Press Release No. 60

30 September 2007

Photo exhibition: "Gandhi: His Life and His Message"

at the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Cairo

22-31 October 2007

The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) will organize an exhibition entitled "Gandhi: His Life and His Message" on the occasion of the 138th Birth Anniversary of the father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

The exhibition will feature portraits, photographs, books and other items associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s life. The Centre will also run film/documentary shows on Mahatma Gandhi.

The exhibition will be inaugurated at 6 pm on 22 October by H.E Mr. A. Gopinathan, Ambassador of India to Egypt and will remain open till 31 October 2007.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) is the most revered political and spiritual leader of India and India’s independence movement. Affectionately called “Bapu”, meaning father in Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi was the pioneer of Satyagraha resistance strongly based upon the principle of ahimsa or total non-violence. His vision and philosophy inspire not only India’s freedom struggle, but also movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He is commonly known and addressed world-wide as Mahatma (‘Great Soul’ in Hindi).

Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on 2^nd October is commemorated as Gandhi Jayanti, and is a national holiday in India. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution piloted by India with the co-sponsorship of 142 countries to annually observe and celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday as the International Day of Non-Violence.

For further details, please contact the Centre at:

Tel: 23933396/23960071; Fax: 23936572; e-mail: macic@indembcairo.com

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