Fifty-six years ago, in February 1959, as the American civil rights movement raged on, Martin Luther King Jr. the iconic face of the struggle, visited Madras as part of his tour of India.
The 30-year-old pastor, who was invited by the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, travelled across the country on a quest to deepen his understanding of Gandhi’s principles of non-violent disobedience.
Having arrived from Calcutta on February 18 along with his wife, King was accorded a warm reception by Sri Kumar Menon A.D.C to the Governor of Madras, Thomas W Simons of the U.S. Consulate General in Madras and other officials.
Despite being separated by an ocean of differences, Martin Luther King Jr. immediately struck a chord with the people. His public meetings at Srinivasa Shastri Hall in Mylapore and Presidency College attracted overwhelming crowds. Reiterating his faith in non-violent agitation, King passionately discussed the universal strength of Gandhi’s teachings.
He said, “Three years ago, a negro woman in Montgomery was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in a bus for a white male passenger... however, the technique of non-violence, which had been developed in India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, enabled the negroes of Montgomery to stand up with determination… They were able to say to the white community: We still love you but we cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws.”
He proclaimed that the choice of social action was no longer between violence and non-violence but non-violence and non-existence. The Mahatma apart, the humanitarian was also impressed with his interaction with the media in Madras and other cities.
In ‘My Trip to the Land of Gandhi’, an account of his tour in Ebony magazine, he said, “They asked sharp questions and at times appeared to be hostile but that was just their way of bringing out the story that they were after. As reporters, they were scrupulously fair with us and in their editorials showed an amazing grasp of what was going on in America and other parts of the world.”
Madras’ brief brush with one of the foremost leaders of the American civil rights movement ended on February 20 with King and his wife leaving after their two-day visit.
Martin Luther King Jr. instantly struck a chord with residents on his visit here in 1959, and also went back impressed
