Chief Justice of India pays tributes to Martin Luther King Jr

Seema Hakhu Kachru

Houston, Apr 9 (PTI) Supreme Court of India Chief Justice
K G Balakrishnan paid tributes to Martin Luther King Jr in a
special ceremony in Atlanta to mark the 41st death anniversary
of the anti-apartheid activist.

The chief justice, along with a delegation of Ministry of
Law and Justice and Indian Law Institute, paid tributes to
King in a Special Commemorative Ceremony at The King Center to
observe the death anniversary of the African-American civil
rights leader, who was assassinated on April 4 in 1968.

While addressing the gathering that included King's
family members and local dignitaries, the Chief Justice
highlighted the contribution of King in America's civil rights
movement of 1970s.

Drawing similarities between King's effort and the civil
disobedience movements led by Mahatma Gandhi during Indian
freedom struggle, Balakrishnan said that the universal values
preached and practiced by the two great leaders have immense
relevance for future generations.

During his visit, the CJI addressed a gathering at the
University's School of Law and also delivered a lecture on
Individual Rights in India: A Perspective from the Supreme
Court at the University of Georgia at Athens (UGA), Georgia.

A Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in mutually
identified areas was signed between UGA's Dean Rusk Center
(DRC) for Legal Studies and the Indian Law Institute, of which
CJI is the ex-officio President.

Balakrishnan said that individual rights is a question of
"maintaining democracy and rule of law".

"From a Supreme Court's perspective, individual rights is
very important because you have a right, in India, to have
your case heard," said Don Johnson, Director of the School of
Law's Dean Rusk Center.

CJI was accompanied by Justice Arijit Pasayat, Supreme
Court Judge; T K Viswanathan, Union Law Secretary; Sanjiv
Arora, Consul General of India and other delegation members.

The Gandhi Foundation of USA (GFUSA), which has a close
cooperation with the King Center, was represented by Subash
Razdan, Chair, Antony Thaliath, Executive Director, and its
other members. PTI SHK
PMR
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