What can we celebrate on ‘Gandhi Jayanthi?’
What can we celebrate on ‘Gandhi Jayanthi?’“Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth ! “ – Albert Einstein (referring to Mahatma Gandhi).
Recently the President of the US was asked as to if he preferred any personality dead or alive with whom he would like to have dinner with, whom would it be? Barack Obama unhesitatingly replied, “Mahatma Gandhi,” whom he considered a real hero. The legend lives on beyond the shores of India. He is the ‘Father of the Nation’ here, crucially remembered for having led the freedom movement against colonial rule. Besides that, there have been several facets of the Mahatma’s thinking and practice that have generated debate over the decades.
The front pages of the newspapers over the last few weeks centre around the concern of world leaders over climate change and the alert that has been sounded that there is not much time to redress the natural imbalance. Tsumani (warnings), earthquakes, floods, greenhouse effects have all become the order of the day. Unbridled consumption of energy and continued depletion of nature in various forms is a grim reminder as to the limits as to how much we can exploit natural resources in our march towards industrialization and urbanization.
While Mahatma Gandhi’s economic philosophy and village model might have been difficult to implement, the broad tenets of his advice on moderation in our consumption and patterns seem to be finding more takers today. Suddenly, everybody is busy finding alternate sources of energy (wind, solar etc) and methods like organic farming.
The pace at which post-independence Indian economic planning and implementation probably called for ‘big dam’ methods of development but now there is room to pause and think of how we plan to move ahead. Environmental movements around the country today are a pointer to what Gandhi had said about our way forward at that time itself. We are severely affected by drought in several districts and starvation-deaths among farmers. How can we be at ease until those who work to fill our national granaries are not assured of two square meals a day? Gandhi used to say that God smiles in the face of the poor and until we can address that all-round grim poverty by a combination of methods the nation cannot be at peace. As he is known to have said, ‘there is enough in this world for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed.’
Related to technology for economic development is also the major concern about technology for warfare, In one form or the other, whether it is about nuclear treaties or atomic tests or related debates, at a global level the debate around advanced technology for warfare is getting embedded in the popular imagination. It is known to have been said that the third world war would be fought with sticks and stones. The Mahatma abhorred all forms of violence. The sophistication and bedazzlement of the weaponnry used in conflict zones in the world is something to watch with distress but it is also equally sad to see the number of innocent civilian casualties that are the outcome of the use of such weapons. For a strong believer in non-violence like Mahatma Gandhi, the (unfortunate) proliferation and sophistication of any form of weapons would have been an anathema to him. He would have wept at such insensible development of weapons of any kind. Technology is indeed a double-edged sword. If we are indeed true admirers of Mahatma we cannot leave this facet of the new millennium unaddressed.
Mahatma Gandhi was the true champion of a plural society and diversity in India. Wherever there was communal violence, he campaigned hard to stop it and showed the way forward for amity. He was backed by several able leaders of the freedom movement. In this effort as in all his endeavors, he had critics all along but that did not discourage him from pursuing what he did through numerous marches, fasts and speeches to the people. He replied to this critics, ‘An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.‘ All in all, he emerged as a powerful symbol of co-existence, tolerance, spirituality, peace and love that shines and is powerful till this day.
Be it on questions of ecology or concerns of technology or national unity, Mahatma Gandhi emerged as a world figure of some importance that numerous later legends claimed inspiration like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few. Satyagraha or the struggle for truth or non-violent resistance became a global catchword among many fighting for injustice. That the first couple of decades of this non-violent movement were tested in the colonial waters of South Africa, beyond India, gave it even more strength.
Different sections of Indian and global society would continue to draw different messages from Gandhi’s life and message. The core values however when addressed to the changing forms of material and cultural existence of every epoch would still find relevance as for example today it is regarding environmental balance, positive use of technology and communal harmony. The message to get across to the succeeding generations is that the Mahatma’s life was something beyond just the struggle for freedom. It was about the moral fibre of the individual and the nation in the march towards its destiny. Any attempt to become a superpower would have to take into account that the nation-state is anchored in the moral message of the Mahatma and its other founding fathers.
Nice post Abdul. Gandhi is one of the greatest sons of India. Aside from Non violence, of all the things he said, the one that affects me the most is this “there is enough in this world for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed.”. This is where we should direct our energies to ensure that we leave a better world for our descendants and to remove poverty from the face of the earth.
