Helsinki to consider naming a street after Gandhi

Mayor Jussi Pajunen of Finland's capital Helsinki has forwarded to City's Naming Board the request of Gandhi Monument Council to name one of Helsinki's major streets after peace icon Mahatma Gandhi.

Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. and Rajan Zed, coordinators of Gandhi Monument Council (GMC) headquartered in USA, who made this request in a communiqué to the City of Helsinki, said that they would prefer the name of this proposed street to be "Mahatma Gandhi Marg" (marg means path). While Savoy is Head Bishop of International Community of Christ, Zed is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism.

The Gandhi Monument Council is formed of Christian (various denominations), Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha'i, Native American, etc., clergy. According to Zed and Savoy, the purpose of this Council is to commemorate Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, his commitment to world peace, and his work for the upliftment of the downtrodden.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. His life and thought had an enormous impact on the world, and he continues to be widely revered as one of the greatest moral, political, and peace leaders of the twentieth century.

Founded in 1550, Helsinki is Finland's center of financial, cultural, and economic activity. Surrounded by sea, urban lifestyle of this one of the wealthiest capitals of Europe exists in harmony with nature.

Details of the above picture: Gandhi Monument Council coordinators (from left to right): Rev. Alan Dorway, Rajan Zed, and Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr.

Picture by: Roger Bowen Weld