In the heartland of the Civil Rights movement |
Visitors to the Martin
Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, take a second
look at the statue of the Mahatma.
Jose M. Kochuparampil*
IRON willed, a gentle soul respected
and revered for his uncompromising commitment to non-violence, peace
and social justice, the dhoti-clad fragile looking individual with a
walking stick is no surprise for the American public. Today,
Atlanta, the city that is credited with the rare honour as the
heartland of the Civil Rights movements in the U. S., is proud to
have the state of this precious gem of India- Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi.
Residents and tourists might, at first
glance, pass by the six-foot four sinewy bronze statue of India’s
Father of the Nation, without much thought. Later on, half way
through their tour of Atlanta’s Martin Luther King Jr. National
Historic Site they will realise the statue of the man they passed by
was the “epicenter” of inspiration behind Dr. King’s life and
legacy. They come back and look at it again with shock and awe, out
of respect and admiration for this larger-than-life figure of the
man from the East. Their unspoken words could well be: “Is this the
one who humbled the British Empire?”
Martin Luther’s
India visit
Though Dr. King didn’t have the
opportunity to meet Gandhi in person, he did, along with his wife,
Coretta Scott, spend a month in India in1959 learning Gandhian
philosophy and the techniques of non-violence. Gandhi had such an
influence and impact on the Kings, that later on Mrs. King declared
that as long as she lived. Gandhi’s birthday celebrations would
always take place at the King’s Canter in Atlanta.
Realising the fact that the Luther
King Center would be incomplete without Gandhi’s presence, Mrs. King
together with members of the Indian community leaders, decided, in
1983, to open a Gandhi Room at the center. Since its opening, the
ensuing four years weren’t noticeable at all in terms of its growth
or public appeal. It is at this Juncture, in 1987. that Subash
Razdan and Giriraj Rao stepped in. Both of them had spent precious
time, talent and the resources in redesigning and refurbishing the
room with Gandhi memorabilia and other relevant historical artifacts
exhibiting the alliance of the two hearts-Gandhi and Luther King.
The national Federation of India
American Associations (NFIA), the largest umbrella group of the
Indians in the U.S. with membership of over 1.4 millions, decided in
its 1992 convention that Atlanta become a suitable venue to chalk
out ways and means to give further prominence and recognition to
Mahatma Gandhi. Razdan, who was the convener of the NFIA Atlanta
convention, organised a Gandhi Task Force that came into effect with
the launching of the convention. To perpetuate the memory of the
apostle of non-violence , the task force came up with the idea of
naming a street in the vicinity of MLK National Historic site after
Gandhi. Its initial outcome seemed promising, but the idea was met
with protest from residents who argues that Gandhi was an unfamiliar
figure. And naming the street also involved the change of addresses
for residents and related logistics.
“The Mahatma, his
mentor”
The setback gave them a boost to come
up with a better project. To have a life- size statue of Gandhi
installed at the MLK Historic Site. The vision, foresight and hard
work of Razdan and Rao, with the assistance and support of the
Governments of India and the U.S., the state of Georgia, the City of
Atlanta, the king Center and other Indian organisation in the U.S.
brought about the convergence of these stars of the east and the
west Gandhi and King, in one spot proclaiming the former’s role in
the latter’s life. This is clear from the statement of Mrs. King,
she said “Just like jesus was Martin’s religious mentor, Gandhi was
his political mentor.”
From the conception of the idea in
1992, till its execution (culmination in its dedication ceremony on
January 24, 1998), it wasn’t all that simple. It took a while to
erase American bureaucratic ignorance of Gandhi and get the green
signal to go ahead with the project on federal property. Artist Ram
Sutar of New Delhi was the sculptor of this work of art which is the
first Gandhi statue to be installed in a U.S. federal park. The
statue is a gift from the Government of India. Along with Razdan and
Rao were Dr. Joy Berry, Troy Lissimore and Greg Pridgeon from the
U.S. and Indian Americans like Kumkum Kashiparekh, Antony Thaliath
and Vinod Patel. Thaliath currently serves as the Deputy Executive
Director of the Gandhi Foundation. U.S.
Ever since the foundation came into
being in 1997 in anticipation of the installation and dedication of
the statue, there have been many celebrations and activities.
The foundation, bring non-profit and
tax exempt, supports local as well as national organizations in
their fund raising efforts to promote the welfare of the
underprivileged and disadvantage.
It celebrates the birth anniversaries
of Gandhi and King, the anniversaries of the dedication of the
statue and the Republic Day of India at the MLK Historic site.
According to Thaliath, Mr.Razdan the
2003 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient (a prestigious and
coveted Medal of Honor awarded to Americans of diverse origin for
their outstanding contributions of their own ethnic groups and to
American society), is the brain and the key player behind the whole
project.
A dream
Razdan dreams of a day when young
people of Indian origin and in traditional Indian at the stand by
the statue as volunteers offering a gist of Gandhian ideals to the
close to one million yearly visitors. According to thaliath, for the
continued spread of the philosophies of Gandhi and king, the time is
ripe to explore the possibility of a Gandhi center. “Conducting a
regular Gandhi lecture series, tutoring underprivileged children in
the various neighborhoods of the MLK historic distract to begin with
and the founding of a Gandhi Center are some of the immediate
actions that the Foundation is looking into,” said Thaliath, a
prominent Indian American who accompanied President Bill Clinton on
his State visit to India in 2000.
Rao, a senior scientist at Coco Cola
and its Principal Investigator of the corporate Resent
and Development Department, was doubly
sure that no place in the U.S. was better suited for the Gandhi
statue other than its present spot –at the entrance to the Martin
Luther King Center in Atlanta. Albert Einstein once said:
“Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this,
ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth”. Yes, the icon and
inspiration for millions around the globe, Mahatma Gandhi still
lives.
Today there are five statues of Gandhi
in the U.S. and some 11, so far known, around the globe. It is no
doubt that the words of Noble laureate and Former premier of Israel,
Shimon Perez are true to their core: “Mahatma Gandhi belonged to the
future, not to the past.”
[Source: THE HINDU,
October 2, 2005] *Author, Jose M. Kochuparampil is a freelance written based in the U.S. |