PM greets nation on Ganesh Chaturthi

New Delhi, Sept 2 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today greeted the nation on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, which will be celebrated tomorrow.

In his message, Dr. Singh said that Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival, which brings people together, reaffirms the secular traditions of India and celebrates the spirit of brotherhood.

The Prime Minister wished joy, peace and prosperity to all on this occasion.

Ganesh Chaturthi for years was a personal and private affair. But at the turn of the century, freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started using it as a platform for political propaganda against British colonial rule.

The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath.

Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode.

When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods. (ANI)