Martin Luther King III’s third visit to India started off on a wrong note, with his luggage not accompanying him to his hotel and being sent somewhere else instead. But the 53-year-old human rights advocate and social activist was unfazed. “These things happen, nothing to be worried about,” he said, as he settled into the chair.
Mr King, the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr, who is in the city to look for organisations that could help him further the cause of the Martin Luther King Jr. Centre in Atlanta, is a firm believer of non-violence and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
“We all have an obligation to spread Gandhi’s teachings. Like him, we need to stand up for an ideal, and not make people conform to our viewpoint just because we have a greater army behind us,” Mr King said. He said US President Barack Obama believes in non-violence, and would propagate it staunchly. However, Mr King does not have the same faith in the US administration. “Mr Obama can only do so much; at the end of the day, it is the military and the administrators surrounding him, who also have to believe in it for things to get better,” he said.
The activist lauded the Indian government’s efforts to work for the betterment of the people. “In a country like India, with a population of over a billion, addressing issues is a mammoth task. But the government is doing a good job,” Mr King said.