New Delhi: Mahatma Gandhi, Mughal emperor Akbar and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have been named by Time magazine among the world's top 25 political icons.
Mohandas Gandhi, as the magazine called him, led the list which also included Alexander the Great, Mao Zedong, Winston Churchill, Genghis Khan, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Hitler, ‘Che' Guevara and Lenin.
The magazine credited Mahatma Gandhi with spearheading peaceful protests aimed at ending the British Raj that helped him become the spiritual heart of the Indian independence struggle.
"Gandhi led the country in peaceful protest against foreign domination... His rise paved the way for India's independence in 1947," it said.
"Though the country was later divided (and Gandhi assassinated), his role in the bloodless revolution ... paved the way for other social movements including America's struggle for civil rights," Time added.
The magazine said Akbar helped a fragile collection of fiefs around Delhi to grow into what became the Mughal empire. He presided over a flourishing of the arts, sponsoring artisans, poets, engineers and philosophers.
‘Canny warlord'
Calling him a "canny warlord", Time said that while he was a Muslim, Akbar was spiritually curious and hosted religious scholars from Hindu gurus to Jesuits, besides trying to meld Hinduism and Islam.
"While the creed no longer lingers, the ethos of pluralism and tolerance that defined Akbar's age underlines the values of the modern republic of India."
