The Gandhis

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

I admire Mahatma Gandhi

For his nonviolence strategy

Leading India to liberty

He shunned personal glory.

(Statue of Mahatama Gandhi in Washington D.C.)

He gave his name to Indira

When she married an outsider

Feroz Gandhi was her husband

Indira Gandhi became a legend.

(Jawahalal Nehru and Mahatama Gandhi, The Apostle of Nonviolence)

Nehru was the first Indian premier

His daughter stepped in later

When she was brutally murdered

Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her.

(Indira Gandhi)

Rajiv married a non-Hindu Italian

She became a naturalized Indian

Sonia led the Congress Party to success

She did it for the Indian people to redress.

(Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi)

So what we learned from the Gandhis?

Gandhi is magic word for Hindu country

Indians would follow the lead of Gandhi;

(Sonia Gandhi, President of The Congress Party, India)

Whether Indian or Italian or Persi

What’s important is the leader’s ability

He or she must sacrifice for the country.

(Martin Luther King Jr., Follower of Gandhism)

The word Gandhi always excites me

As the image of nonviolence and liberty

Transcending race, religion and ideology

Gandhism leads Nelson Mandela and Suu Kyi

(Nelson Mandela, First President of South Africa and Its ANC)

I’m encouraged by its prowess and potency

Is marriage to a foreigner a hindrance?

I would say it’s irrelevant as the Gandhis are evidence.

(Aung San Suu Kyi Speaking at a Rally; She Espouses Gandhism)

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

13.03.2009 (original)