Most people I know tend to have a problem with Mahatma Gandhi not following what he preached. As ridiculous as that declaration seems to me, I don’t blame them for the assumption. Any which way, I am more keen on the profundity of his thoughts and achievement of the non-cooperation movement which for me reinforces his practice while preaching philosophy. Hate the sin and not the sinner – something that has changed my approach to life.
Anyway.
Hello Abdul,
A great post on Mahatma Gandhi and ideas he preached. The challenge is changing the mindset from self benefit to Benefit of others (family, your local community, your city, Your country and most importantly future generations welfare on Earth). This could be the first step in following the Mahatma’s ideals.
I remember this story on Lal Bahadur Shastri – He was getting a salary of 45 Rs and one time he needed some money and he asked his wife. She gave him that money (10 Rs) saved from his salary. So he asked for reduction in pay to 35 from the next month. It could look idealistic and non-pragmatic in the current context.
Differentiation or exclusiveness is preferred by most of us and our practices are aligned to that over and above Inclusion and Integration.
First step is for each one of us to practice one aspect that encourages Inclusion (Holistic) way.
Abdul.
do you know that gandhi himself was a fascist?
To understand the stupidity and foolishness of gandhi’s non-violence, i am quoting his writings during partition..
Gandhi’s comment on 6 August 1947 about communal riots in Lahore:
“I am grieved to learn that people are running away from the West Punjab and I am told that Lahore is being evacuated by the non-Muslims. I must say that this is what it should not be. If you think Lahore is dead or is dying, do not run away from it, but die with what you think is the dying Lahore. When you suffer from fear you die before death comes to you. That is not glorious. I will not feel sorry if I hear that people in the Punjab have died not as cowards but as brave men. I cannot be forced to salute any flag. If in that act I am murdered I would bear no ill will against anyone and would rather pray for better sense for the person or persons who murder me.”
— (Hindustan Times, 8-8-1947, CWoMG, vol. LXXXIX, p.11).
Einstein`s words says it all..
He did something impossible by transfroming an individual ethic into a political action… His economic philosophy may appear as ludicrous as the philosophy which freed us from British but whenever faced with ethical dilemma the nation turns to search its soul in Gandhi….
He inspired a number of political and social struggles across the world and gives a ray of hope to anyone hoping for a better peaceful world.
Nice to see the relevance of Gandhi today written in such a compact manner.
Einstein`s words says it all..
He did something impossible by transfroming an individual ethic into a political action… His economic philosophy may appear as ludicrous as the philosophy which freed us from British but whenever faced with ethical dilemma the nation turns to search its soul in Gandhi….
He inspired a number of political and social struggles across the world and gives a ray of hope to anyone hoping for a better peaceful world.
Nice to see the relevance of Gandhi today written in such a compact manner
I don’t think I belong here as I don’t have connections with BITS Pilani. Nevertheless, I stumbled upon this blog and I like the topics introduced here. So let me say a few things.
This article points out two things: that industrialization and urbanization is bad and eliminating poverty is important. But what it doesn’t realize is that inherent contradiction between the two. The only way to eliminate poverty is through urbanization.
There are only to ways to feed to a poor person. 1) get her a job so she can feed herself 2) give her free food from other people’s tax money. The latter is not known to be as satisfactory as the former. The first approach provides food but also keep the people occupied.
The only way to create jobs is through more industrialization and urbanization. It’s a truth today that there’s not enough work for everyone in the world to just satisfy people’s needs. As the article says, we have the technology to feed the entire world. But not to eliminate poverty. Its the consumption of non-essential goods that leads to people getting out of poverty. If not for the materialism or “greed” of the western (now eastern as well) world that many people hate, many people would not be able to come out of poverty.
That said, I have immense respect and admiration for Gandhi. But I don’t think all his ideas are right.
Abdul,
Excellent post. You are absolutely right that the relevance of this great man is beyond freedom of India or ahmisa.
Personally, I believe he was in the quest for self-realization and engaged the whole nation in this endeavor. In essence, it was to see if collective self-realization was possible to lift a nation to higher plane of spirituality.
