Gandhi, Mandela inspirations for generations to come: Prabhu

Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela became legends in their lifetimes and will be inspiration for generations to come, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said at the inauguration of the first India-South Africa Business Summit.

Prabhu is leading a high level business delegation to Johannesburg to participate in the two-day summit from April 29-30.

"Both (Gandhi and Mandela) have been inspiring many people across the world. Can both these leaders' ideologies not be made into a lifestyle which people actually live out? Many of the problems that we face in the world today -- so much of the confrontation and tension -- can be resolved if we follow the philosophy of these two great leaders," Prabhu said at the summit yesterday.

He said it would be a real "great tribute" to the two leaders if "we follow their philosophies."
Noting that the years 2018 and 2019 are the birth centenary and 150th anniversary of Mandela and Gandhi respectively, Prabhu said: "Mandela was born 49 years after Gandhi. He always used to say that he was inspired by Gandhi, but Gandhi was born as a struggler (against oppression) in South Africa."