A book on Mahatma Gandhi's leadership qualities, penned by veteran Indian diplomat Pascal Alan Nazareth has been released in Russian, making it the sixth foreign language edition of the book.
The Russian edition of "Gandhi's Outstanding Leadership" was released on 11th September, 2014 by the Indian ambassador P S Raghavan and Director of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences at the Institute.
Conveying his best wishes, President Pranab Mukherjee in his message described Mahatma Gandhi as "the foremost beacon of hope in the contemporary scenario" and recalled the words of Martin Luther King: "If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. We may ignore him at our own peril."
P A Nazareth's book, which has also been translated into 10 Indian languages, has a foreword by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
He terms the book a "gold mine" of Gandhi's statements on the widest range of issues, giving the reader all-encompassing view of his philosophy of nonviolence and its applicability to contemporary national and international issues.
He pointed out that the India-USSR Delhi declaration on "Principles of a non-violent and nuclear weapon free world" of 1986, which enunciated a non-violent approach to nuclear disarmament, is proof of Russia's respect for Gandhian principles.
The book explains how Gandhi's Satyagraha can be applied worldwide to bring about major political and social changes. Ambassador Nazareth drew attention to the important contribution of Leo Tolstoy to the development of Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Ahimsa [non-violence].