US Capitol celebrates 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Washington [USA], Nov 29(ANI): Eminent lawmakers of the United States lawmakers and Indian-Americans on Tuesday came forward to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Capitol Hill.
Addressing an illustrious gathering comprising US lawmakers and Indian diaspora at the Indian Embassy here, Ambassador to the United States Navtej Singh Sarna said, "Whoever is a visionary and is looking forward to creating a society or correcting the wrongs of a society would take inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi whose entire life as he himself mentioned was his own message."
"My life is my message," Sarna reiterated the words of the Father of the Nation at the event.
"Everything that he said, everything that he wrote, everything that he showed in personal example was based on certain values, beliefs and rock-hard discipline that would further not let him depart from those values and beliefs," Sarna further said in his speech.
"We know him as the Father of the Nation. We know him as the person who led India's epic freedom struggle against colonialism and actually got us freedom."
In the praise of Mahatma, the Ambassador further said that he was among those rare human beings who had lived his life according to his own standards that he himself discovered and made sure he stuck to that. And when he couldn't, he repented.
Sarna also talked of his influence on the people all around the world, including Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, and Vaclav Havel. Sarna said that when Martin Luther King Jr went to India as a pilgrim whereas to other places he went as a tourist.
US representative for Illinois Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was also present at the event, recalled the profound influence of Mahatma Gandhi on Martin Luther King Jr who played a key role in the American civil rights.
Krishnamoorthi said that without that the civil rights movement, the racial barrier which held back so many people in the country would not have broken down and the people who looked different than the others could not have come to the fore.
"Our horizons and perspectives have widened substantially because of this man and now it is up to us to take advantage of those opportunities and set up and get even more involved for the sake of our country and our world," Krishnamoorthi added. (ANI)