Brilliant Post Abdul as usual. Gandhiji is without a doubt great leader of our generation. His strength is, he can put himself into other’s shoes and understand the pain that they feel, thats why he was transform himself from a common man to freedom fighter. He can think of 50 years ahead or 100 years ahead, hence his wisdoms are so powerful and very comprehensive, but we couldn’t fathom his visions and facing issues like this that you mentioned in this post. The things are hard to implement definitely going to help for long run. We took some cheap excuses like he is not following what he is preaching, the truth is great leaders don’t need to follow what they preach because they are saying something in the context of global cause, not necessary for themselves. For example, One argued with me that Gandhiji supporting village based economy then why he was always stayed in cities. My reply was, that where Britishers were stayed. But nowadays Gandhism is joke and we Indians try to forget him, i think may be around 10-15 years he will be in Rupees note only.
/** But nowadays Gandhism is joke and we Indians try to forget him, i think may be around 10-15 years he will be in Rupees note only
**/
I dont know in what perspective muthurangan wrote.. but gandhism was a joke, even in his days.. Britishers realised at that time itself and hence promoted him for their convenience, whereas some section of indians realised only later..
We need not wait 10-15 years.. gandhi was confined to rupee note long back, by our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, when he ignored gandhi’s gram rajya and adopted, western styled capitalistic industrialization, and later adopted socialistic model.. till today gandhi is only spoken in newspapers and academecians, but no where his values are implemented.. the reason is simple.. because its NOT practical..
I wish, in 10-15 years, gandhi should be removed even from rupee note, to free indians from the clutches of his self-defeating principles.. we need to get rid of gandhian disease, and we need to learn to think straight forward and practically..
/** Satyagraha or the struggle for truth or non-violent resistance became a global catchword among many fighting for injustice. **/
Satyagraha – satya + graha – truth + firmness .. Where does non-violence comes in this word? Sathyagraha means to uphold the truth.. this should be done in whatever means that is proper and ethical..
Violence is different from war.. Use of force for self-defense is still considered legitimate.. Our indian philosophy has the concept of Sama, Dhana, Bedha, Dhandam..
Sama – seeking for dialogue
Dhana – offering something in return for peace
Bedha – warning, when sama and dhana doesnt solve the problem
Dhandam – Last step, when all the above three fails.. to use force to defeat the enemy..
Thus hindu philosophy has been practical enough in dealing with conflicts..
Today, america is following this hindu philosophy and NOT satyagraha.. in many conflicts in the world, they call for dialogue, then offer some economic package in return for resolution, then warning, and only at the last stage they go for war..
But gandhi subverted the entire indian mass, in to pessimism.. Its time that we abhor his impractical and idealistic values, so that we can come out of the pessimistic mindset.. we need to be cure of this gandhian disease..
/** ‘there is enough in this world for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed.’ **/
This is one principle of gandhi, that traditional india was based upon.. and its a noble value too..
But how many of us are following this? or how many in this world is following?
We are working in a corporate environment, which aims for maximum productivity and maximum profit.. there is no upper limit to the wealth, a corporate can generate.. and this corporate philosophy is based on capitalism, which gandhi was dead against..
but most of us support capitalism, and work for that capitalism? Is it not a contradictory?
Is gandhian ideals only for eulogizing?
Or are we adopting a policy of ideology of the convenience? If so, are we honest enough to admit it?
What is the use of sticking ideologically to a principle that we could not follow? Is it not a double standard?
/** The Mahatma abhorred all forms of violence. **/
But he inflicted so much violence on his own body, as per the views of swamy aurobindo.. our body is same as our enemy’s body.. how come that we abhor violence on enemy, but inflict to our own body?
Secondly, what about subjecting oneself to violence? gandhi advocated everyone to meekly submit to british brutalities and admit the violence to their own body.. yet again, a contradictory to the impractical values of subverted meanings of satyagraha..
As indicated earlier, the real satyagraha is to uphold truth, and NOT to abhor force.. sometimes, a little amount of applying force can prevent a larger violence or catastrophe..
For example, if gandhi had been little practical enough to exchange of populations, after accepting for partition, so much of riots, violent deaths could have been prevented, and millions of people would not have suffered..
SO gandhi by his own foolish decisions caused loss of lives of millions..
Yet we eulogize him .. and who told that we got independence without loss of blood..
The entire population of india is believing on a make-belief history, and still violently sticking to it.. by violently, i mean, the intellectual violence.. ie when someone speak against that make-belief history, the person would be cornered and caricatured..
