Below is an article written by Damian Gramatticas published by BBC News:

The world should learn from Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent approach to solving conflicts, former South African President Nelson Mandela has said.

He made the comments to a conference, in the Indian capital, Delhi, being held to mark the centenary of the start of Gandhi's non-violent movement.

About 400 dignitaries, including Nobel prize winners and statesmen, gathered at the event.

Gandhi launched "Satyagrah" while living in Johannesburg in South Africa.

'Key to survival'

Speaking in a video message sent from South Africa, Mr Mandela said in a world full of violence and strife, Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace and non-violence holds the key to human survival in the 21st Century.

Gandhi had been thrown out of a whites-only compartment on a train.

It led to a life of struggle against colonial oppression, first in South Africa, then in India.

Sonia Gandhi, who heads India's ruling coalition, told the conference that the end of the Cold War had not brought peace in the world, but that the philosophy of non-violence could be adapted to solve today's conflicts.

Last year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Bangladeshi banker, Mohammed Yunus, said it was impossible to conceive of a world at peace when the poorest 60% of humans live on just 6% of the world's income.