The Gandhi Jayanti celebrations this year are a wonderful occasion for India and the entire world, as we come together to pay tribute to the extraordinary life and teachings of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and to rededicate ourselves to the values of peace, tolerance and non-violence.
Gandhi rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential persons in human history. He is revered not just because of his words, but because of his ability as a leader to empower those around him.
Through his works, his prayers and the force of his character and personality, Gandhi helped India gain its independence from British Colonial rule. His nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance helped Indians gain control of their future and lay the groundwork for peace and basic human rights in his country—and it has inspired peaceful, democratic movements of people around the world.
His humility was reflected in him in totality. Gandhi was often dressed in cloth that he spun himself. He was imprisoned several times and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, those who had long been deemed unworthy in Indian society. He showed them compassion, upheld their human dignity and gave them hope that change was possible.
Fiji joins the rest of the world in its gratitude for the life, teachings and values of Gandhi. Tolerance of all religions, all ethnicities and all people are enshrined in the Fijian Constitution, and we must practice it. For Gandhi taught us that ideals must be lived, or they may be swept away. He has taught us that there can be no progress without collaboration of all people, and none must be excluded or overlooked.
Fiji is a multiracial country, and like many countries, we have struggled with what it means to be one nation of many different kinds of people. We have struggled with discrimination and even violence over our history. But we have learned that being Fijian is a source of unity, that our identity as Fijians helps all of us achieve far more together, as a united people. But it is because of the teachings of leaders like Gandhi and those he inspired, like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, that we know that there is always opportunity for peace and progress.
I would like to ask all people to reflect on the simple concept often attributed to Gandhi – that we must be the change that we want to see in this world. That we must seek out opportunity for growth by shaping the world we live in, through our own actions.
On behalf of Fiji and its people, I wish the people of India and the India Government a very happy anniversary.
Dhanyavaad