YouTube is fabulous. It lets one actually see events about which one has only heard about and that too vaguely.
“I have a dream” for me was one such event I knew about but had no real idea of how it unfolded or what it consisted of. Then I saw this clipping on the YouTube, to be totally swept off my feet. This legendary speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr from the Lincoln Memorial is a masterpiece of courage of its conviction and the manner of oratory. It arouses an indescribable feeling even 47 years later, knowing fully well about the impact it had on the American mindscapes then. I have since watched this video clipping many times and even used it for teaching in my Humanities class.
During the very first viewing, I found two things particularly striking. The first was that several of the volunteers of the civil rights movement seen on the dias with Dr. King were wearing Gandhi caps. Although Dr. King never met Gandhi, he acknowledged the influence of Gandhi’s ideas and methods of civil disobedience on the struggle of Black population in America (children of former slaves) for equal rights.
The other striking thing was to see so many white folks among the multitudes who had thronged the Mall in Washington DC to listen to Dr. King. Several of them had brought their kids along and can be seen as hoisting the little ones on their shoulders so that they can have a better view. This is very significant as the Civil Rights Movement was not just fought by the aggrieved but also supported by the civil society at large that stood for justice.
I could not help drawing parallels with the struggle for Dalit rights in our country. In many ways the lot of Dalits in Indian society was far worse that of the Blacks in America. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes consist of appx. 24% of our population. They have been historically excluded from Indian society for centuries. The struggle for Independence brought their plight in the foreground because of leaders like Gandhi and Ambedkar. In the ensuing free republic, their plight was formally recognized and measures of alleviation incorporated. Yet, in the advantaged civil society of our country, it is rare to find any empathy for this group. We even use the term SC/ST as an expression of derision. How many of us will ever attend a rally in support of the rights of some other section of our own society, let alone sensitizing our children to their plight?
It is not enough to have rights enshrined in the constitution. They are meaningless if there is lack of justice on ground. A civil society is one where the majority in mainstream stands up for the demand of justice for the minorities and marginalized.
I do not know whether we are there yet.
