Mahatma Gandhi Sesquicentennial Birth Anniversary Celebrations Committee 2019-2020 organised a commemorative book launch ceremony of Lasting Legacy of Gandhi by Ma Santosh Kumar. Kumar is the Founding Executive Director of Metropolitan Asian Family Services, Chicago USA and is known as Mother Teressa of Chicago.
The book talks about Mahatma Gandhi as a rare leader. Motivated by his great ideals of truth and non-violence to the core, the author goes on to disclose how Gandhi was not a glorious chapter from history but a living ideal, a lighthouse for dissemination of the brightest values in the life of a nation that was ruled over by the Britishers for over 190 years.
He was an inexhaustible source of inspiration, path-breaking leadership, optimism and positivism for his countrymen. He had a leadership style of his own by which he led his followers and masses of countrymen by example and not by force. He motivated them to join his struggle against British colonisation willingly and with choice without exerting pressure on them. As an indisputable leader and a man of first principles, he made satyagraha a new way and technique of confronting the law and fighting the British in non-violent and polite way.
“We have forgotten of our culture where we have to take care of older generation. As the young generation is generally busy in handling finances, it was the older generation which used to instill cultural values in children and this trend is waning. The chain has been broken where our traditions were passed on to the newer generation and now the young ones are adopting Western Culture. This is not bad, but young generation is not taking good things from them,” said Kumar.
Aligning with her views, the chief guest on the occasion, Rajya Sabha MP K J Alphons (IAS Retd). Others present on the occasion included Dr (Lt General) Ved Chaturvedi, Adarsh Shastri, MLA of Delhi Legislative Assembly; Lalitha Kumarmangalam, Director India Foundation; Dr Parvez Hayat, Chairman Organizing Committee; Dr Vijay Prabhakar, Chairman The Global Eye.
In a nutshell
The book talks about Mahatma Gandhi as a rare leader. Motivated by his ideals of truth and non violence, the author goes on to disclose how Gandhi was a lighthouse disseminating the bright values in the life of a nation that was ruled over by the Britishers for over 190 years.