02.23.09
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
I’ve spent the past few days in another city in another of India’s states, doing logistics and general shepherding for a high-level delegation from the U.S. The delegation included several members of Congress and the son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., MLK III, along with some spouses and staffers. The idea behind the delegation’s trip was to commemorate and retrace the steps of Martin Luther King Jr’s trip to India with his wife 50 years ago, when the civil rights leader came and spent a month in order to learn from Mahatma Gandhi’s methods of nonviolent resistance. As Ahmedabad, Gujarat was Gandhi’s home town, naturally they had to include it in the trip. A few photos…
Gujarat Vidyapith, a university that teaches the "Gandhian Way" and was founded by Gandhi himself
Gandhi's home at the ashram where he lived and taught for many years
School for "untouchables" at the Gandhi ashram, run by a nonprofit organization
Song Lyrics - this was sung by an interfaith choir (13 faiths) at the Gandhi ashram
Rep. John Lewis, Martin Luther King III, Mrs. King, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee - singing "We Shall Overcome" with the choir
Hundreds of schoolchildren came to the ashram to meet and talk with MLK III and the members of Congress
