Spirit of Gandhi very much alive in India today: Obama

US President Barack Obama, who will be the chief guest at India's 66th Republic Day parade, said Sunday that the "spirit of (Mahatma) Gandhi is very much alive in India today".

"What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said then remains true today - the spirit of Gandhi is very much alive in India today. And it remains a great gift to the world. May we always live in his spirit of love and peace - among all people and nations," he wrote in the visitors book at the Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat.

Obama, who is here on a three-day visit, has often invoked the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and described him as an "inspirational figure".

The US president was presented a bust of Father of the Nation, a charkha, a scroll made of khadi which had the seven social sins printed on it and three books which include Gandhi's autobiography "The Story of My Experiments With Truth.

"We presented him a Gandhi bust, charkha, a scroll made of khadi which has the seven social sins printed on it, khadi vastra and three books which include Gandhi's autobiography, Mind of Mahatma Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi 100 years," Rajnish Kumar, secretary, Rajghat Samadhi, told IANS.

This is Obama's second visit to Rajghat. During his previous India visit in November 2010 too, he had visited the memorial.

On his last visit Nov 8,2010, Obama, in the guest book had written: "We will always remember the great soul who changed the world with his message of peace, tolerance and love. More than 60 years after his passing, his light continues to inspire the world."