 and 747 which travel internationally to give a symbolic message," said Mr Lohani.
The sketch was conducted by in-house artisans.
Air India is also running a cleanliness campaign in honour of Mahatma Gandhi.
"We are ensuring that our workplaces, our aircraft and our colonies, as well as our thoughts and our conduct, are clean. We have sent this message across our network and are ensuring it happens," he added.
Born on October 2, 1869, in Gujarat's Porbandar, Mahatma Gandhi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi adopted the path of non-violence and was the forefront of the freedom struggle against the colonial British rule with utmost patience. His leadership led to India to its independence in 1947. Fondly known as Bapu, his unwavering belief in "swaraj" (self-governance) and "ahimsa" (non-violence) won him accolades across the world.
Globally, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary is celebrated as the "International Day of Non-Violence".
A number of cleanliness drives have been launched by the government to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.