India, Jan. 13 -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day), which falls on January 19 this year, is one of the 11 federal holidays in the United States. It is celebrated on the third Monday of January every year in honour of the late civil rights activist, who was assassinated in 1968. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts to put an end to segregation and racism in America.

While King's birthday was on January 15, a legislation making the third Monday in January a federal holiday was passed in 1983 and was first observed nationwide in 1986, according to Britannica. The day is often marked with parades, marches, and speeches by politicians and activists.

Since MLK Day is a federal holiday, most federal workers and private sect...