Netanyahu describes Gandhi as 'humanity's great prophet'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today described Mahatma Gandhi as one of the great prophets of humanity.

Netanyahu arrived here this morning and held a grand roadshow along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before visiting the Sabarmati Ashram, the abode of Mahatma Gandhi for a long time.

In a four-line message jointly signed by Netanyahu and his wife Sara in the visitor's log book at the ashram, the Israeli dignitaries said their "visit was inspiring".

"An inspiring visit to the hearth of one of humanity's great prophets of inspiration- Mahatma Gandhi-," Netanyahu wrote in the book.

Earlier, the Israeli PM and his wife spent around 20 minutes in the ashram premises, where they visited 'Hriday Kunj', the home of Mahatma Gandhi.

The two dignitaries also tried their hands at the 'charkha', the hand spinning wheel which was emblematic of India's quest for self-reliance during the freedom struggle.

They also flew kites for a couple of minutes, as their visit comes just a few days after 'Uttarayana' (or Makar Sankranti), the Gujarat's popular kite festival.

Gandhi had spent a large part of his life in the Sabarmati Ashram after he returned to India from South Africa to lead India's non-violent freedom struggle.

He left the ashram in 1930 when he took out the Dandi March from here, with a vow not to return to the place till India got Independence.