Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Tamil Nadu, during his interaction with the students said, "Gandhiji, who fought against British ruleand brought freedom to India, is an inspiration to all of us. The Gandhian ideal encompassed the principles of dignity of labour, equitable distribution of wealth, local self sufficiency and the practice of non violence." He was interacting with students after he inaugurated the photo exhibition on “Mahatma Gandhi – Life History” at Raj Bhavan, Chennai.
"Tamil Nadu was always close to Gandhiji’s heart. It is important to recall that when Gandhiji started the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, in which there were initially 25 inmates, 13 of them were Tamilians. Gandhiji visited Tamil Nadu 20 times between 1896 and 1946. During his first visit in 1896 he tried to learn Tamil and bought 9 Tamil books for the purpose," he said. He added: "During a subsequent visit in 1921, when in Madurai, Gandhiji made a change from donning the typical elaborate attire to wearing the simple dhoti and upper cloth that clothed him for the remaining years of his life. About this he himself has written “All the alterations I have made in the course of my life have been effected by momentous occasions. Such a radical alteration in my dress I effected in Madurai.”
