The chairperson of the Chicago Sisters Cities International Delhi Committee, Smita Shah, hosted the Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi luncheon. This marked the fifth year of recognizing the prominent figure who has been in charge of civil rights movements across the globe. The annual luncheon was attended by high-profile individuals in the city, including First Lady Amy Eshelman, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Senator Dick Durbin, as well as Andrea Zopp, who serves at World Business Chicago as the Chief Executive Officer.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated that 2 October 2019 was the Mahatma Gandhi Day across Chicago. This marked the influential leader’s 150th birth anniversary, and the day was set aside to honor his legacy. Smita Shah came up with the idea of starting the Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi luncheon after realizing that the city had a wide range of different communities. Hence, they had to acknowledge each of them.
The annual luncheon gives individuals a chance to get to know Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution as well as the Indian community that resides in Chicago. In turn, through Mahatma Gandhi, people get to realize that it is possible for anyone to improve lives by coming together. The position that Delhi holds as a Sister City to Chicago shows how strong the relationship between India and Chicago is. Again, it shows the significance of the culture created by the Indian-American community to the population of the city.
The Mahatma Gandhi’s annual Legacy luncheon was created by the Delhi Committee of Chicago in 2014. Smita Shah was in charge of the establishment of the luncheon. This was a way of acknowledging the long-term connection between Mahatma Gandhi and the United States and showing how vital the principles of truth and non-violence are. Learn more: https://wgnradio.com/steve-cochran/solving-engineering-riddles-meet-smita-shah/
Mahatma Gandhi has received a number of recognitions as one of the most influential figures worldwide during the twentieth century. He is still respected as a father of the Indian nation, and this proves that one individual has the power to bring down an empire in a way that is non-violent, by using only ethics and intelligence.
Chicago has an energetic Indian American community that has been committed to the building and development of the city throughout history. It still does this up to now. Chicago is known for welcoming as well as celebrating global communities. It has a history with the Indian community that started in 1893, when a young Indian monk, philosopher as well as author participated in the Columbian Exposition’s World Parliament of Religions.
About Smita Shah
Smita Shah is the president as well as Chief executive Officer at a technology and project management firm. She started her Chicago-based company, SPAAN Technology, after graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has led the company to experience incredible growth over the years. Smita has been acknowledged for various awards, including the Young Civil Engineer of the Year (the American Society of Civil Engineers), and the Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist (Ernst & Young).
She also received the Community Leader of the Year (American Consulting Engineers Council of Illinois) and the 19th Most Connected Person in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business. Smita Shah’s husband is a prominent international strategy advisor.