/** ‘An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.‘ **/
WHen mohammad ghori invaded india, prithviraj chauhan pardoned him.. but everyone knows what happened later..
This is a highly illusionary principle and cannot be universalised..
In the case of kashmir, nehru took the issue to UN eventhough we could have won ourselves.. but the entire world stabbed back on us, by exploiting this kashmir issue till today..
No amount of dialogue could prevent pakistan from masterminding 26/11.. nor it prevents pakistan from sending terrorists to kashmir..
Nor the peace slogan of “Hindi Chini bhai bhai” could prevent china from attacking india..
Peace can be established only on the basis of strength..
For those who are eulogizing the gandhi, please think.. we had fought three wars with pakistan.. In all three wars, we won, but did not contain pakistan..
What would have happened, if pakistan had won?
During 1947 war, before indian troops could step in, thousands of indian women were raped, and wealth looted.. Did gandhian values help us there in any way?
And if pakistan had won in that war, what happened in the border would have happened till delhi..
Do we understand this practical aspect?
/** ‘An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.‘ **/
When gandhi was shot by godse, the same congressmen persecuted the maharashtra brahmins..
Abdul, Wonderful post. Really relevant.
Abdul, Thank you for this relevant and touching post. To me, Gandhiji is a source of inspiration whenever my mind is overwhelmed by magnitude of a challenge. Simplicity never had a better champion.
Your message on the moral fibre is telling. Its also about what we pass on to the next generation.
Thanks Sukumar for that perspective on Gandhi. In his greatness, Gandhi did think of leaving the world a better place than he found it. Succeeding generations have been the beneficiaries of such a position.
Thanks Abhinav. The predominant opinion is that the Mahatma practiced what he preached. Its so apt the way you express what you have been inspired, “Hate the sin, not the sinner.”
Thanks K S Krishnan. Indeed the ability to think beyond the self to benefitting others as well as to thinking about inclusion are the major challenges.
Thanks Arun for your very meaningful comments. You have shared your thoughts with us so beautifully. Gandhi transformed an individual ethic into political action as well as whenever the nation faces an ethical dilemma, it turns to find its soul in Gandhi. Well-said.
Thanks Rama. I was referring to inustrialization and urbanization in the context of the degree of exploitation of natural resources for these purposes.
Nowhere in the post, have I identified industralization and urbanization as negative or bad in themselves. Both are historical processes deeply embedded in technological innovation and changes in methods of production that we really have no strong control over. But yes, a modicum of moderation in a Gandhian sense as how we go about these, patterns of consumption of energy and so on, its possible to give a thought.
Cheers for your other ideas on poverty-elimination.
Thanks Ganesh.
Your words: “In essence, it was to see if collective self-realization was possible to lift a nation to higher plane of spirituality.” Beautiful and well-said. In other words, he connected emanicipation of the self and society and placed the whole exercise at a higher spiritual plane.
Thanks Muthurangan for your detailed comment and kind words.
Thanks Vamsi for your kind words.
Thanks Hariraj. You have touched upon two critical themes of Gandhi’s personality that have hitherto not been discussed: his simplicity and the whole point about moral fibre. The simplicity dimension is now part of the Gandhian aesthetic.
Thanks Rama for visiting. This blog was originally intended for a group of BITSians. Now this is a blog open to all. Please visit from time to time and contribute your wisdom to this community as well as gain from the discussions that take place here.
Nice post.
Adding to Sukumar’s starting comment , I hit upon this article. Feeling guilty – 25 mn more kids to go hungry by 2050 . Every time we splurge on a luxury or visit to a classy restaurant I am going to be very conscious. But I guess still some distance to go before I can get over the temptation of these cool needs. These are definetly not “needs”.
Thanks Kumaran for your heartfelt and concerned thoughts.
/** The only way to eliminate poverty is through urbanization. **/
The phrase “Only Way” makes this statement, a highly narrowed opinion.. there are lot other ways, where poverty could be eliminated in an effective manner.. Gandhi’s village republic is one such noble ideals.. (I may hate the political gandhi.. but i agree a lot with the social gandhi )
Coming to poverty elimination, i question the very wisdom of those urbanites, who offer solutions casually just like that.. without ever analysing why poverty exists, how can we offer such “On the Go” solutions.. In my understanding, there has never been any detailed discussion so far in this blog on why poverty existed, from when and for how long, india is suffering from poverty.. being from IT sector, we dont take such casual approach to any of the projects.. we try to understand the problem, and try to get as much as to the root of the problem.. we emulate different scenarios, and conduct a realistic analysis.. but when it comes to any social issues, are we taking such approach? We all know, that without understanding client’s problem, we cannot give solution.. but how come, we give instant solutions to social problem without understanding?
