An Open Letter to Mr. Martin Luther King III on his Visit to India

Mr. Martin Luther King III and Mrs. King a very warm welcome to India. Indeed it is a great honour for us as Indians to have you visit our motherland, the land that affirms unity in diversities. I appreciate your pilgrimage to India in commemoration of the golden jubilee anniversary of your parents’ historic visit to India. Your dad Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Jr. continues to be an influencing personality to the whole world, and especially to us Indians for his bold and courageous fight over the cruel forces of racism, making him a towering and inspiring personality. Fifty years ago, your dad was highly influenced by the values of non-violence, for he believed that through such means and methods one can win over any power of darkness, particularly the deep rooted racism in your country. As an Indian it is pleasant to learn that our father of nation Mr. Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence happens to be his inspiration.

Dear Sir, it was your dad’s dream that you should not be judged by the colour of your skin, but by the content of your character, and I am glad to know that you have been living up to his dream and making his dream into a realisation. It was your dad who dreamt, who envisioned for a land free of discrimination on the basis of colour, fought for it tirelessly and made this generation reap the fruits of his efforts, even to the extent of becoming the President of the United States. It if for sure, that the bold soul of your dad would have delighted to see the sea change in your country, so also the whole world is waiting to realise the “change” that has been promised. We thank God for the life and witness of your dad Rev. King, for his courageous efforts in bringing in equality among people of your country and take this opportunity to salute him. “Kudos Rev. King! For you have run the race of life in courage, fought a good fight against the principalities and powers of your day and emerged victorious reverberating that truth is always triumphant.”

Mr. King, by now you would have had the taste of India, its varieties, its pluralities, its diversities and its various colours. Your pilgrimage of searching and researching the tenets of non-violence in various cities of India is highly commendable. Your visitations to different places of national heritage reveal your interest for learning. Especially your visit to the terror struck city of Mumbai to express your solidarity is appreciable. Your call to the different religious leaders in India and at large to fight against violence and killings has caught the attention of several people in the world, for which you deserve all our best wishes in your fight against terrorism and violence.

Mr. King, as you continue to journey as a pilgrim in India, may I call your attention to one of the dire realities of Indian society, where from ages even till today most of us are judged and discriminated in the name of descent, the inhuman caste. Not that you are unaware of this reality in India, but am just brining to your kind notice that you as a proud heir of Rev. King, who fought against discrimination should address the ongoing discriminations and oppressions done to Dalits, who have been not judged by the content of our character but are judged by the caste factor. Dalits, continue to be under the rubric of caste and are treated polluted not just by those in the rural localities, but even the so-called meritorious institutions are not free from caste discrimination. Violence on Dalits and Dalit women have been a rampant phenomena done by the caste people, which goes mostly unnoticed by the government, the media, the police and the judiciary. There goes not a single day where violence on Dalits has not been done. Discrimination on Dalits has become more subtle and aggressive these days, for caste and its allegiances rule the order of the day.

Mr. King, as you spend time in India to know more on the virtues of non-violence, my humble plea to you is to bring into the global attention the cruelty of caste on Dalits, the violence done on Dalits and for a call to end such practices and discriminations. In this pilgrimage of yours to India, besides knowing more of Mr. Gandhi, I also request you to spend time in reading other social activists like Bharat Ratna Dr. BR. Ambedkar, who challenged the forces of caste and strived hard in annihilating it. Dr. Ambedkar in many ways resemble your dad, for he too was a visionary and a tireless activist confronting and challenging all powers of caste till his death. His writings were prolific and express the poignancy of hope and aspirations of all Dalit people. All his speeches, writings and actions were Liberative and provided meaning and direction to the struggles of Dalits then and even now.

Sir, I believe it will be a fitting commemoration to the golden jubilee anniversary of your parents visit to India, by expressing your deep solidarity with the Dalit struggles for liberation. As a proud son of a proud father, and as a son who is in the mission of realizing your dad’s dream I think this your visit to India is the right opportunity for you to speak up on the discrimination and violence done to Dalits. Your expression of co-operation and solidarity to our journey of Dalit liberation, I am sure will make an impact in the society and on the government to end the discrimination and oppression done on Dalits. “We Dalits too have a dream, where our children will not be judged by the caste they are born into, but where they will be judged by the content of their character.” Sir, support us in realising this dream of ours come true. Have a good pilgrimage in India, and a safe trip back home. Our prayers go with you as endeavour in realizing the dreams for a new world.

Thanking you Sir,

For the liberation of our Dalits,

Sincerely Yours,
Rev. Raj Bharath Patta,
Executive Secretary,
Commission on Dalits,
National Council of Churches in India,
Civil Lines, Nagpur. 440 001. India
rajpatta@gmail.com