Swabhiman Parva begins at Somnath Temple in GujaraT

The four-day-long 'Somnath Swabhiman Parva' began on Thursday at the historic Somnath Temple near Veraval town of Gujarat's Gir Somnath district in the presence of State and Central ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will embark on a three-day visit to Gujarat beginning January 10, will offer prayers at the Somnath temple on January 11 and lead the ‘Shaurya Yatra', a one-km-long roadshow featuring 108 horses, as part of the ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv', as per officials. The Swabhiman Parv is being celebrated to mark the resilience of Indian civilisation, symbolised by the rebuilding of the Somnath Temple, which was repeatedly ravaged by foreign invaders beginning with Mahmud of Ghazni's attack nearly 1,000 years ago.