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Non-violence: the way forward

Over the years I have visited India many times as a Member of Congress and as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. But my most recent visit last week as part of a Congressional Delegation headed by Rep. John Lewis may be the most important of all, because of what it says about America and India.

Rep. Lewis headed a delegation to commemorate the 50th anniversary of an historic visit to India by Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior and Coretta Scott King, and our delegation included Martin Luther King III. Across India there were several poignant and deeply moving ceremonies to remember the visit a half century ago and to rekindle the torch of freedom and equality. At a time of unprecedented challenges and threats in the world, affirming that one candle can light the darkness is the first step in the way forward.

For those who may not know, my friend and colleague, Rep. John Lewis, is a legendary civil rights leader in the United States who marched shoulder to shoulder with Dr. King as they forever changed America for the better. Dr. King was inspired by Gandhi’s teachings of non-violence and Dr. King inspired America to look inward and see the glare of racial injustice that festered in a nation dedicated to freedom and justice for all. Like Gandhi, Dr. King paid for his commitment to peace with his life, but instead of mourning their passing, we can celebrate their lives and legacy by keeping their wisdom alive as we search for solutions to the difficult global problems we face. There is reason today to be hopeful.

Many in America today, including me, believe that we have finally reached the mountaintop that Dr. King so eloquently described, because in less than a generation following Dr. King’s death, we have elected the first African American President in history. The election of Barack Obama was a stunning affirmation of America’s constitutional commitment to freedom and justice for all. And President Obama already has sent a clear and compelling message to the world, and especially our close allies including India, that America will resume its role in international policy as a leader that unites nations and a leader that will seek ways to bridge divides among nations.

No one doubts that the challenges before us are difficult, or that hatred has infected many places and threatens many people, or that there will be difficult days ahead as we work together to build a world that respects human life, national borders and peace. When terrorists struck Mumbai a few months ago, we were all Indian that day, just as you supported us on that terrible day in 2001. But our response must go beyond rhetoric and I believe it will in the Obama Administration.

India has emerged as a pre-eminent leader in South Asia, and with our mutual commitments to democracy and rule of law, India and the United States are far more similar than we are different. In the 21st Century we must deepen our ties, even as we respect our different cultures, if we are to make this a safer and better world. Diversity does not make us weaker, it makes us all stronger. Dr. King so eloquently looked forward to the day when every person would be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. Together, we can demonstrate that great nations are those in which national sovereignty is not a divide, but a bridge that crosses great divides to unite nations and people. India and the United States are two such great nations. We can promote global unity by promoting global diversity.

I believe this concept will be at the heart of the philosophy and foreign policy put forward in the Administration of President Obama. His choice of Senator Hilary Clinton is a clear signal that America intends to lead with strength and compassion, wisdom and intelligence, respect and admiration for a world that can be seen as both fragile from the threat of climate change and glorious from the expression of hope and happiness in the eyes of a young child in New Delhi.

In all the nations and continents that I have visited as a Member of Congress, or as a medical doctor, I can assure you there is, at least, one absolute in the world: We all share the same hopes and aspirations for our children. We all want our children to have a better life, or more opportunity, than we had. So, for all that divides the world, there is certainly one foundation block that can help unite the world.

It is true in my judgment that when a billion people in the world exist on one dollar a day, the world has not met its obligation to promote justice. It is true in my judgment that hate begets hate and, as Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” And it is true in my judgment that while we can never hesitate to vigorously defend our nations against terrorism, we must also find ways to eliminate terrorism by means other than violence.

When Rep. John Lewis stepped forward last week in New Delhi on behalf of our Congressional Delegation to lay a wreath at the Raj Ghat memorial to Gandhi, we were commemorating the past and remembering that Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior are pointing the way forward to the future.

(Rep. Jim McDermott is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.)

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