Images of Mahatma Gandhi and some of his best-known sayings — among them, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” — were projected on to a giant screen in London’s Piccadilly Circus on Gandhi Jayanti on Tuesday.
Departing Indian high commissioner Yash Sinha stood in front of the statue of Eros, a gathering point for young people from all over the world, and explained: “This is part of the start of his 150th anniversary celebrations.”
Indian high commissions and embassies are holding similar events all over the world.
“I pass by Piccadilly Circus every day and there could not be a more iconic spot. The projection is from noon to 1pm — normally they show ads here. We will have thousands of footfalls from tourists. Mahatma Gandhi’s message is a universal one and is being taken all over the world,” Sinha said.
He said the images and sayings would be projected onto the facade of India House in the Aldwych in the evening.
A couple from Mexico, who spoke no English, took selfies with the images of Gandhi in the background.
A woman leading a group of boys and girls from abroad briefly explained the significance of Gandhi to her group before moving off.
Red London double-decker buses circled Piccadilly Circus as usual. Gandhi, who loved London, would have been pleased.
The images and Gandhi quotations were prepared by the external affairs ministry.
It is remarkable how relevant the Mahatma’s sayings are to the concerns and politics of young people in the West, especially on issues like sustainable development and non-violence.
For example, the green lobby in Britain would certainly subscribe to Gandhi’s view: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”
Another saying popular in Britain is: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
This was recently quoted to The Telegraph by assistant commissioner Neil Basu, the number three at Scotland Yard and Britain’s head of counter-terrorism.
There were several timely messages on non-violence and terrorism: “Terrorism and deception are not the weapons of the strong but of the weak”; “Strength comes not from physical capacity, it comes from an indomitable will”; and “Non-violence is the virtue of the strong”.
A new book on viceroys makes the point that the Mahatma certainly irritated a succession of British rulers with his indomitable will.