As a young boy growing up in South India, Ali Mir Husain would listen to traditional Urdu poetry commemorating the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

“I grew up with a sense of affection for the man,” said Husain, an author and professor of management at Purdue University. “As a small child, I said with a tinge of pride, ‘I am black.'”

Husain addressed a crowd of about 30 at a speech Monday night in Harris Hall. The South Asian Students Alliance co-sponsored the event with the Muslim-cultural Students Association in remembrance of King’s birthday.

“We should understand that our civil rights today came out of the civil rights movement,” Husain said. “We owe it to the civil rights movement not only to keep it alive, but to remember the struggles it took.”

Husain spoke of the “bond of solidarity” among minorities, and mentioned Indian spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi and his influence on King.

“Gandhi’s message is for all those people who are marginalized or oppressed,” he said. “When we talk about the assassination of Gandhi (in 1948), it is equally important to remember another assassination some 30 years ago – Martin Luther King.”

Husain addressed other issues affecting the South Asian community, including cultural preservation among immigrants. South Asians must “abandon historical ignorance and historical amnesia” when remembering their past, he said.

Husain said Indians are the most highly educated ethnicity in the United States and have the highest median income among minorities.

But “no one mentions the growing unemployment (among South Asians),” Husain said.

“No one talks about the 15,000-odd South Asians trying to eke out a living driving cabs.”

Amid laughter from the largely South Asian student audience, Husain related his immigrant experience, including his surprise at the variety of options for ordering eggs in a restaurant.

Sriranjani Parthasarathy, SASA’s education chair, said Husain’s question-and-answer session with the audience provided valuable discussion.

“He brings the relevance of King to South Asians, which kind of slips through the cracks,” said Parthasarathy, a Weinberg sophomore.

Puneet Singh, a Weinberg sophomore, said she hopes more minorities will become involved with Martin Luther King Jr. Day events.

“The death of King has become a banner multicultural day, ” Singh said. “It would be nicer if we had different ethnicity groups leading the way. I would be impressed if African Americans commemorated the death of Gandhi.”

Others in the audience took note of the low attendance. “I think it’s a shame to see mostly South Asians here,” said Lori Soni, a Weinberg sophomore. “This should be a united effort.”

Husain said that despite progress in race relations, much more needs to be done.

“Solidarity demands action that brings everyone under the same umbrella, and it demands faith,” Husain said. “The ability of South Asians, African Americans and whites to work together will not be found readily – it must be found through contact.

“We still have a long way to go before we can say: ‘We have overcome.'”