“His commitment to the defense of religious freedom and his support of the poorest people, particularly children, brings to life the Universal Declaration for Human Rights.” It is for this reason that Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), has been awarded the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Ambassador of Peace Award 2013.
The award was conferred by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (an American civil rights organization founded by Reverend King) and Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet president, on the 50th anniversary of the March of 28 August 1963–a rally for jobs and freedom that helped pressure the U.S. Congress into passing the landmark Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts in 1964 and 1965.
Martin Luther King Jr. modeled his resistance to racial segregation and his promotion of the civil rights of blacks on Mahatma Gandhi’s policy of non-violent activism. It was at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., that King completed the Freedom March and delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech from its steps.