Stressing that Gandhian way was a real, live option for ending conflicts
and inequalities around the world, Indian External Affairs Minister
S.M. Krishna hoped Gandhian truth and action would be embraced by all.
Presiding
over a special event hosted by the Permanent Mission of India to United
Nations to commemorate the International Day of Non Violence Tuesday,
he also expressed the hope that leading global multilateral fora, such
as the United Nations, would continue to be among its torchbearers.
Delivering
the keynote address, P A Nazareth, author of "Gandhi's Outstanding
Leadership", cited the transformation that inspired Mahatma Gandhi
following his experiences in South Africa while taking on the British
Empire, which he most successfully did, just by the sheer power of
'truth force'.
Recalling Gandhiji's message to the United
Nations, he called on all members of the UN, especially the P5, to "shed
their belief in the efficacy of war and its accompanying terrible
deception and fraud".
Welcoming the gathering, Hardeep Singh
Puri, Permanent Representative of India to UN underscored the increasing
relevance for Gandhian ideals by citing the high number of references
made to Mahatma Gandhi during the ongoing high level debate during the
67th UN General Assembly session.
President Barack Obama in his
address to the UN, he recalled, had said : "It is time to heed the words
of Gandhi: 'Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to
the growth of a true democratic spirit'."
The President of the
General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic, urged the international community to
"keep trying to think and act like the Mahatma - and to apply the
philosophy of non violence to the decisions we make".
The UN
General Assembly had in June 2007 adopted a resolution with a record
number of 143 co-sponsors declaring Oct 2, birthday of Mahatma Gandhi,
as International Day of Non Violence.
Gandhism real option to end conflicts: India