We need to change this attitude of exclusiveness .. that only urbanisation can eliminate poverty, and rural villages creates poverty.. Its a highly short sighted view.. (the irony is that we often talk about inclusiveness, without understanding what exactly it is )
I would like to cite the following BBC article titled “Rural India Powering Growth”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8254365.stm
A stark contradiction to rama’s exclusive suggestion..
Senthil,
Your ideas seem to have a point. Is it possible for you to contribute your views on poverty in a well researched blog post. I am sure it will help this community.
Thanks vamsi.. i have this plan for long, but i am giving more thought on this, to understand deep. I will come out with a post soon.. thanks for reminding me this..
Great post abdul – good crisp compilation and touching the right elements.
What I see and adore in him is absolute lack of hypocrisy. He is known to have said ‘Be violent if violence is there in your heart’.
Interesting point Kumaran. I think enjoying ourselves with some luxuries without overdoing it may not be a bad thing. But that may not solve the problem – how to eliminate poverty?
Senthil, you are welcome to write a post on this blog if you have something well-researched or well-thought out.
Sukumar,
Me avoiding luxuries does not eliminate poverty. How ever may I can do something useful with the money or could be the time which I spent earning the extra money? I can go by a small car instead of a Merc or an gas guzzling SUV ( not to discount the environmental impact).
My comment was a direct impact from a dialog in the movie Gandhi day before yesterday where someone asks him why started wearing dhoti. He replied-”How can I feel like the common if I don’t even dress like him?”.
If we could divert our extra money we have or the time we spend to earn money on society around us maybe it will be useful.But I stop here coz I am being preachy without being practical. Hopefully I will comment with more conviction when I practice it.
Great post Abdul…Gandhiji is relevant even today as Laage Raho Munna Bhai proved it.My opinion about Gandhiji has drastically chnaged in past 3 years.It started as pure hate ,which becane indifference and soon a great respect .This change is based on reading more and more about Gandhi and trying to understand why he was called the Mahatma.I tried doing certain things which he has asked us to do but it is very very diffcult hence i realised that its easy to abuse the Mahatma but difficult to follow his path.IMHO we are very lucky to be born in same century that he died.Say if he had lived 500 or 100 years back people would has associated lots of legends to his credit and he would have become God.
As saying goes over a period of time history becomes a legend ,legend becomes a myth and myth becomes a story.So in some time people will find it difficult to beleive that such man lived on this planet and it may become a part of the folklore.
Thanks Surendar for your thoughts and kind words.
Thanks Karthik. Transformatory experiences like yours can be an inspiration. You have put it very nicely about the history, legend and myth bit. Good perspective on your part.
And of course, Munnabhai and his sequel Lage Raho did make Gandhi the focus of attention and debate in their own humourous but significant way.
Its really amusing how people form impressions about one Mr. Gandhi who apart from giving us a National holiday seems to be remembered only as a cause for the partition. To speak against Mr. Gandhi seems to be totally in fad and fashion. Or worse still, people fear being mocked if they believed in Gandhi. Some think he was no more than a traitor, some think he was a fool who got his ways, some feel he was right for most part of his ‘political career’ and then later faltered, some think he was a selfish goose, some think he ‘hypnotized’ lakhs of Indians to adhering to his ways…
I feel he has stretched determination to the extent of being called stubborn. Stretched faith to the extent of being called ridiculous. Stretched love for human life to the extent of being called a ‘traitor’!!!
Thanks Kumaran. You are right, we should divert some of our luxury spends towards charity. That makes sense.
Nice blog Abdul. Nice thoughts shared on the BD of Gandhi.
Great post Abdul… Gandhi is one of the few who have achieved the pinacle of the Masclow hierarchy-the self actualization need. For him getting Freedom was the ultimate goal through his nobel weapon- non voilence.
Actually, contrary to some beliefs that Gandhi’s musings have become irrelevant in the contemporary world,i feel Gandhian Philosophy has become more relevant than never before.
