Hi Lilian,
What I wanted to say is loud and clear :
That we must never give up, assuming that we are not intelligent enough, or
if we've been bestowed with brilliance, we must not treat others, with lower
IQ, as lesser humans.
This is what Mahatma Gandhi taught us, an average man in all walks of life :
*Albert Einstein on Gandhi:*
"Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this
ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth".
*Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Gandhi:*
"........If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought,
acted and inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of
peace and harmony.............."
" Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics. "
*-- **Martin Luther King Jr, 1955*
Gandhi influenced important leaders and political movements. Leaders of
the civil rights movement in the United States, including *Martin Luther
King* and* James Lawson*, drew from the writings of Gandhi in the
development of their own theories about non-violence.
Anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa, *Nelson
Mandela*, was inspired by Gandhi. Others include *Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan*,
*Steve Biko, Aung San Suu Kyi *and Philippine opposition leader during the
dictatorship of *Ferdinand Marcos, Benigno Aquino, Jr.*
Gandhi's life and teachings inspired many who specifically referred to
Gandhi as their mentor or who dedicated their lives to spreading Gandhi's
ideas. In Europe, *Romain Rolland* was the first to discuss Gandhi in his
1924 book Mahatma Gandhi, and Brazilian anarchist and feminist *Maria
Lacerda de Moura* wrote about Gandhi in her work on pacifism.
Lanza del Vasto went to India in 1936 intending to live with Gandhi; he
later returned to Europe to spread Gandhi's philosophy and founded the
Community of the Ark in 1948 (modeled after Gandhi's ashrams). *Madeleine
Slade* (known as "*Mirabehn*") was the daughter of a British admiral who
spent much of her adult life in India as a devotee of Gandhi.
In addition, the British musician *John Lennon* referred to Gandhi when
discussing his views on non-violence.
At the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in 2007, *former U.S.
Vice-President and environmentalist Al Gore* spoke of Gandhi's influence on
him.
Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. Gandhi was also the
runner-up to *Albert Einstein* as "Person of the Century" at the end of
1999.
Time Magazine named The *Dalai Lama, Lech Wałęsa, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., Cesar Chavez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Benigno Aquino, Jr., Desmond Tutu*, and
*Nelson Mandela* as Children of Gandhi and his spiritual heirs to
non-violence.
The Government of India awards the annual Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize to
distinguished social workers, world leaders and citizens. Nelson Mandela,
the leader of South Africa's struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and
segregation, is a prominent *non-Indian recipient*.
In 1996, the Government of India introduced the Mahatma Gandhi series of
currency notes in rupees 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 denomination.
Today, all the currency notes in circulation in India contain a portrait of
Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1969, the *United Kingdom* issued a series of stamps commemorating the
centenary of Mahatma Gandhi.
In the United Kingdom, there are several prominent statues of Gandhi, most
notably in Tavistock Square, London near University College London where he
studied law. 30 January is commemorated in the United Kingdom as the *"National
Gandhi Remembrance Day."*
In the *United States*, there are statues of Gandhi outside the Union Square
Park in New York City, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic
Site in Atlanta, and on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., near the
Indian Embassy. The city of *Pietermaritzburg, South Africa* -- where Gandhi
was ejected from a first-class train in 1893--now hosts a commemorative
statue.
There are wax statues of Gandhi at the *Madame Tussaud's* wax museums in
London, New York, and other cities around the world.
Gandhi never received the *Nobel Peace Prize*, although he was nominated
five times between 1937 and 1948, including the first-ever nomination by the
*American Friends Service Committee.*
Decades later, the Nobel Committee publicly declared its *regret* for the
omission, and admitted to deeply divided nationalistic opinion denying the
award. Mahatma Gandhi was to receive the Prize in 1948, but his
assassination prevented the award. The war breaking out between the newly
created states of India and Pakistan could have been an additional
complicating factor that year.
The Prize was *not awarded* in 1948, the year of Gandhi's death, on the
grounds that "there was no suitable living candidate" that year, and when
the *Dalai Lama* was awarded the Prize in 1989, the chairman of the
committee said that this was* "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma
Gandhi."*
On *30 January* every year, on the anniversary of the death of Mahatma
Gandhi, in schools of many countries is observed the School *Day of
Non-violence and Peace (DENIP)*, founded in *Spain* in 1964. In countries
with a *Southern Hemisphere school calendar*, it can be observed on 30 March
or thereabouts.
* * * * * * * **
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