Preparations have been made to celebrate the centenary year of the Congress session held in Belagavi in 1924, the only such meeting that was chaired by Mahatma Gandhi.
The State government has now constituted a committee to aid and advise the department concerned. Apart from senior officials, the committee includes freedom fighter Vithalrao Yalagi and Dilip Kamath, former president of the district Khadi union.
The department will organise several programmes with an estimated budget of ₹2 crore.
Gandhians and Khadi activists have been urging the government to celebrate the centenary of the Belagavi session.
Gandhian and Devraj Urs award winner Shivaji Kaganikar and Subhash Kulkarni, former president of the district Khadi union, had written to the government to organise year-long celebrations.
The venue of the session is now a monument in Tilakwadi in Belagavi. The State government declared the venue of the session as a monument of importance in the 1980s.
Then Chief Minister R. Gundu Rao named it Veera Soudha. Later, the S.M. Krishna government took up beautification of the monument, including raising a garden.
Gandhiji tayed for nine days in the district in 1924. Apart from chairing the Congress session, he visited and camped in Khadi villages like Hudali and Hosur.
The session was held on December 26 and 27 that year. Khadi crusader and chairman of the reception committee Gangadhar Rao Deshpande, known as Karnataka Kesari, had invited him.
Mr. Deshpande and party workers had toiled for over six months to organise the session. Workers and volunteers dug Pampa Sarovara, a deep well, to ensure drinking water supply to the 17,000 delegates.
And, the Belagavi City Corporation supplies water from the well to nearby areas even today.
Among the achievements of the Belgaum (as the city was called then) session were passing a resolution to approve the Calcutta agreement of the Congress and successful efforts to unify the factions advocating Swaraj and status quo.
Gandhiji made a memorable speech at the 39th session of the Congress that was called the Belgaon session. He called for harmony between religious and linguistic groups. He expressed confidence that India will gain complete Independence soon. He spoke of the upliftment of deprived communities like untouchables. He focused on mainstream social service and selfless devotion to service of society. He spoke of how Khadi and village industries had the potential to make India self-reliant. He stressed upon the need to rebuild society that will not suffer from discrimination of caste, class or gender.
Several national leaders attended the session. They included Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, C. Rajagopalachari, Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, Chittaranjandas, Pandit Madan Mohan Malalviya, Saifuddin Kichalu, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mohammad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Babu Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhbhai Patel and Rangaswamy Iyengar.
