Following a half-a-dozen attempts on Mahatma Gandhi's life, beginning 1917 he was shot dead 1/30/1948. It was 5.17 PM in Delhi.
There were plots to poison him, and to assassinate him with a bomb explosion or gunfire. Mahatma Gandhi survived until Nathuram Godse, guided by fanatic passion, pumped bullets in his chest and stomach at Birla temple following his final prayer and meditation.
Gandhi is not only a historical figure. His visionary ideas and values, including his concern for justice and social transformation, continue to resonate today.
Many of his ideas prefigured the concept of sustainable development including his view that “poverty is the worst form of violence”. His belief that societies should be judged on their record of uplifting the most vulnerable holds important lessons for today’s leaders.
He renamed those considered “untouchable” as “Harijan” or “Children of God”, and considered the campaign against caste discrimination to be as important as the struggle against colonialism.
“There are few people in history who are so aligned with the goals and values of the United Nations as Mahatma Gandhi."
-- UN Secretary-General António Guterres as new Mahatma Gandhi monument is unveiled at United Nations Headquarters in NYC.
"His visionary ideas and values, including his concern for justice and social transformation, continue to resonate today.”