In this world which is plagued by rampant voilence,poverty and corruption,Gandhi’s philosophy appears to be a cherishable nectar.
Hi Abdul,
Great post! Mahatma Gandhi was a true leader and a great visionary! No wonder his teachings are still relevant in today’s context. We should really think about the Mahatma and his teachings and what we can emulate instead of letting Gandhi Jayanthi pass by as any other holiday on the calendar. You have paid a very good tribute to the Father of our Nation!
His autobiography has been aptly and beautifully named as – ‘My Experiments with Truth’. That a person believed that Satyagraha is a mighty weapon and used it against the mighty British and finally liberated an entire nation something that requires extraordinary courage!
Deviating a bit from what you have talked about economic progress, misuse of technology and other issues, I recollect having read about the great qualities of Mahatma Gandhi written by the ‘Right Honourable’ Srinivasa Sastry as a chapter in my school textbook. Sastry says the crowning attribute of Mahatma’s character was his piety. When Gandhi was confronted with a real problem that he found difficult to solve, he would shut himself up inside a room and talk to God and give the leave the problem into His hands. Once done, he would emerge out of the room relieved that it will definitely be solved. Ever since I read it when I was in school, I have also tried to do this when faced with crisis situations in my life and it has produced astonishing results!
My sons(4.5 years and 1.75 yrs) refer to rupee notes as ‘Gandhi’ as they see Gandhi’s face printed on it! When they grow old enough to appreciate his greatness, we will tell them about what all Gandhi Thatha did. For now, they can just recognize Gandhi Thatha and Nehru Mama
Thank you very much Krithika. Your comment reads almost like a post in itself.
We hear the common statement, ‘Nobody is perfect.’ True. However, despite our imperfections how we struggle to do good and achieve a better spiritual and material life for ourselves and our society is the challenge. The Mahatma rose to the occasion like few others did in the 20th century.
Like what the Hon ‘ble Srinivasa Sastry has said about his ‘piety’ there are others who refer to his ‘simplicity’. I agree with you about the serene conversation with God method aka prayer producing results.
Definitely its difficult to discuss Gandhi thatha without Nehru Mama as it is even more difficult to discuss both of them without a reference to Rabindranath Tagore.
But thats a topic for another day.
Thanks Abhinav especially for the use of the expression Gandhi’s ‘love for human life.’
Thanks Deepak for your prompt and thoughtful comment.
Yours words echo that of Ganesh who has commented above that Gandhi’s self-actualization went beyond his self as an individual and became an exercise in taking the nation to a different plane of spirituality altogether.
How can truth expressing itself in simple and pious ways become irrelevant just because our material and technological conditions are different? The challenges before society persist from down the ages and the values that Gandhi stood for including the care for and love of fellow human beings can never become redundant.
Thanks Vinod for your comment.
An insightful post Adbul..Gandhi was a visionary.His non-violence approach always stands unique.
A very nice piece of writing:)
Thanks Annapoorani for your kind words.
/** Senthil, you are welcome to write a post on this blog if you have something well-researched or well-thought out. **/
Thanks for your invite sukumar.. I have lot of observations and thoughts over the poverty in india, and if i have to express it out in this blog, it may conflict with most of the existing beliefs of the majority of the members. Infact, i find that the indian elites, as responsible for today’s poverty.
Another thing is that, i would be projecting my points, not as a s/w guy, but from the perspective of the rural people’s life, a life which i am partly living.
If sastwingees community could entertain such an entirely different but sometimes opposing view points, i would be glad to contribute a post. Having said that, i assure a decent and polite post, in terms of words and expression.
/** I feel he has stretched determination to the extent of being called stubborn. **/
A descent way of calling a man as “Fascist”
.. too much of determination is what a fascist has..
/** Stretched faith to the extent of being called ridiculous. Stretched love for human life to the extent of being called a ‘traitor’!!!
**/
Too much of anything is good for nothing, even if it were elixir.
/** Its really amusing how people form impressions about one Mr. Gandhi who apart from giving us a National holiday seems to be remembered only as a cause for the partition.
**/
Abhinav.. sometimes truth amuses us a lot, particularly when we are brought over make belief stories.
I had earlier asked a question.. “How many times had gandhi consulted with other freedom fighters and accepted their decisions?”
