Dr. Martin Luther King & Indians

The world observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 17th.
Different individuals associate a different significance to Martin Luther King Jr. They all agree that he was a major contributor for acquiring Civil Rights and equality for colored people.
India and Martin Luther King have had a historical relationship. His visit to India in 1959 strengthened his resolve in continuing on the path of Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence.
What most Indians and Indo Americans do not realize is that Martin Luther King Jr. has played a significant role in our professional and business success in India and of Indo Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts and leadership helped realize the goal of non discrimination in the US. Today the success of all the software engineers and other Indian professionals is a direct result of the life that Martin Luther King Jr. gave up. Without the change in the overall psyche on the outlook towards colored people, there is no way Indian origin professionals would have got the opportunities they received the USA. We are proud of the achievements of Indira Nooyi or Vikram Pandit or our very own Sonal Buchar, Neeta Sane, Tom Abraham, etc. None of them would have had the opportunity to reach high places or an office without the effort of Martin Luther King Jr. and his achieving civil rights and non discrimination in the US.
Today, while the world remembers the great soul, it is important that all Indo Americans say a prayer and thank this great man for providing us the opportunity to be accepted as equals in this great land of opportunities. While we, as Indo Americans may be proud that he derived inspiration for Mahatma Gandhi, we should be grateful that we derive our livelihood from his efforts.

Ramesh Anand is the President of American Resources LLC. He can be contacted at ramesh@aprllc.com