Brown wants to write about Gandhi's contribution to world

H S Rao
London, Aug 2 (PTI) Describing Mahatma Gandhi as "one of
the great leaders" of the 20th century, British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown has said he wants to write about the apostle of
peace's contribution to the world civilisation.

"I want to write something at some point about the
contribution of Gandhi to our civilisation. I think he was one
of the great leaders of the 20th century. He didn't seek
power, he sought to win by changing people's hearts and minds
and he managed to do so," Brown said in an interview to
'Garavi Gujarat', a leading Gujarati-English bilingual weekly,
published Sunday.

Noting that Gandhi is an inspirational figure for him and
for so many people around the world, Brown said "I have read a
lot about how he developed his non-violent faith and how he
practised his civil disobedience and how he won support
because people could see his moral integrity."

The British Prime Minister also spoke about his strong
links with India, which he plans to visit again soon.

Brown said India is going to have a bigger role in world
affairs in the future and Britain is working with it on
development of its new educational institutions.

"We want to work closely with India on a whole range of
issues like climate change. On financial services, industry,
pharmaceuticals and the use of information technology there is
growing cooperation between our countries," he said, noting
that New Delhi has "a highly respected role in the G-20" as
well.

The British Prime Minister said his strong links with
India went back to his childhood days, when he received
constant updates from a close relative living in Delhi.

"I have got a great affinity for India. One of my
family's closest relations spent a few years as a professor of
engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. I
visited it a few months ago and it is a great institution.

"When I was growing up he was in India and his family
were in India and they were telling me about all the changes
taking place. So I have always had great knowledge about
what's happening in India and I continue to retain that
contact I had, including a close personal relationship with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is one of the people I
admire greatly," Brown said.

During a visit to India in 2007 as Chancellor, Brown was
one of the first senior British politicians to call for a "new
world order" that recognises India's central role in the
global economy. He expressed his commitment to pushing for
India's right to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Brown said "it is part of our proposals to bring
up-to-date the international institutions, including reform of
the IMF and the World Bank. It's very important for the world
to recognise that the world is changing and people need to
know that their role in the world is respected.

"India is going to have a bigger role, and rightly so, in
world affairs in the future. In economic and financial
decisions but also in security decisions affecting the world
and we want to recognise it in our partnership with India and
India's important role in the world."

"We are working with India on development of their new
educational institutions that are to be built," Brown said.

"In future, as the Indian economy grows, I think there
will be more opportunities for us to buy from India and for
India to buy from us," he said.

Brown said India is respected as a member of the G-20.
"While the G-8 discusses a number of issues, the big economic
issues have been discussed with Prime Minister Singh and I
think that is important. India has a highly respected role in
the G-20." PTI HSR
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