We find that in the name of so called “Inner Voice”, gandhi had imposed his decisions over others in most of the cases, even if all other members did not agree. This type of attitude is what is termed as “Fascism”. Yet, no one is willing to agree to this simple Truth.
I some times feel, that we indians lost the ability to think straight forward, when it comes to nation and public cause.
Imagine a army general, who happens to take few wrong decisions, which results in the defeat or loss of many lives. How will he be treated? Naturally he would be courtmartialled, and if the loss is severe, he may be executed too.
But gandhi, who is projected as the only sole unmatched leader, had took a lot of wrong decisions which compromised national cause, and lead to loss of millions of lives. Most of us understand that many of the problems that india faces, traces the root to gandhi and nehru, the two most fascist leaders, who never heed to other’s opinion or advice.
Yet we are not ready to even accept these truths..
So my question goes.. do we treat gandhi as a “Leader” or a “GOD”? We have to remember that in indian traditions, as we see from ramayana, even the actions of the god is debated. Rama is a god, but still, we debate whether rama’s killing of vaali is right or wrong. But why is there no such debate on gandhi?
Is GANDHI NOT accountable in any way?
/** When Gandhi was confronted with a real problem that he found difficult to solve, he would shut himself up inside a room and talk to God and give the leave the problem into His hands
**/
Why not we follow this in our business life? Our managers can shut themselves inside a room, and talk to god to get the best solution
Atleast in business, if the solution fails, it will be a loss of economy.. But in a society, the stakes are too higher, for which a leader has to exhibit much more leadership, than a business manager does..
with reference to my earlier comment..
http://www.sastwingees.org/2009/10/02/what-can-we-celebrate-on-%e2%80%98gandhi-jayanthi%e2%80%99/comment-page-2/#comment-12827
Sukumar.. i wanted to confirm this, so as not to cause any embarassment to any of you.. writing my opinion in comments is a different thing, whereas writing it as a post, requires greater level of responsibility, as that would be seen as formal view of this community.. that’s why i would like to seek acceptability from all of you, by stating what i am going to write..
Otherwise, not to say, its a great privilege to be even invited for being part of this blog..
an interesting news article on why gandhi was not awarded noble prize..
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/india/Why-wasnt-Gandhi-bestowed-with-Nobel-Prize/articleshow/5111533.cms
Senthil,
Please write a draft post and send it to me. As i said, if it is well thought out or well-researched, we will publish. We don’t reject opposing views without considering them carefully.
Radha Rajan gives a different perspective on Gandhi in the book “Eclipse of the Hindu Nation, Gandhi and his Freedom Struggle” based on the Collected Works of Gandhi.
It may be necessary for indians to rethink on their idols and re-discover themselves.
The castles that are built upon false impressions and imaginative conlusions may not sustain the ravages of time.
Senthil,
I do agree with you on certain points about Gandhi being opinionated and not a consensus person. My personal grouse of promoting Nehru instead of Patel.
But the point of blog as I see it, what ideas/concepts given by Gandhi is useful to us.
I strongly believe in “Matran thotathu malligaikkum vasam undu”. The neighbour’s garden has jasmines which smells nice.
Gandhi might have his problems but some of his concepts/principles are strong and meaningful. Why reject anything/everything from Gandhi just because he messed up somethings. Afterall he is also human. Just look at him as another smart being rather than a person whose clone should be made.
Just to give you a perspective my thinking. I don’t believe in God or Krishna. But I like “Gita and its principles” I find it meaning if you read it with a neutral frame of mind. Read Gita as if it is management book. You will actually discover some intersting perspectives.
Thanks kumaran.. I fully agree with you.. no one in this world can be completely bad person or completely good one..
I am willing to see gandhi in an objective manner.. but most of those writing on gandhi is doing a kind of hero worship, which i could not agree with..
Infact, i feel, gandhi’s valuable ideas are discounted as not suitable to modern times, whereas, his impractical ideals are eulogized..
For example, let’s take the case of Gram Rajya, and the village republic that gandhi suggested.. I visualise that, if implemented properly, it could have been a efficient indigenous development model, that would have pushed india to a developed country by now.
While i would cover this in my detailed post, i am giving a glimpse of what i envision..
Gandhi village republic consists of a self-reliant village, where every basic thing needed for the village is produced there itself. The village should look outside only for those materials which it could not produce itself. Similarly, the village people should elect their representative directly, and should be able to de-elect the same if he found to be inefficient. The village should have the power and authority to design its own geographic space, like house architecture, developing infrastructure, policing, collecting taxes, laying roads etc.
