Modi’s recent remark about Gandhi’s renown, or in his mind, lack thereof, has shocked the whole world. While giving an interview with the news channel ABP on Tuesday, Modi made the following statement:

‘Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul in the world. In these 75 years, was it not our responsibility to inform the world about Mahatma Gandhi? No one knew about him. Forgive me, but the first time there was curiosity about him in the world was when the film ‘Gandhi’ was made.’

By uttering such a senseless statement, Modi is exposing his ignorance as the Indian leader. Is he living in the Dark Ages? Does he know history or not?

In 1919, Gandhi had already started and directed three major campaigns of noncooperation in India against the British in pursuit of independence.

By 1930, Gandhi had started a civil disobedience movement and the salt march against the British. It was a march protesting a British law that forced Indians to purchase British salt instead of producing it locally.

By 1931, Gandhi was already on the front page of Time Magazine as their ‘Person of the Year’. Even the small US State of Iowa had heard of Gandhi. A newspaper there, The Burlington Hawk-Eye, named Gandhi, as ‘the most talked about man in the world’.

Furthermore, by 1942, Gandhi began the Quit India movement, which demanded an end to British rule in India.

Consequently, Gandhi’s protests against the British had gained the attention of the whole world. One man resisting British imperial power brought an entire nation to its feet in protest. Gandhi had inspired millions with his determination and perseverance.

In the US, Martin Luther King Jr. was also inspired by Gandhi’s nonviolence protests and used similar tactics in the Civil Rights movement for African American rights and equality.

Albert Einstein, an eminent scientist, greatly admired and respected Gandhi for his activism and commitment to pacifism. Einstein made a statement about Gandhi, which was first published in his 1950 biography, Out of My Later Years. He said:

A leader of his people, unsupported by any outward authority: a politician whose success rests not upon craft nor the mastery of technical devices, but simply on the convincing power of his personality; a victorious fighter who has always scorned the use of force; a man of wisdom and humility, armed with resolve and inflexible consistency, who has devoted all his strength to the uplifting of his people and the betterment of their lot; a man who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human beings, and thus at all times risen superior.

Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.

The Dalai Lama, another famous icon, was also inspired by his teachings of nonviolence. ‘I consider him to be my mentor, and I consider myself to be a small follower of his,’ he said. ‘We were taught about Mahatma Gandhi as children.’

If Gandhi was so unknown then how did these great figures know of him before the 1982 movie, Gandhi that Modi claims made the rest of the world aware of him?

Even several countries gained independence because Gandhi’s principles influenced their independence movements. Their leaders also heard about Gandhi before the movie which Modi believes educated the world. They include:

• South Africa (post-apartheid): Nelson Mandela, while imprisoned on Robben Island from 1964-82, read about Gandhi’s philosophy, and applied it to the anti-apartheid movement, contributing to South Africa’s transition to democracy.
• Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah, a leader in Ghana’s independence movement, was influenced by Gandhi’s approach to nonviolent resistance. They gained independence from the British on March 6, 1957.
• Poland: The Solidarity movement, founded in August of 1980, played a crucial role in bringing an end to communist rule in Poland, was inspired by Gandhi’s methods of nonviolent resistance.
• Myanmar (formerly Burma): Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement, was inspired by Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance in her struggle against military rule.
• Israel: gained Independence from the British in 1948, because of Gandhi’s inspiration and influence. They fought Britain’s imperial oppression. To this day Israel still admires Gandhi’s principles and his fight for freedom.

Those listed are just a few, for many leaders rose up during this time, and the winds of revolution swept across the world. The British Empire quickly lost their hold on country after country. To this day, Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance continues to inspire movements for freedom and justice worldwide.

While Gandhi lost his life fighting for his people, it was his quiet determination and resounding success that resonated across the world; not a movie that came decades after his assassination. Without Gandhi there would have been no independence for India.

Therefore, for the Prime Minister of India to make such a shallow, narrow-minded remark about Gandhi is an insult to his influence, and to his memory. Without Gandhi, Modi would still be a tea seller, not a leader of the largest populated nation in the world. Instead of belittling the memory of one of India’s greatest figures, Modi should ask himself, what mark will I leave on the world? His influence of late has left much to be desired.