He was the Father of the Nation in India. He was none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, affectionately known as Mahatma Gandhi or simply Gandhi. He was born on Oct. 2, 1869.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently that Gandhi did not belong to India alone. He belonged to the world. His teachings about non-violence, truth, peace, love, compassion, Satyagraha, harmony, tolerance unity in diversity have inspired many leaders, including the greatest leaders of the 20th century like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, across the globe.

Even in Indonesia, both founding fathers Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta were inspired by Gandhi’s teachings. Former President Abdurrahman Wahid declared that Gandhi was his role model.

With a main objective to raise awareness among friends of India in Indonesia about the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and their utility in bringing about world peace, The Jakarta Post, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta and the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) jointly organized a webinar on Oct. 1.

The webinar, titled “Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha and the path to world peace”, featured three prominent speakers from India and Indonesia. The webinar was organized as the concluding event of the two-year-long celebrations of what would have been Gandhi’s 150th birthday.

All the speakers emphasized that Gandhi and his teachings were not only important but also very much relevant in the 21st century. Since lack of mutual trust, hatred, violence, inequalities and intolerance have been plaguing our world, Satyagraha (firmness to uphold truth) is one of the best ways to achieve peace in the world.

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