New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in an interview that nobody knew Mahatma Gandhi— the Father of the Nation — in post-colonial India until British director Richard Attenborough's Academy Award-winning 1982 magnum opus 'Gandhi' was released.
He took a dig at the previous Congress-led governments for "not promoting" Gandhi the way he deserved. "Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul. Wasn't it our responsibility to get him that level of global recognition during the last 75 years? Nobody knew, please excuse me on this. The first time, when the Gandhi film was made (1982), the world got curious about who he might be. We didn't do the needful…If the world knew Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi was no less than them and you have to accept that. I am saying this after travelling the world that Gandhi and through him, India should have been recognised…," Modi said in an interview to a TV channel.
Modi also pointed out that if Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela had been well-known figures worldwide, India should have made attempts to make Gandhi a world-renowned figure. "Main duniya ghumne k baad ye kehe raha hoon, ki Gandhi ko tawajjo milni chahiye thi (After going around the world, I am saying that Mahatma Gandhi should have been made the focus of attention). PM Modi, however, also claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had the 'solution to several problems in India'.
Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a powerful political figure who is remembered throughout history as a representative of nonviolence and peace. He is one of the most well-known individuals who have spearheaded the Indian independence struggle.
