Know Your English (Aug 2001)

Know your English

What is the difference between "martyr" and "victim"?

A martyr is someone who is killed or punished because of his religious or political beliefs. The individual is willing to undergo any amount of suffering for the cause he believes in. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated because of their political beliefs. Whatever be the reason - political, or religious - the individual in this case is usually punished or killed intentionally.
A "victim", on the other hand, may or may not have any strong political or religious beliefs. He may be killed or punished intentionally or accidentally. A person who is murdered is referred to as a "victim" and so is an individual who dies in a road accident. The word "martyr" carries with it the sense that the individual gave up his life voluntarily for the cause he believed in; that he fought hard for his beliefs. A "victim" may been killed for no apparent reason. He could have merely been an individual who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.


Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, August 07, 2001