As the world celebrates the International Day of non-violence, United States President Barack Obama on Friday said America has its 'roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi'.

"His teachings and ideals, shared with Martin Luther King Jr on his 1959 pilgrimage to India, transformed American society through our civil rights movement," Obama said on the occasion of Gandhi's birth anniversary. Americans owe enormous gratitude to Gandhi, he added.

"The America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi and the non-violent social action movement for Indian independence which he led," Obama said in a statement.