KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia announced its joining with the rest of the world in celebrating the 143rd birthday of Mahatma Gandhi as part of the International Day of Non-violence, at the Royal Lake Club on October 2, Gandhi Memorial Trust (GMT) chairman S. Radhakrishnan said on Monday. He said that as a tribute to Gandhi, the celebration would include speeches by prominent personalities, including United Nations resident coordinator Kamal Malhotra and GMT former chairman and retired Court of Appeals judge Mahadev Shankar. The second segment of the event organized by GMT will be lectures delivered by Singapore International Foundation Governor K. Kesavapany, Director of the Right Livelihood College Universiti Sains Malaysia Anwar Fazal and chaired by retired Federal Court judge James Foong Cheng Yuen. “At the event, GMT will also present the Public Service Award to Montfort Boys Town, in recognition of its 53 years of tireless efforts of pursuing a mission of holistically educating underprivileged youth,” he told Bernama news agency. Radhakrishnan said that the United Nations General Assembly on June 15, 2007, unanimously adopted a resolution to declare Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2, as the International Day of Non-violence. “The assembly, desiring to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence, has invited all member states, UN bodies, regional and non-government organisations and individuals to commemorate the day in an appropriate manner and disseminate the message of non-violence. “The late Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was born on Oct 2, 1869, led India to independence in 1947 and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world,” the UN has said. Gandhi was on his way to a prayer meeting when he was shot three times in the chest and died on January 30, 1948. His strategy of satyagraha, or resistance, earned him the admiration of millions throughout the world and helped remove the yoke of British imperialism on India.
