Indian Embassy celebrates Gandhi's birthday in Netherlands

The Indian Embassy on Tuesday launched celebrations leading up to Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary in the Netherlands and released commemorative stamps to mark the occasion.

Indian Ambassador Venu Rajamony presented the special stamps to Netherland's former Foreign Minister Bernard R. Bot and Director General Erik de Baedts in front of the iconic Peace Palace of The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

With 2019 marking the 150th anniversary of Gandhi's birth, commemorations for the landmark day would last two years.

An outreach programme "Follow the Mahatma" is being conducted by the Indian Embassy between October 1 and 5 under which over 100 volunteers fan out to around 20 schools of the Netherlands to spread the message of non-violence and educate students about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, an embassy statement said.

As part of the programme, books on Gandhi are being presented to the schools, it said.

(With inputs from agencies.)