World Bank wakes up to Gandhi

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Fitch affirms ICICI Bank ratingsPM wants RBI vigil on liquidity situation: FMMore scope of further rate cuts: KamathSyndicate Bank revises interest rates

The World Bank has celebrated Gandhi Jayanti for the first time in its 64-year history with its President Robert Zoellick saying that the institution can draw lessons in leadership from the Mahatma’s legacy.

“What a gift India gave the world,” Zoellick said pointing to the wide ranging influence Gandhi had across the world.

He said the greatest lesson the world can learn from Gandhi was the “Lesson of Leadership” and claimed that the Bank holds up to his principles.

The event marking Gandhi’s 169th birth anniversary at the World Bank headquarters was jointly sponsored by the Executive Director for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, the Embassy of India and the Gandhi Memorial Center.

The Managing Director of the Bank Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called Gandhi a “citizen of the world”.

“Calling him a visionary will be an understatement,” he said.

Charge D’Affairs of the Indian Embassy Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal and the Executive Director for India at the Bank Group Dhanendra Kumar was also present at the event.

Calling the Mahatma as “one of the greatest souls of all times”, Kumar said there was “a striking resemblance” between Gandhi’s philosophy and World Bank’s objectives.