New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thursday visited the Sabarmati Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, after landing in Ahemdabad for his two-day India visit.
At the Sabarmati ashram, Johnson was welcomed by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and trustee Kartikeya Sarabhai, news agency PTI reported.
The Ashram trust gifted him two books, one of them an unpublished guide for the benefit of those seeking to live in London, penned by Mahatma Gandhi himself.
Boris Johnson also tried his hand at the charkha before leaving.
"It is an immense privilege to come to the Ashram of this extraordinary man, and to understand how he mobilised such simple principles of truth and non-violence to change the world for the better," the British Prime Minister wrote in his message at Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad.
Mahatma Gandhi had lived at the ashram from 1917 to 1930.
On behalf of the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, Ashram's trustee Kartikeya Sarabhai gifted two books and a replica of a charkha to Johnson who spent nearly 30 minutes on the premises, PTI reported.
"One of the books gifted to Johnson was "Guide to London", an unpublished book that consists of Gandhi's suggestions on how to live in London. It is the first-ever book written by Gandhi and never got published. We gleaned the content from the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi and compiled a book," Ashram spokesperson Virat Kothari said.
The other book was "The Spirit's Pilgrimage", an autobiography of Mirabehn.
After paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Johnson also visited 'Hriday Kunj' where the revolutionary leader lived, and 'Mira Kutir' where Gandhi's English-born disciple Mirabehn or Madeleine Slade used to live.
After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram, the British Prime Minister also met Gautam Adani, the Chairman of the Adani Group.
Johnson visited the Adani Group’s headquarters, discussed with the top industrialist "a range of bilateral matters aimed at furthering and strengthening the larger India UK relationship", the group said in a statement, adding that they focused their discussions on several key thrust areas, such as energy transition, climate action, aerospace and defence, and developing human capital.
Adani had earlier met Johnson in October 2021 at the Global Investment Summit in London, where the two had reiterated their commitment to the ongoing transition to clean energy.
The "big-ticket item" on the agenda for today's meeting was about collaboration in the defence sector, the Adani Group statement said. With India set to
invest $300 billion by 2030 to modernise the armed forces, "Adani’s goal is to develop deep OEM capabilities and work towards making India an export hub for defence", it said, adding that both sides will explore how the Adani Group and British companies can collaborate, as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, to co-design and develop aerospace and defence technology.
At the meeting today, Adani also announced an academic facilitation programme for young Indians through the UK government’s prestigious Chevening Scholarship. Every year, the Adani Group will provide £200,000 through five scholarships for Indian graduate students to study in the UK for a Master’s degree.
The Adani Group Chairman also invited the British PM to the upcoming India-UK Climate Science and Technology Summit, which is being supported by Adani. The summit will be hosted in London on June 28.
In Gujarat, the British Prime Minister is scheduled to visit a new factory being opened by a top British firm as well as a biotechnology university working in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh.
Boris Johnson is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Friday.