n addition, Gandhi was inspired by Raychandbhai, a Jain poet and philosopher. He was Gandhi's spiritual guide, and the two corresponded when Gandhi was living in South Africa. Ruskin, the British art historian, also influenced Gandhi. Ruskin's book Unto this Last had a profound effect on Gandhi.

Former US Vice-President and environmentalist Al Gore acknowledges Gandhi’s influence on him, especially in his fight against global warming: “Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of satyagraha can be translated to mean truth force. It is this truth force which can help us to fight this battle honestly and with people’s participation.”

Albert Einstein and Gandhi were big admirers of each other and exchanged letters frequently. Einstein called Gandhi “a role model for the generations to come” in a letter, writing about him. “I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time,” he said.

Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics,” said Martin Luther King Jr., the beloved civil rights leader in the United States of America, who adopted non-violence as the weapon of choice to help millions of African Americans fight for their rights.

British musician and member of the revolutionary band, The Beatles, John Lennon referred to Gandhi as an influence on his music. John and his wife Yoko Ono protested for non-violent interactions in the world, and for the end of the Vietnam War.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, monk and exiled leader of the Tibetan people, has always said he is a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Both the leaders were representatives of the idea that political change must be secondary to spiritual evolution. “I have the greatest admiration for Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great human being with a deep understanding of human nature. His life has inspired me,” said the Dalai Lama.

Nelson Mandela, great leader of the South African people and another giant of the 20th century anti-colonial struggle, often cited Mahatma Gandhi as one of his greatest teachers: “Gandhi’s ideas have played a vital role in South Africa’s transformation and with the help of Gandhi’s teaching, apartheid has been overcome.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent Burmese freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi, while addressing students at Columbia University in New York in 2012, said Gandhi had been one of the major influences in her life and she urged the students to read his works.

In 2009, when Barack Obama was visiting Wakefield High School in the US, a ninth grader asked the would-be President: “If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?” Obama chuckled and answered: “Well, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list. You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine.”

Dear Prime Minister-All Ministers, I would like to draw your kind attention that we are all generating huge amount of solid waste from each of the households as we are using different/variety of food products packed in aluminium foils, HDPE & LDPE bags/bottles/PET jars etc. Huge resources-money & manpower is required to collect, segregate, transport and dispose this solid waste. Therefore I feel Government can put at least 1-5% solid waste cess & let use this money for SW disposal.