Indian archbishop remembers Gandhi on International Day of Nonviolence

(October 03, 2011) As the world marked the International Day of Nonviolence on Sunday, on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian Catholic Church leader regretted that Indians were tending to forget the great apostle of non-violence at a time when the world was beginning to take greater interest in him and his message. Archbishop Thomas Menamparambil of Guwahati made the remark on Sunday in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in an address to a gathering on the occasion of the 142nd birth anniversary of the founder of the Indian nation. The Salesian prelate said Mahatma Gandhi was a great spokesperson of our civilisation, whom India cannot forget. He gave the message of non-violence to the world. “The Mahatma knew how to respect differences of opinion, party affiliation, regional interests, different communities whether it be religious or cultural,” said Archbishop Menamparampil, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his initiatives to bring peace among ethnic communities of the North-east. Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, the grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi and the Vice-Chairperson of ‘Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti’, Delhi, had specially invited the archbishop for the October 2 event. Later at an all-religion prayer meeting at Gandhi Smriti, the 74-year-old archbishop presented Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his latest book on becoming agents of togetherness.