Adams emphasized that people must become the practitioners of Gandhi’s philosophy at the flag-raising ceremony on Indian Independence Day
Our Bureau
New York City, NY
Had he been alive today, Mahatma Gandhi would have worked on issues of migrant seekers, gun violence, homelessness, and illegal drugs, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said. He underlined the Gandhian philosophy and the wish to be like the revered Indian leader while calling on individuals to practice the teachings and philosophy of the peace icon.
The Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, with Deputy Consul General Dr Varun Jeph were the guests of honor. Mr. Jaiswal appreciated the Mayor for his commitment to building a strong bond between India and Indians. He reiterated the growth story of India in all walks of life on the occasion.
“When I was in India, I saw the footprints that were placed inside the walkway of our leader, Gandhi’s last few steps before he was assassinated. And it was a symbol that the bullet may have taken away our leader physically, but spiritually, we must continue those footprints,” Adams said at a flag-raising ceremony here Tuesday to mark India’s 77th Independence Day.
“If Gandhi was alive today, he would be with the migrant seekers. He would state that we have an obligation to provide a level of humanitarian action,” he said.
“If Gandhi was here with us today, he would be walking in the streets dealing with the over-proliferation of gun violence…he would be dealing with homelessness…he would be with those who are using illegal drugs…he would be with our seniors, so we don’t have such a high level of suicidal thoughts and suicidal actions,” the mayor continued.
“We cannot only worship Gandhi. We must practice Gandhi. We need to be Gandhi-like, and we need to continue the steps that he started. If we don’t continue the steps, then the bullet took away the dream and the vision of Gandhi. Dr. King continued those steps,” Adams pointed out referring to American civil rights hero Martin Luther King.
Calling on people to follow his steps, he said, “I’m Gandhi-like. I think like Gandhi. I act like Gandhi. I want to be like Gandhi…Go read the Vedas. Go read your early writings. Go read your early thoughts on science. It’s all the rich tradition of the Indian community. I wanted to be the modern-day Ramayana and say that we can lead against the forces of evil and take us to the next direction on who we are.”
Adams was joined by New York State Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar, Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan, Commissioners Dr. Vasan, Mr. Gupta, and others for the flag-raising ceremony in Lower Manhattan, along with Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs as well as important members of the Indian-American community including the President of the Indian Cultural Association of North America and convenor of Overseas Friends of BJP in New York, Sivadasan Nair, and cancer scientist Jayasree Nair.
