Oct. 2 marks the 147th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest peace advocates of all time.

The United Nations has declared his birthday as a National Day of Nonviolence. Fresno State is commemorating Gandhi by displaying a photo exhibit in the Henry Madden Library titled “The Life of Gandhi.”

Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, professor emeritus of social work education, said Fresno State has been celebrating Gandhi’s birthday since his statue was installed in the Peace Garden in 1990.

“We have a much larger exhibition but the library doesn’t have space for all of it,” Kapoor said. “We have about 40 panels about the life of Gandhi from the start of his childhood all the way to when he was assassinated.”

The mini exhibit, located on the first floor of the library, features black and white photos that shed some light on what Gandhi was all about. The 10 photographs and eight descriptive quotes by and about Gandhi are featured alongside the photos and pose questions for the reader. The photos show Gandhi doing what he was most famous for: playing with children, meditation, working hard to help others and, of course, nonviolent conflict resolution.

“We try to share Gandhi’s contribution, because his relevance increases every day,” Kapoor said. “Every day we hear someone was murdered, someone was shot or someone was killed. This is why we need to learn more and more about how to address peaceful conflict.”

One of the concepts that Gandhi was most passionate about was manual labor. One of ­Gandhi’s quotes featured in the exhibition says “There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” Simply put, Gandhi preached that if every man worked hard for what he needed, nothing more and nothing less, then all people would be equal.

One of the most fascinating photos shows Gandhi kneeling down to help a person who has leprosy. This disease is extremely contagious and terrifying, but Gandhi believed in human kindness, no matter the circumstances.

Kapoor expressed his concerns for the recent shootings involving Black men and police officers and his concerns for America’s gun control policies.

“We have too many guns in this country and people find it easier to use the gun to solve their problems,” Kapoor said. “ Maybe guns don’t kill but they do make it easier to kill.”

The exhibit serves as a reminder to be kind and strive for peace in our communities and will be available through Oct. 7. Fresno State will continue to honor Gandhi with a candlelight vigil for world peace and community celebration on Oct. 5 in the Peace Garden at Fresno State.

After teaching for 50 years at Fresno State, Kapoor said Fresno State campus has a very peaceful environment in comparison to other schools.

“Fresno state in my opinion is a very peaceful campus and that is due to positive leadership,” Kapoor said.

One of the things that makes Fresno State such ­a peaceful campus, according to Kapoor, is it’s diversity.

“We celebrate diversity on our campus and respect each other,” Kapoor said. “But it is important to remember, we are more alike than unlike.”