FREE ESSAY ON GHANDI VS. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

GHANDI VS. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

To attain his ultimate goal, Gandhi had to prove worthy of its rewards. His most supreme
objective was to induce British rule to calmly and peacefully leave India. He knew that
the only way this could happen was if Britain began to respect his ideas and see that his
belief truly was just. Gandhi spoke of nonviolent resistance as a method to help the
opposing side see how they were committing sins. He knew that he would have to incite his
fellow Indians to take the moral high road in the conflict with the British. In the movie
he said, To gain independence, we must prove worthy of it. Martin Luther King, Jr. also
encouraged his fellow African Americans with words that would make the white people see
how deserving they were of equal treatment. King states in Stride Toward Freedom, I came
to see early that the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of
nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to the Negro in his struggle for
freedom. (King, 85).
Violence destroys a community. No one wants to live among violence, but people still
commit brutal acts everyday. Gandhi and King both recognized the inherent evil in all
violence and worked to show its effects. King stated, ...if I respond to hate with a
reciprocal hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavage in broken society. (King, 106).
What he means is that violence is detrimental to our happiness, and only by meeting hate
with love can we help to mend its damage. Gandhi proves this point by saying, An eye for
an eye only makes the whole world blind. Not only is this statement true concerning our
reaction to others' sins, but it also shows us that by hating others we are mostly
hurting ourselves.
Gandhi believed in his fight. He had faith that he could help India achieve independence.
He knew that if Indians remained nonviolent and forgave the British, they would someday
be rewarded. He stated his confidence in the movie by saying, We will continue to provoke
until we win. They aren't in control. I am.