On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 154th birth anniversary on Monday, commemorations were seen in different parts of the world, including countries like the United Kingdom, France and Israel.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi played an influential role in India's freedom movement and has become a global peace icon. Many world leaders have idolised Gandhi's ideals of peaceful resistance and non-violence.
Also fondly called 'Bapu', Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, and devoted most of his life working for the dignity and equality of all people.
United States
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti commemorated Gandhi's birth anniversary, saying that his message of non-violence is a beacon of equality and justice worldwide.
"On Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, I'm deeply moved by his enduring legacy. His message of non-violence remains a beacon of hope for equality and justice worldwide. Gandhi's profound influence on Dr. Martin Luther King and the U.S. civil rights movement reminds us of the power of his ideals," he posted on platform X.
United Kingdom
On the occasion of Gandhi's birth anniversary, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Maharashtra Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar gathered with deputy mayor of Camden and British MPs at Tavistock Square to pay floral tributes to the icon.
Bapu was also remembered alongside his statue at the Gandhi Memorial Trust at Parliament Square, which was visited by several school students.
Israel
Naor Gilon, Israel's Ambassador to India, posted four images related to Gandhi taken during his tenure. He recalled how former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion admired Gandhi's non-violence philosophy, even though it was "unfortunately not doable in our case".
"On #GandhiJayanti2023, 4 photos connected to Gandhi during my 2 years in #IncredibleIndia. Bottom right is Gandhi’s picture hanging in the house of our first PM, David Ben-Gurion. He admired Gandhi even when Non-violence philosophy was unfortunately not doable in our case," tweeted Gilon.
France
To commemorate Bapu's birth anniversary, French Ambassador-designate to India Thierry Mathou and everyone at the Embassy paid tributes to the global peace icon and his values of tolerance and non-violence.
"Gandhiji is deeply admired in France, as reflected in statues in Strasbourg and Vauréal," said the French embassy in India in a post.
Japan
Japanese Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki paid an unusual tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birthday by posting a video of him using a spinning wheel, also called charkha in India. The wheel is a symbol of economic liberty for India in its struggle for independence.
"My most sincere homage to Mahatma Gandhi ji on Gandhi Jayanti," he captioned the video on X.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also commemorated the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and recalled his wise counsel to reach "unity in diversity". He called on all to pay heed to Bapu's words and re-commit to this essential purpose.
Dennis Francis, the president of the 78th session of UN General Assembly, also hailed Gandhi as a beacon of peace and non-violence. "Let us embrace Gandhi’s message and invest in peace; this is an investment in our collective prosperity," he said.
World leaders paid homage to Gandhi during G20 Summit
During the G20 Summit held in New Delhi earlier last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed several eminent world leaders, including his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden, at Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
He welcomed the leaders with an 'angvastram' or Khadi stole with an image of Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat. He explained that the Sabarmati Ashram was Gandhiji's home from 1917 to 1930 as he played an important role in India's independence movement.
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