New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) The relevance of Mahatma Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh lies in the struggle against the lingering consequences of colonisation, Union Minister M J Akbar said today on the occasion of the 128th birth anniversary of the Vietnamese leader.

Ho Chi Minh did not want to pick up the gun, but he was forced to fight for justice, he said at an event organised by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and the Vietnam Embassy here.

"The consequences of colonisation are not as easily defeated as colonisation was. This is the struggle that remains... and those who think the relevance of Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh is restricted to academic text books, should think again," he said.

Both the leaders persuaded people in their respective countries to fight for justice in completely different ways, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said.

Vietnam's Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh highlighted Ho Chi Minh's admiration for Mahatma Gandhi and his relations with former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"The friendly relations between India and Vietnam were laid by Nehru and Ho Chi Minh, and now these relations are better than ever," Thanh said.

Ho Chi Minh had high regard for the struggle for Independence by the people of India and he wrote many articles on the subject between 1924-31, he said.

During the event, a book on the revolutionary leader was also released.

Ho Chi Minh was the chairman and first secretary of the Workers Party of Vietnam.

He was among the key leaders who founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and went on to become the country's prime minister and president .

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