Visitors look at photographs at the exhibition at Indian Institute of Business Management in Patna on Monday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Jan. 17: A photography and poster exhibition was organised today at American Corner of the Indian Institute of Business Management (IIBM) to commemorate Martin Luther Day.

January 17 every year is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King, the leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

“King was a hero and is still an inspiration for many people,” said Shweta Gour, co-ordinator of the American corner. Gour also said: “Though he lived far away from India, he was still inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. He used the ideas of ahimsa and passive resistance for his movement.”

“We are celebrating King’s birth anniversary to inspire the youths to follow his footsteps,” added Gour.

The photographs on display depict his personal and public life. There are pictures of King taking part at protests and sit-in against segregation and racial discrimination. A striking picture shows King being hit by a rock while protesting against racial discrimination in housing facilities in the suburbs of Cicero in Chicago in the summer of 1966. There are also pictures of the leader sitting with his wife and children in their home in Atlanta. “One of the most interesting pictures is of King and his wife being felicitated in New Delhi on February 9, 1959,” said Gour.

J.K. Sinha, a student of IIBM, said: “His vision and thoughts are very inspiring. Racial discrimination may have been banned but other kinds still exist. His ideals could be utilised to fight discriminations against caste, creed or wealth. This is very important in our contemporary world where people often discriminate on the basis of religion or wealth.”

“I love Martin Luther King’s quotes that have been put up here. He emphases time and again on the necessity of non-violence in political movements,” said Abhay Kumar, a 21-year-old student, who visited the exhibition.

Kumar added: “King also said that a man is defined by his character and not by his caste, creed or colour.”

A.K. Nayak, the director of IIBM Patna, said: “It would be difficult to follow everything that King preached. But even if we can imbibe 10 per cent of what he taught in our daily lives, we can change the future of our country.”

Uttam Kumar Singh, the director-general of IIBM and Dr Zakir Hussain Institute Group of Institutions, said: “The exhibition was organised to commemorate the memory of such a great leader and Nobel laureate.”

Martin Luther King Junior was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

He was a Baptist minister and civil rights activist.

In 1955, he led the Montgomerry Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957.

He also led the 1963 March to Washington, where he delivered the famous “I have a dream…” speech.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.