INFLUENTIAL American lawmaker Carolyn B Maloney on Friday (13) reintroduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives to award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi posthumously in recognition of his promotion of peace and non-violence.
“Mahatma Gandhi's historic Satyagraha (Sanskrit for “soul-force”) movement of nonviolent resistance inspired a nation and the world. His example energizes us to devote ourselves to the service of others,” Maloney, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said after she introduced the resolution in the lower chamber of the US Congress.
ALSO READ: Exclusive interview of Indian High Commissioner to UK
US lawmaker Carolyn Maloney (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“His legacy inspired civil rights movements around the globe, from Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement for racial equality to Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid. As a public servant, I am inspired everyday by his courage and example. Let us all follow Gandhi's directive to ‘be the change you wish to see in the world,” the 75-year-old Democratic representative from New York, said.
10 unsung heroes at frontline of India's pandemic battle
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award in the US, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Gandhi would be the first Indian to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, an honour that has been bestowed upon such great figures as George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images