Embassy of India

ABIDJAN - COTE D'IVOIRE

Hon'ble Foreign Minister of Liberia, Minister of Post & Telecommunications, Deputy Ministers, My colleague Hon. Consul General of India, senior officials from the government and my dear friends. Thank you for taking out your time to come and participate at the release of Postage Stamp of Mahatma Gandhi produced by the Liberian Government  on the occasion  of his 150th birth anniversary. 

At the out set let me take this opportunity to express the appreciation of the people and the government of India to the Liberian government and Ministry of Post and communications for working together with India in bringing out the commemorative postage stamp as part of the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi's 150 birth anniversary. I thanked Mr Upajit Singh, who you all lovingly called him Jeety for taking great efforts to cement India-Liberia bilateral relations and cooperation. 

Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology played a vital role in India's independence and India recognised him as the Father of the Nation. Mahatma Gandhi was an exceptional leader, a person who stood up & practice on what he believed and lived as he preached. Mahatma Gandhi was a champion in the fight against inequality and oppression. He was a devout Hindu but advocated equal respects and appreciations for all faiths. He believed in unity of all peoples and all religions and devoted his life towards uniting people across ethnic and religious lines. 

Gandhi's life and message has influenced and inspired many world leaders and continued to do so. His philosophy  for humanity, equality, justice and non-violence gained global recognition. In this context, in the year 2007, the United Nation declared  Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, the 2nd of October,  as the International Day of Non-Violence, and is today celebrated all over the world.

Gandhi’s teachings also reminds us to be the changed you want to see in the world. He strongly believed and practiced that all human being has the capability to change his own world. In this regard, he emphasized  the correct means, for example for peaceful end means has to be non-violence, compassionate and understanding.

The relevance of his message today is even more as we see around us many cases violence and conflicts, that  persists along the political religious and ethnic lines in various part of the world. In this time of uncertainty and disruption, the celebration of Gandhi’s birthday is a reminder of the continued relevance of his teachings and of their outmost importance all over the world.

Coming together and bringing out this commemorative stamp of Mahatma Gandhi in this part of the world is to re-emphasise the relevance of his message and need to retrospect ourselves for our future course of action.

Thank you four patient hearing.