Peace workers honoured in photographic exhibition

Dorothy – 18/12/02

Gandhi, King, and Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace is a well designed photographic exhibition with interesting text honouring three leaders,
Mohandas Gandhi,
Martin Luther King Jr. and Daisaku Ikeda, who are widely known for their work to promote peace. It has been shown in America, Japan, India, and Canada. At present viewers can see it in the Christchurch Public Library.

The photographs and the information are clearly presented in a series of panels each centred round a theme common to the three men.

In panel 1 the common themes in the lives of the three men are emphasised through photographs and quotations. All sprang from humble beginnings, all felt concern about the effect of authoritarian social structures on the common people, and all were inspired by historical figures. Each served to give impetus to widespread improvement of the human condition, and taught the value of non-violence, Gandhi in struggling to achieve India’s freedom from British rule, King opposing the iron grip of segregation, and Ikeda espousing inner reformation by individuals.

Panels 2, 3 and 4 are devoted to the careers of the three leaders.

Panel 5 is headed Forging Destiny and highlights the spiritual influences affecting each man – Gandhi following the Hindu theory of Guru, King following Jesus Christ and being led to study the work of Gandhi, and Ikeda following the example of Toda and Thoreau’s ideas of unwavering commitment to one’s ideals.

Panel 6, entitled Humanity at the Heart, stresses their belief in humanity’s innate dignity and unlimited potential.

Panel 7, Adversity and Resistance, and Panel 8, Principles into Action, demonstrate that facing and overcoming adversity is a hallmark of greatness, and that part of the genius of the three leaders is their indomitable commitment to make all circumstances the source of advancement. As they marshalled forces of good they turned all suffering into strength and hope which are the fuel for further progress.

Gandhi is shown leading the protest at the salt works to protest against the British Government’s monopoly on salt production and to regain India’s right to mine salt and also in his daily routine of spinning cotton.

Martin Luther King is seen with the burnt out Cross left by the Ku Klux Klan in 1960, and also involved in the struggle for inegrated schooling.

Ikeda is portrayed leading coal miners to assertive action in 1957 and later with groups promoting peace.

The endeavours of these three, aimed at individuals, spread out to affect millions.

Panel 9, entitled Nonviolence depicts the three leaders practising nonviolence – Gandhi in Calcutta in 1947 before a fast aimed to bring about a truce between Hindus and Muslims; Martin Luther King between two police officers, urging his followers not to react with violence; Ikeda fostering cultural exchanges, speaking at Harvard University in 1991 on The Age of Soft Power.

The last panel, Peace through Building Communities, features an excerpt from a speech by Robert Kennedy who quotes from Archimedes and Pericles on the contribution of unknown workers for peace and cites the example of the unknown citizens who worked towards peace in Europe under the Nazi occupation.

The closing sentence in the exhibition expresses the essence of the beliefs of all three men – The total contribution of each person standing for an ideal is the key to progress in our time.