Mayor pays tributes to Mahatma Gandhi

CHICAGO, IL — More than 300 distinguished guests from the Indian community in the Chicagoland area graced the event of celebrating and honoring the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi on October 31 at the convention center of University of Illinois in Chicago College of Medicine.

The event was organized jointly by World Business Chicago, UIC, and Chicago Sister Cities International in conjunction with Mayor Ram Emanuel and Smita Shah, chairperson of Delhi Chicago Sister Cities.

The event is being organized by Smita Shah and Mayor Emanuel office jointly for the last four years to celebrate, elaborate and conjoin people from the mainstream to learn, preach and follow the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

Volatile world

This year, the event was graced by Consul General of India Neeta Bhushan, who addressed the gathering and explained that the philosophy of Gandhiji is still relevant in this era of volatile world whose issues, she said, could be resolved only with peace and mediation.

She also quoted that though she has joined consulate of India in Chicago only a couple of months ago, she has received tremendous affection, support and bonding from the Indian Community. She praised Mayor Emanuel for his association with the Indian community which goes back for more than 25 years.

The event of emceed by Smita Shah, who narrated the non-violence philosophy of the Mahatma, his global background in working, assimilating the world philosophy of dealing with colonial rule and freedom for India.

Colonial masters

She pointed out that though Gandhiji was born in an affluent family of Porbandar, his father was deputy minister of the Porbandar. Gandhiji obtained his law degree from England and practiced in South Africa, and from there, he visualized the atrocities of Colonial masters.

Smita introduced and invited Mayor Ram Emanuel to address the audience. She said that City of Chicago has distinction of holding the first global conference of World Religion addressed by a very young, genius philosopher, Swami Vivekananda. Chicago has Gandhi Way and Mother Teresa Way, roads which have been named after the Mahatma in honor of the two great Indians. These recognitions establish and honor the Indian culture, ideas, spirit and philosophy of India and Indians.

Mayor Ram Emanuel narrated his closeness to Indian culture and philosophy as his background is also Middle Eastern and he relishes and connects with Indian food, spices and overall commitments of Indians towards their ambitions, achievements and instilling the good eastern values in their children.

Food habits

His speech was focused on the philosophy of Gandhiji and co-related with his Indian associates in his administration. On the lighter note, he described his food habits as of Indians–laced with spices and hot food.

The program emphasized on the importance of education, especially science and healthcare. The event paid homage to the Mahatma and saluted UIC College of Medicine for producing excellent physicians to serve humanity.

Smita Shah pointed out that Mayor Emanuel is the first Mayor of such a large city in the US to recognize and celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy for the last four years. Shah, the chairperson of the Delhi Committee of Sister Cities, narrated the values of education, science and opportunities for those who wish to excel in these fields.

The event concluded with the commitment of non-violence, a great eastern philosophy.