62 years after his death Gandhi's ashes immersed off Durban

Fakir Hassen
Durban, Jan 30 (PTI) Sixty two years after Mahatma
Gandhis's assassination, ashes of the apostle of peace,
preserved by a family friend, were finally immersed in the
Indian Ocean off the South African coast Saturday.
"It was a beautiful ceremony attended by more than 200
people," Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, who led
the sacred ritual, said.
The Indian Ocean was chosen for the solemn event as it
links the two countries on which he had such a profound
influence, she said.
And the day chosen for Saturday's historic ceremony
happened to be January 30, the granddaughter said which marks
Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary.
After Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, his ashes were
distributed among family, friends and followers and handed
over to his granddaughter by a family friend in whose custody
they had been since they were brought to South Africa after
cremation.
Local businessman and an ardent Gandhian, Chagan
"Chotoo" Thakur Bhoola, 85, recalled how he had transported
Gandhi's ashes in an urn from Bombay to South Africa. (More)
PTI