Gandhiji made it possible: Obama

NEW DELHI: Overwhelmed with the Mahatma memorabilia, Barack Obama on Monday told the Indian Parliament, had it not been for Gandhiji and Gandhiji’s inspirational philosophy, he would not have become the President of the US.

Standing below the Mahatma portrait in the Central Hall, Obama paid the ultimate tribute: “I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world.”

It took the first African-American President to revive the memory of the legacy and make the connection. Giving a personal pilgrim’s tale, Obama said, he was moved by his visit to Mani Bhavan- Gandhiji’s residence in Mumbai- where Martin Luther King had stayed during his visit.

“Just as he (Gandhiji) summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young Martin Luther King,” Obama said.

Almost reminding the present-day India of the ‘moral imagination’ that originated from this country and inspired millions across the world to live lives of dignity, Obama said, Gandhiji’s “message of love and justice endures”.