‘The world bows to you, beloved Bapu!’: PM Modi' touching Ode to Mahatma Gandhi in column for NYT
New Delhi, Oct 02: As nation paid tribute to Mahathma Gandhiji on his 150th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a touching ode to the 'Father of Nation' in the New York Times.
In an opinion piece published in 'The New York Times', PM Modi proposed the "Einstein Challenge" to ensure that ideals of the Mahatma are remembered by future generations.
"As a tribute to Gandhi, I propose what I call the Einstein Challenge. We know Albert Einstein's famous words on Gandhi: 'Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth'... I invite thinkers, entrepreneurs and tech leaders to be at the forefront of spreading Gandhi's ideas through innovation," Modi wrote in The New York Times.
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"In Gandhi, we have the best teacher to guide us. From uniting those who believe in humanity to furthering sustainable development and ensuring economic self-reliance, Gandhi offers solutions to every problem," the prime minister wrote.
Titled 'Why India and the World Need Gandhi', the article mentions how Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela followed Mahatma Gandhi's observations to carry forward mass movements in their respective countries.
"To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim," PM Modi cites Martin Luther King Jr's remark on his trip to India. "The guiding light whose inspiration got Dr. King to India was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Mahatma, the Great Soul," he adds.
"For Mr. Mandela, Gandhi was Indian and South African. Gandhi would have approved. He had the unique ability to become a bridge between some of the greatest contradictions in human society," Modi wrote in his piece for the reknowned international newspaper.
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"And Gandhi combined ordinary objects with mass politics. Who else could have used a charkha, a spinning wheel, and khadi, Indian homespun cloth, as symbols of economic self-reliance and empowerment for a nation?" the PM highlighted Mahatma Gandhi's unique ability to connect ordinary objects with mass politics.