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."