BANGLORE: Social activist Martin Luther King III feels that a few good men and women are all it takes to bring about change. In an interaction on the sidelines of ongoing Dr. BR Ambedkar International Conference 2017, he shared his insights about social movements across the world and how India is different from them.
Excerpts from an interview:
You compared Dr. B R Ambedkar with your father Martin Luther King Jr. But, unlike your father, who was the face of the American Civil Rights Movement, there is no face to the Dalit movement in India. Do you think it needs one?
I think it needs a coalition of leaders. If one leader gives up, others can take up. Having a face to the Civil Rights Movement worked in my father’s time. May be it will work in India, or not. There are cultural differences.
You have worked with social movements in the US and across the world. How can social movements across the country unite?
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, my father said. A few good men and women is all it takes to bring about change. In my country, for example, when the masses were disenfranchised in the past, Blacks did not ride the public buses for 381 days. When ridership went down, it had economic implications. That forced the government to frame a new policy and change. So, when a certain section of society is deprived of a right, it will also have a bearing on others and can bring people together.
Is social media the new way of ensuring success of movements?
Social media is huge. In most communities, they have smart phones. It is not an either/or situation anymore. You need to have food and you need to have your phone. Any movement would be successful when media like Facebook and Instagram are used. The success may not be exclusive because of the use of these sites but will play a huge role, along with support from mainstream media.
Is non-violence the only way of protest?
I believe it is. Violence may have had some success in some parts of the world. But ultimate social change is possible only with non-violence. When the 9/11 protests happened, I was hoping we wouldn't engage in all these wars thereafter that cost us millions of rupees. An eye-for-an-eye is not the answer.