20 Sep, Jyoti Tewari :Mayor of Canada’s capital Ottawa is forwarding to City’s Street Naming Committee the request of Gandhi Monument Council to name one of Ottawa’s major streets after peace icon Mahatma Gandhi.
Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. and Rajan Zed, coordinators of Gandhi Monument Council (GMC) headquartered in USA, who made this request in a communiqué to the City of Ottawa, said that they would prefer the name of this proposed street to be “Mahatma Gandhi Marg” (marg means path). While Savoy is Head Bishop of International Community of Christ, Zed is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism.
Mayor Larry O’Brien, in his reply to GMC’s request, also informed that Ottawa City Council just passed a resolution that he fully supported, to raise a statue of Gandhi in a downtown park near Ottawa River. Zed and Savoy have applauded Mayor O’Brien, Ottawa City Council and citizens of Ottawa for honoring the Mahatma.
The Gandhi Monument Council is formed of Christian (various denominations), Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i, Native American, etc., clergy. According to Zed and Savoy, the purpose of this Council is to commemorate Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, his commitment to world peace, and his work for the upliftment of the downtrodden.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. His life and thought had an enormous impact on the world, and he continues to be widely revered as one of the greatest moral, political, and peace leaders of the twentieth century.
Vibrant city of Ottawa, dominated by neo-Gothic Parliament Buildings, is one of the world’s top five sites for R&D and is home to Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.