On the 154th birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi, the man who compelled the British Empire to bow down and depart from India, his character remains a source of inspiration for millions, even seventy years after his
assassination in 1948.
Sputnik India spoke to some experts to find out what makes Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the erstwhile lawyer, a global icon and an eternal inspiration to people across caste, colour, creed and individual lifestyles.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, the journalist, writer and playwright known for his biography 'Narendra Modi, the man, the times', believes that Gandhi was "somebody who could identify with the commonest people, the fact that he was very open to reason... and he was seen by people as a kind of fatherly figure".
Nilanjan argues that the world today is riddled with 'hatred' and that is why Gandhi's ideas are still relevant.
"We have to decide whether we are going to believe what Gandhi preached and practiced or are we going to just pay lip service to him," Nilanjan concluded.
Dr. Sheetal Sharma, an expert on Culture and Society in Europe and diaspora studies, talked of how Gandhi’s legacy has facilitated India’s global standing in the modern time.
She believes Gandhi's values and ideas are eternal. Despite being regarded as an icon of the previous century, his principles of non-violence, truth, sacrifice, and the promotion of human dignity remain incredibly important in the 21st century.
According to the academic, Gandhi's values of non-violence, non-discrimination, equality, respect for everybody, integrity, and truthfulness are not ''fundamental and extremely important''. He suggests that these values are upheld and propagated by all religions throughout civilizations.
India, to some extent, has successfully incorporated these values into its foreign
policy practices on a global scale, according to her observations.
Dr. Sheetal emphasized that India has shown a kind of compassion towards the
global south, towards the developing countries, helping them in times of crisis and playing a leadership role by using ideals of democracy, equality and representation.
She believes that India will continue to be a global leader and will be accepted as a global leader. And its position will grow stronger day by day. "Because we (India) don't do diplomacy just on the basis of interests, but on the basis of values that are truly Gandhian in nature."