Bengaluru, 2 Dec

The Karnataka government has proclaimed 2025 as "Gandhi Bharat Year" to commemorate the Congress' 1924 session under Mahatma Gandhi's leadership.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The 39th session of the Indian National Congress was held in 1924 in the border district headquarter town of Belagavi (earlier called Belgaum) in north Karnataka.

"The chief minister has given instructions to start preparations for organising meaningful programmes in the name of 'Gandhi Bharat' throughout the year as part of the centenary celebrations," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement.

The programmes will be launched on December 26 and 27 as part of the session's centenary celebrations.

A decision was also taken to hold a Congress Working Committee meeting in Belagavi on December 26 and a public meeting on December 27.

Siddaramaiah also directed officials to illuminate the major 32-kilometre stretch of roads and 30 intersections of Belagavi city in line with Mysuru Dasara.

The location where the Congress' 1924 session was held will be developed as a Veera Soudha. A library will be built and a Gandhi statue installed at the site.

It was also decided to construct a temporary Virupaksha Gopuram as a centenary memorial on the 2.1-kilometre Congress Road in Belagavi and relief sculptures along the railway barrier.

Memorial pillars will be built at 120 places in the state that Gandhi visited at different times, according to the statement.

It was also decided to dub "Gandhi", the 1982 film produced and directed by Richard Attenborough, in Kannada.

A photo gallery reflecting the Congress session and the freedom movement will come up in the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

A special postal stamp will be released to commemorate the centenary of the session, the statement said.