World News Story

01 December 2008 23:48 BST

Gandhi's ashes scattered to mark 60 years since his death

The ashes of Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi have been scattered in the Arabian Sea by his great-granddaughter.

The ritual was carried out as Indians mark the 60th anniversary of the assassination of the father of their nation.

Nilamben Parikh, the daughter of Gandhi's estranged son Harilal, poured the ashes from a copper urn wreathed with white flowers after being taken by speedboat from Mumbai's Chowpatty beach.

When Gandhi, who peacefully campaigned for an end to British rule in India during the 1930s and 1940s, was assassinated by a Hindu extremist on January 30th 1948, his ashes were distributed to his supporters across the nascent nation.

It is not known how many urns of his ashes remain, but the one emptied by his great-granddaughter today is understood to be one of the last.

The spreading of the ashes in ocean is said to represent a symbolic reconciliation between Gandhi and his eldest son Harilal, who was estranged from his father at the time of his death and did not participate in his funeral rights.

Harilal, who was the subject of last year's Gandhi My Father film, also temporarily converted to Islam.

Nilamben Parikh said she had "closed a chapter" in today's ritual.

"It's an emotional day for us and also a day for deep thought," she told reporters afterwards.

"A day that we should remember him and remind ourselves of his teachings."

Gandhi's face still adorns India's currency and murals across the country, but commentators have pointed to the small crowds that gathered in Mumbai today as an indication of the dwindling influence of his memory.

Nevertheless, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh is expected to attend a prayer ceremony in New Delhi later today at the site of Gandhi's assassination six decades ago.