NEW DELHI: The nation fondly remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 138th birth anniversary, with President Pratibha Patil leading the countrymen in paying rich tributes to the messiah of non-violence. An inter-religious prayer meeting marked the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation at Rajghat, the samadhi of Gandhi, where leaders, children, youth and women paid their respects.

The United Nations declared the day as the International Non-Violence Day. Besides Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, former prime minister I K Gujral, Minister of State for PMO Prithviraj Chavan and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit paid floral tributes at the Rajghat.

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, who is on a visit to India, also went to the Raj Ghat and paid floral tributes. She was accompanied by her father Deepak Pandya and other family members. Hymns from various sacred texts were also rendered by Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Judaists.

The roads leading to the samadhi were decorated with flowers. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also paid floral tributes on the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in the Central Hall of Parliament. Booklets containing the profile of the Mahatma, both in English and Hindi, were also brought out by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on the occasion.

Meanwhile, on this occasion Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoped that the global community will rediscover the relevance of the eternal message of Mahatma Gandhi for fighting conflict, violence and terrorism.

"Mahatma Gandhi's message of love and peace, of non- violence and Satyagraha, of the equality of all people, of harmony between all religions, is a universal message.

It is a message for all times, for all societies, for all peoples," he said on the occasion of Gandhi's 138th Birth Anniversary.