By Ravinder Singh Robin

Mexico City, Apr 19 : Mahatma Gandhi's statue situated at Chapultepec in Mexico City came alive on Thursday when Mexican children sung India's Father of the Nation's favorite song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" on the arrival of President Pratibha Patil here.

President Patil, who was escorted by a Mexican teenager to the statue, offered floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi's statue. On the occasion, the President said, "Though Mahatma Gandhi was born in India, he belongs to the whole humanity and more than 70 countries in the world have installed Mahatma Gandhi's statues. So, he belongs to each and every country and in an every corner of the world."

While expressing her gratitude towards the Mexican people, she said that by installing Mahatma Gandhi's statue at such a prominent location in this huge metropolis, the people of Mexico have specially honored him.

Children from different schools and organisations assembled at the statue, which was well decorated with flowers. Mexican musicians were also there in their traditional dresses and instruments played during the occasion.

Expressing her views about Mahatma Gandhi, Laura Alanis, a Mexican journalist said that the principles of truth and non-violence to which Mahatma Gandhi was committed transcend time and are as relevant today as they were during the lifetime of Mahatma Gandhi. She revealed that most of the schools in Mexico teach about Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and a few schools are even run in his name here.

Pavlina, another Mexican said that the massage of Mahatma Gandhi was eternal, so it should be preached everywhere in the world. She said that Mexico and India have many things in common, including culture and thoughts, and both work to establish peace in world, so there is much need to spread Mahatma Gandhi's message of "ahinsa" to the world.

ANI