India was the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi in its truest sense. Never was he aloof of the entire country’s need to be free from external forces. Every moment of his life was dedicated in ensuring that Indians and the motherland were in good hands and independent. But, Gujarat had a special place for Gandhi as it served as his birthplace and it was also the state from which he started his struggle to bring freedom to the whole country. Many ashrams, museums and replica statues of Gandhiji can be found in this state starting from Porbandar, his birthplace to Sabarmati where he set up the famous Sabarmati Ashram.

• Gandhi Tourism Circuit Commemorates the Greatness of the Father of the Nation

State government of Gujarat has recently launched the Gandhi Tourism circuit to showcase the world and the tourists, the attractions and destinations having intricate interweaving relationship with the Mahatma. There were various ashrams set up by Gandhiji during his stay in many of places he visited in India, but most are found in the state of Gujarat. Significance of these ashrams is that they clearly reflect and define the values of Mahatma Gandhi and his way of life.

One of the important ashrams in Gujarat set up by him in his life in India is that of Kochrab Ashram. Important thing about this ashram is that it was established to propagate the practices of upliftment of poor, women and downtrodden sections of the society with principles of human equality, simplicity and self help. In later years, this ashram went on to become a famous centre to study Gandhian philosophies, ideas, practices and Swadeshi and Satyagrah movement.

• Location and Establishment

After Mahatma Gandhi arrived in India, he went to his home state - Gujarat, which already had a major presence of British Empire. Finding the desolate conditions in which the people of India were ruled by the Britishers, he thought of setting up a place where he could mobilise people towards self sufficiency and help each other. As a result of this thought process, he established Kochrab Ashram which was the first ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi. It came into being on 25th May 1915, in the village called Palid very close to the city of Ahmadabad. After the set up of Sabarmati Ashram near River Sabarmati, Gandhiji shifted his base to this ashram and the Kochrab Ashram was emptied.

• Present Significance

In recent years, the Kochrab Ashram has been managed by Gujarat Vidyapeeth University founded by Gandhiji himself in 1920. This university has lots of students who arrive to study Gandhian philosophies and various principles laid down by him to be followed in one’s life. These students are able to visit the Kochrab Ashram due to its proximity to the university. From the year 2013, this ashram was opened to the public for the purpose of staying for a few days under the Gandhi Tourism Circuit named as “Live like Gandhi for a Few Days”.

For people, coming to Ahmadabad and seeking to visit the attractions associated with the life of Gandhiji, the Kochrab Ashram is an important destination. Being close to Ahmadabad and accessible by road and rail, Kochrab Ashram can be visited by tourists in buses and taxis. Ahmadabad has pretty good connectivity by air, road and rail to different parts of the country and therefore it is easy to access Palid near Ahmadabad for arriving at Kochrab Ashram.