Gandhi Google doodle on 140th birthday
Gandhi's 140th birthday and International Day of Non Violence marked by Google doodle
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Friday, 02, Oct 2009 11:51
By Sarah Garrod.
The face of Mahatma Gandhi is being celebrated by Google today, with a sketch of his face replacing the first 'G' on the search engine's homepage.
The Indian independence movement leader would have been 140 today, with his birth date also marked by a national holiday in India.
As well as being celebrated in India as a national holiday known as "Gandhi Jayanti" - October 2nd is marked around the world as International day of Non Violence.
The doodles are overseen by Dennis Hwang, who joined Google in 2000 and has been using the logo to remind people of particular dates or events.
Other famous faces to have graced the front of the Google homepage include Michael Jackson and Albert Einstein.
The International Day of Non Violence has been recognised by the UN who used a quote from Gandhi on their website today to mark the occasion. It reads: "There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."
According to a general assembly resolution, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness".
The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence".
Introducing the resolution in the general assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India's minister of state for external affairs, Anand Sharma, said the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy.
Quoting Gandhi's words, he said: "Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man".