Sri Lanka, April 21 -- Dr. Ariyaratne was given the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Jamnalal Bajaj award for his outstanding work to promote Gandhian ideals in Sri Lanka

Dr. A.T.Ariyaratne, who died earlier this week at 92, was viewed in India as a Gandhian par excellence. Indeed, if there was anyone in Sri Lanka who encapsulated the fullness of the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, it was Dr. Ariyaratne, the founder of the Sarvodaya Movement.

The Tamils of Sri Lanka hail S.J.V. Chelvanayakam as "Eelathu Gandhi" but Chelvanayakam's contribution was restricted to the political sphere in which he stood out as a champion of a non-violent struggle for the Tamils' rights in Sri Lanka. But Dr. Ariyaratne's work covered a wider canvas, including social and...