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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi was a world-renowned | ||||||
| 3 | civil rights and spiritual leader, who
experienced injustices | ||||||
| 4 | early in life and learned to embrace the principles of | ||||||
| 5 | non-violence as a vehicle for social and political change; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by religious | ||||||
| 7 | teachings in Hinduism, Jainism, and
Christianity in the | ||||||
| 8 | development of his philosophy; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian people to | ||||||
| 10 | independence from British rule in August 1947 through
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| 11 | non-violent means, staging massive peaceful demonstrations | ||||||
| 12 | against poverty while
supporting women's rights and religious | ||||||
| 13 | tolerance; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, For his efforts, Mahatma Gandhi was given the | ||||||
| 15 | title of Mahatma, or "Great Soul" and was often
called Bapu in | ||||||
| 16 | India, which means "father"; India acknowledges him as the | ||||||
| 17 | "Father of the Nation"; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Mahatma Gandhi's legacy has inspired hundreds of | ||||||
| 19 | millions of people around the world to pursue
non-violence as a | ||||||
| 20 | means to achieve freedom and equality, including Dr. Martin | ||||||
| 21 | Luther King
Jr.'s movement to end racial injustice in the | ||||||
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| 1 | United States and Nelson Mandela's fight to
end apartheid in | ||||||
| 2 | South Africa; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Few people have had as significant and as positive | ||||||
| 4 | an impact on the world and freedom movements
than Mohandas | ||||||
| 5 | Gandhi; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Over 2,000,000 people attended Mahatma Gandhi's | ||||||
| 7 | funeral in 1948, and his memory and teachings still persist | ||||||
| 8 | today; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, was | ||||||
| 10 | declared as International Day of Non-Violence by the
United | ||||||
| 11 | Nations to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including | ||||||
| 12 | through
education and public awareness" and reaffirm "the | ||||||
| 13 | universal relevance of the principle of
non-violence" and | ||||||
| 14 | desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, and | ||||||
| 15 | understanding
through non-violence"; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, People around the world commemorate the | ||||||
| 17 | International Day of Non-Violence by
participating in | ||||||
| 18 | volunteer projects as a way to give back to their communities; | ||||||
| 19 | therefore, be it
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| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare Mahatma | ||||||
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| 1 | Gandhi's birthday, October 2, 2019, as the "State Day of Peace | ||||||
| 2 | to Non-Violence" to coincide with the International Day of | ||||||
| 3 | Non-Violence; and be it further
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| 4 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the people of Illinois to | ||||||
| 5 | observe the State Day of Peace to Non-Violence with appropriate | ||||||
| 6 | ceremonies, programs, and activities.
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