Imagine, if such a system has been implemented, then today, every village would have developed itself, and people there living a standard life.
I have an interesting hypothesis here. Suppose, if an IT company wants to setup development centre, they can choose a village republic, get permission from them, setup a dev centre, pay a part of tax to the village administration, and another part to the central government. Whatever the company needs, would be fulfilled by the village authority, as they are the direct beneficiary of having an IT company.
if there are thousand such autonomous village republics, with refined administrative system, our IT companies would have the most favourable environment to work with. Since IT companies generate more revenue, there would be competition b/w village republics to setup development centers in their region, with all facilities. (as they have the power to develop their area). And we need not pack ourselves in just chennai.. rather all our employees would have had the opportunity to work near their native place, able to look after their parents, living a comfortable life along with their relatives..
The central government would be taking care of defence, foreign affairs, and other larger infrastructure activities.
This is just my dream coming out of my understanding of our true history (NOT the one that we study in history books)..
This village republic is a concept that was existing for thousands of years in india, as dharampal writes in his history.. Gandhi would have observed such village setup directly, as on those days, india’s social setup might not have changed much..
I emphasize one thing.. Only if we understand “What we have lost’, and only if we are able to envision “How we could have been”, we could be able to ascertain our current position or status..
Kumaran,
/** My personal grouse of promoting Nehru instead of Patel. **/
This is also one of the reason why i hate gandhi (the political gandhi) too much.. When almost all congress commitee members had chosen patel, why should gandhi push nehru? That too for a silly reason (do any one want to know this)?
Is it not against the very spirit of democracy.. and that’s why i called gandhi as a fascist..
Also, if you read the following link on Nehru, your grouse will further increase
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1216186/The-shocking-love-triangle-Lord-Mountbatten-wife-founder-modern-India.html
The above details on the illicit affair that nehru had with edwina.. but more importantly the fact that Nehru mortgaged india, just for the same reason.. his weakness towards edwina, which mountbatten utilised for his purpose, in persuading Nehru to refer Kashmir issue to UN, just when indian forces was within two weeks of recapturing the entire kashmir..
Arent we suffering from the consequences of the insane decision, that nehru took at that time, just for his illicit love? Is it just a small mistake?
PS: i think dailymail is a reputed one among the elites
/** Gandhi might have his problems but some of his concepts/principles are strong and meaningful. Why reject anything/everything from Gandhi just because he messed up somethings.
**/
Actually, we fail to understand the consequences of gandhi’s so called “Problems’.. As i said earlier, that a social gandhi, a spiritual gandhi should be respected and appreciated.. But, we have been so much affected by that political gandhi, that most of our sufferings today, could be traced its root to gandhi’s subverted satyagraha..
To quote an example, when Power was transferred to Congress, Nehru first asked the question “Why should we need army now?”
(those in dis-belief, pls understand nehru asked this very question).. As a result, he neglected indian army, till china gave us a sever blow..
Another effect of gandhi’s satyagraha on nehru is that he voluntarily gave the rights of Tibet to China, under the guise of “Hindi Chini – Bhai Bhai”, as though india was his personal property.. (still the nehru dynasty feels india and congress are its property..that’s a different case
)..
Could any ordinary person donate a part of his land just for a illusionary friendship? (We cannot do this even to our close friend, nor our relative)..
Whats the effect of that decision on us? We lost tibet which acted as buffer b/w india and china.. we lost a part of arunachal pradesh, and a part of ladakh.. we lost strategic heights in himalayas.. we lost a natural boundary for us.. we lost source of our major rivers like ganga and brahmaputra..
Today, china is claiming remaining part of arunachal pradesh.. China is planning every move to dis-integrate india, and surrounded us with “string of pearls”.. (pls google this phrase).. We lost our ability to stand against china to defend ourselves..
http://news.rediff.com/column/2009/oct/08/to-chinas-delight-india-reins-in-its-media.htm
So, i pose this simple question.. When china attacks us next, will any of gandhian values help us? If Not, what is the use of eulogizing those values.. Arent we subverting our intellect ourselves? And also subverting the intellect of the next generation?
which aspects of gnadhi’s life hvae enduring impact on the future generation and how his strategies cannot be applied to resolve international conflicts today?