A month after erasing Gandhi from MGNREGA, Modi takes Merz to Gandhi's Sabarmati

A month after the Centre replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the VB-G RAM G law , formally removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from India’s flagship rural employment programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad a site inseparable from the life and moral authority of Mahatma Gandhi .

The Ashram visit, the first major public engagement of Merz’s inaugural official trip to India, placed Gandhi’s legacy at the centre of India’s cultural and diplomatic messaging. It came even as Gandhi’s name was recently removed from a welfare law that, for nearly two decades, had explicitly invoked his ideals of dignity of labour , non-violence and social justice . The government has described the legislative change as an administrative reform , while critics have pointed to the symbolic weight of the decision.

Modi arrived at the Ashram ahead of the German leader and personally received him. The two leaders offered floral tributes at Gandhi’s statue and visited Hriday Kunj , the modest quarters where Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi lived during the freedom movement. Merz was shown the spinning of khadi yarn on the charkha , an act long associated with Gandhi’s emphasis on self-reliance and ethical economics themes that continue to resonate strongly in global political discourse.

In the Ashram’s visitors’ book, Merz wrote that Gandhi’s unwavering commitment to freedom and human dignity continues to inspire people worldwide and strengthens friendship between Indians and Germans. The tribute underscored Gandhi’s enduring international stature , even as those in power in India move to diminish his presence within official memory and policy .