WASHINGTON (October 10, 2013) – Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao will deliver the Martin Luther King, Jr.–Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture in Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. The date will also mark the opening of an interactive exhibit on campus depicting the intersection of the lives and works of Gandhi and King.

Rao assumed her responsibilities as Ambassador of India to the United States in 2011. She previously served as India’s first woman Ambassador to China from 2006 to 2009. Rao has served in Washington as Minister for Press and Cultural Affairs and in Moscow as Deputy Chief of Mission at her country's embassy there.

The Howard Board of Trustees established the Gandhi Memorial Lecture on February 28, 1958.  Over the course of time, the Gandhi Memorial Lecture evolved into the Martin Luther King-Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture. In 1966, King delivered the Seventh Annual Gandhi Lecture at Howard University; and in 2010, Gandhi’s grandson, Rajmohan Gandhi, delivered the lecture.

The interactive exhibit (photo wall) depicting the intersection of the lives and works of Gandhi and King will be located in the lower level of the Howard University Blackburn University Center. Birad Rajaram Yajnik, author, speaker and curator, created the interactive photo wall in honor of Gandhi and King. 

Students, faculty, staff and visitors to Howard will be able to interact with the photo wall using QR codes on the wall via their mobile phones, tablets and smart devices. The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.