Gandhi follower Prez Obama bags Nobel Prize

Prominent followers in the recent past have been Nelson Mandela,Aung San Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama.

Obama,the first African American president of the United States,has been an avid admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. Only recently he told a group of students he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi.

The Father of the nation Gandhis contribution and influence in the rise of Obama is being acknowledged too.

I surely believe without (Mahatma) Gandhi – without Gandhi in India – there would be no Barack Obama as president of the United States, said Congressman John Lewis,and an eminent American civil rights leader,at a Capitol Hill event Wednesday,held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit of Martin Luther King Jr to India.

Martin Luther King Jr,whom Obama considers as his ideal,had termed his trip to India 50 years ago as a pilgrimage to the land of Mahatma Gandhi.

In several interviews and speeches in the last few years,Obama himself has acknowledged the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in his rise and his true believe in the philosophy and preachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

On the eve of Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary early this month,Obama issued a statement to express appreciation for the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi.

This is an important moment to reflect on his message of non-violence,which continues to inspire people and political movements across the globe, he said.

Stating that Americans owe an enormous measure of gratitude to the Mahatma,Obama said,His teachings and ideals,shared with Dr Martin Luther King Jr on his 1959 pilgrimage to India,transformed American society through our civil rights movement. The America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi and the non-violent social action movement for Indian independence which he led,Obama had said.

As we remember the Mahatma on his birthday,we must renew our commitment to live his ideals and to celebrate the dignity of all human beings, said the US President.

In my life,I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration,because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things, Obama wrote in an article in the ethnic India Abroad newspaper last year.

That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate office; to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington,they will come from the people, Obama had said.

Not only Obama,time and again several world leaders,who have followed the ideal of Mahatma Gandhi,have been awarded with the Nobel Peace prize.