The US President Donald Trump along with First lady Melania Trump tried his hand at spinning the Charkha at the Sabarmati Ashram while PM Narendra Modi was seen standing close and guiding the US President in doing so. Workers from the Sabarmati Ashram give them a demonstration of the Charkha and how Mahatma Gandhi used the wheel to weave.
#WATCH US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump spin the Charkha at Sabarmati Ashram. PM Modi also present. #TrumpInIndia pic.twitter.com/TdmCwzU203
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2020
After a tour of the Ashram and spinning the charkha, President Trump signed the visitors’ book.
In the short note written in the visitor’s book, the US President referred to PM Modi as his “great friend” and thanked him for the wonderful visit to the Ashram.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s visit to the Sabarmati Ashram was a brief stop before heading to the Motera Stadium during his two-day visit.
The Sabarmati Ashram was Mahatma Gandhi’s base after his return to India from South Africa. Gandhi led the Dandi march in 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram.
Trump is not the first international leader to visit Sabarmati Ashram, though he the first US President to do so. Here are a few other world leaders who have visited the revered site. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with his wife Sophie and children Xavier, Hadrien and Ella-Grace too visited the iconic Ashram wearing Indian ethnic clothes and also tried their hands on the Charkha during their visits.
Before his arrival, the US president had taken to Twitter to announce his scheduled arrival in India. Tweeting in Hindi, Trump said, “We are excited to come to India. We are on our way. In a few hours, we will meet everyone.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to Trump’s tweet with “Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest is God).”
अतिथि देवो भव: https://t.co/mpccRkEJCE
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 24, 2020
Earlier in the day, PM Modi tweeted his welcome message to President Trump.
President Trump is the seventh US President to visit India. He is accompanied by his wife Melania Trump and Daughter, Ivanka Trump. A massive welcome event, called ‘Namaste Trump’ will be held in Motera stadium, Ahmedabad. US President Trump visited the Sabarmati Ashram en route to the stadium. He also plans to visit Taj Mahal in Agra as well.
