India’s new High Commissioner leads Gandhi tributes in UK

London: India’s new High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, on Sunday led Gandhi Jayanti tributes on the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in London, the city which he noted was where Gandhiji’s “story began” as an apostle of peace and non-violence. At a ceremony bringing together members of the Indian diaspora, parliamentarians and community leaders at a historic statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Tavistock Square, the High Commissioner noted that the commemoration of October 2 as the United Nations’ International Day of NonViolence is testament to the enduring universal message and legacy of Bapu’s message. “My life is my message; in those few words he carried a wealth of wisdom,” said Doraiswami, in his address. “His life was one that was lived in simplicity, in strife and in an effort to bring out from each of us the best that we could be the more we engage with it, the more we realise that his message contained a wisdom and a value that remains universal,” he said. The ceremony concluded with a Buddhist prayer for peace, conducted by monks at the foot of the bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, famously seated in prayer and meditation.