Organisers say the objective is deeply personal. By walking day after day through villages and small towns, participants hope to experience the simplicity, hardship, and quiet determination that marked Gandhiji’s journey. The march emphasises lived experience over speeches or symbolism, echoing Gandhi’s belief that change begins with individual conduct.
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WhatsApp Image 2025-10-22 at 9.38.32 AM
The walkers will traverse the same countryside Gandhi passed through, observing rural life at a slower pace—villages at work, daily routines unfolding, and customs rooted in simplicity. The journey, they believe, offers an opportunity for introspection and a renewed understanding of values such as self-reliance, cleanliness, and fitness—principles that remain relevant today.
Health and safety arrangements have been carefully planned. Participants have trained for several months, will carry first-aid kits and essential medicines, and will rely on local government medical facilities if required. Wherever possible, accommodation will be arranged at Dandi Path Yatri Nivas and other historic locations associated with Gandhiji’s original 24-day march, including Santram Mandir at Nadiad.
A key component of the walk will be interaction with local communities. The group plans to engage with school and college students, NCC cadets, village sarpanches, and ex-servicemen along the route. These interactions are intended as dialogues rather than lectures, encouraging listening, exchange, and inter-generational understanding.
Participants say the walk also seeks to send a quiet message—that curiosity, learning, fitness, and purpose do not diminish with age. Walking 25 to 30 kilometres a day is not about proving endurance, they stress, but about demonstrating that meaningful challenges and commitment can continue well beyond retirement.
The Dandi Path Walk has been meticulously planned along the route envisioned by leaders such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu, and Mahatma Gandhi himself. Some participants will join the march at different stages, but all share a common intent: to walk together, reflect together, and draw strength from companionship—much as it was in 1930.
List of Participants:Col Jayachandran Nair (Pune); Lt Gen Anil Puri (Lucknow); Brig Tushar Misra (Bhubaneswar); Brig S K Chaturvedi (Dehradun); Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar (Bengaluru); Col M J S Pathania (Jammu); Lt Col V Srinivasan (Bengaluru); Brig Girish Joshi (Noida); Col R K Singh (Pune); Col Lalit Gairola (Hyderabad); Col Subhash Chand (Delhi); Lt Gen P N Ananthanarayanan (Chennai); Maj Gen N D Prasad (Hyderabad); Col Girish Bhandari (Noida); Mr Sengathir Selvaraj, IPS (Chennai); Maj Ashish Chadha (Gurgaon).
As the walkers prepare to set out, their message is simple: one need not be extraordinary to begin a meaningful journey—only willing to take the first step.
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