Washington: The US Congress has passed the important Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act, part of the whopping USD 2.3 trillion year-end spending bill, that among other things paves the way for establishing an educational forum between America and India to study the work and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Written by legendary civil rights activists and Congressmen John Lewis, who died early this year, and co-sponsored by Ami Bera, the Act authorises USD 1 million a year to fiscal 2025 for the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative.
It authorises USD 2 million for just FY 2021 for the Gandhi-King Global Academy, and USD 30 million for 2021 for the US-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation.
The initiative is part of a bill that runs into more than 5,000 packages. The entire bill of a mammoth USD 2.3 trillion that includes the coronavirus relief package of USD 900 billion and government funding bill (USD 1.4 trillion) is now headed to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law.
The legislation also authorises the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish a US-India development foundation that would leverage the Indian private sector to address development priorities in India.
The development foundation would also be authorised at USD 15 million per year from 2022 to 2025 — but only if India’s private sector commits to match the US government’s contributions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill would cost USD 51 million over five years.
In 2009, late Congressman Lewis led a congressional delegation visit to India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr King’s pilgrimage to India.
Inspired by his visit, Congressman Lewis created the Gandhi-King Exchange Act to seek to apply the philosophies of Gandhi and Dr King, Jr to conflict resolution efforts and current policy challenges.
The Act, among other things, authorises the State Department, in cooperation with the Indian government, to establish an annual educational forum for scholars from both countries that focuses on the legacies of Gandhi and King, Jr.
It also authorises to develop a professional development training initiative on conflict resolution based on the principles of non-violence; and establish a foundation to address social, environmental, and health priorities in India.
PTI
