Consulate General of India
Houston
Press Release
|
Celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s 140th Birth Anniversary in Atlanta Celebrations
marking 140th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi were held in
Atlanta on 11 October, 2009 by the Gandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA) in
cooperation with the King Center and other partner organizations. Mr. Sanjiv Arora, Consul General of
India, Houston participated in these celebrations starting with a ceremony at
which he garlanded Mahatma Gandhi’s statue, followed by a Peace March to the
King Center in close vicinity where he offered floral tributes at the Crypts of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Mrs. Coretta Scott King. At the King Center, the participants visited
the Gandhi Room before assembling in the Freedom Hall for a function at which
the Consul General was the Keynote Speaker.
The occasion was also utilized to express sympathy and support for the
victims of the recent natural disasters in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in
India, and also in Indonesia and the Philippines. Mr. Subash Razdan, Founding Chairman
of GFUSA welcomed the Consul General, Mr. Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., nephew of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and CEO of the King Center, Dr. Jay Tribby, Chief of Staff of City Councilman Mr. Kwanza Hall
and other participants who included, besides members of overseas Indian
community, representatives of community fora from
Indonesia and the Philippines Mr. Isaac Newton
Farris, Jr. highlighted the Gandhi-King connection that serves as a beacon of
inspiration for humanity and the close partnership between the King Center and
GFUSA. In his Keynote address, Consul
General paid rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He spoke of the inspiration derived by Dr.
King from Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals and philosophy, and Dr. and Mrs. King’s
historic voyage to India in March 1959.
He stressed that the Gandhi-King connection provides an over-arching and
inspiring framework for India’s multi-faceted and growing ties and cooperation
with the city of Atlanta, state of Georgia and the USA.
Consul General Sanjiv Arora and GFUSA Chairman Subash Razdan with some other participants at a ceremony at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at the King Center in Atlanta
Consul General Sanjiv Arora offering floral tributes at the Crypts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King
Consul General Sanjiv Arora giving the Keynote Address at Mahatma Gandhi’s 140th Birth Anniversary celebrations at the King Center in Atlanta. |
