Note: This video article was published first in January 2020, after the government announced the decision to drop Abide With Me from the Beating Retreat ceremony. The decision was scuttled in 2020 and the hymn was played that year and in 2021. In 2022, it was reported that it is being dropped. This article is being republished on January 23, 2022.
Today, January 30, is the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. This year, the government decided to drop Abide With Me, Gandhi’s favourite hymn, which was always played by the Army band at the end of the Beating Retreat ceremony, as the sun went down.
The hymn was restored after a public outcry. Here, noted singer T.M. Krishna sings Abide With Me, in the spirit of Gandhi, and to celebrate not just tradition but also India’s diversity.