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#MUMMAsBOY:Kulbhaskar with his Mother |
Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, whom we Indians revere as ‘Father of the Nation’ is no more
confined to India alone. His popularity and charisma is increasing with the
passage of time and he stands tall, silhouetted, untarnished by time and tide
as a world leader. The declaration of 2nd October, Gandhi’s birthday, as
‘International Non-violence Day’ talks about the popularity of Gandhian values
in the world today. Not only the United Nations, but all the world leaders are
united in their opinion about the need for Gandhian values in the present
times. Dr. Martin Luther King had observed’ ‘…if humanity is to progress,
Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought, acted and inspired by the vision of
humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony.’ Barak Obama, the former
president of the United States of America sees Gandhi as an inspiration and has
the portrait of this apostle of peace in his office. Aung San Suu Kyi, the
Burmese leader who was under house arrest for many years, derived a great deal
of inspiration from Gandhi.
But
what are Gandhian values? Gandhi firmly believed in the principles of ‘Satya
and Ahimsa’ which he preached and practiced himself. ‘Satya’ compels us not to
withstand a lie while ‘Ahimsa’ forces us to show another cheek to be slapped on
if we get slapped once. He also preached ‘Satyagraha’ which again insisted on
Truth. He followed very simple living and high thinking and propounded peace,
tolerance, self-control and communal harmony. Now we live in a world with the
perils of international terrorism, religious intolerance, ethnic cleansing and
genocide. If we ponder about the world conditions today, we would
understand that there is a greater need for the Gandhian values today than in
any other time. If we want to survive as a human race, we have to stand for
peace and humanity as advocated by Gandhi.
Gandhi
successfully demonstrated that non-violence can be an effective instrument of
social change. To get rid of social evils, Gandhi had undertaken a number of
social movements which had transformed the Indian society and released it from
the shackles of superstitions and fallacy. Women folk who were concealed behind
pardha and burkha as per the social conditions and taboos of that time, could
walk out of their houses and walk shoulder to shoulder with men only due to the
efforts of Gandhi. His concern for the poor and downtrodden was immense and he
called them ‘Harijans’, children of God. Religion, region, caste and language
could not bind him to a particular place but he considered the whole country to
be his home and all the people living in it his brothers and sisters.
Gandhi’s
seven social sins are again a set of values that need to be inculcated in
children right from their early childhood so that they develop moral values and
the country could be saved from the clutches of these sins. We see that these
sins have spread widely in the society today and are eating the very roots of
our society like termites. We live in an era where politics has no principles,
people want to amass wealth without work, in commerce there is no morality,
people are educated without character, people seek pleasure without conscience,
science has no humanity and worship is done without sacrifice. These are the
basic sins that pave the way to corruption and India is under the control of
this menace. Corrupt practices can be uprooted only by inculcating values in
the young. If the energy of the youth can receive honest and selfless
motivation and direction from the elderly, then India can surely earn back the
title of the "Golden Bird." Gandhi’s vision should not be lost
in religious and political fervors. It must be reorganized and reconstructed
for a brighter and logical future.
Gandhi,
during his time, involved the youth in activities and his message to them was
always built around the two cardinal principles of truth and non-violence. He
inspired the youth with his slogan ‘be fearless’ and taught them the value of
compassion and willingness to sacrifice for their fellow brothers. He had well
understood the significance of youth power that could be utilized in bringing
about social change and very effectively he used the reservoir of energy of the
youth during the freedom movement. Youth have more compassion and ideals in them
which if properly channeled could be used to create an ideal society. Gandhi
also gave emphasis to dignity of labor and used to work with the children and
youth.
Gandhi’s
views on education and his stress on ‘learning by doing’ could be well
understood if we read about his ‘Tolstoy Farm’. Gandhian ideals need to be
disseminated with renovated zeal, particularly amongst the youth, which would
help them to transform the society with reinforced ideals.
Today,
India faces more challenges from within the country than from the outer world.
The common man today finds himself in similar conditions as during the British
era. Most of the leaders and high officials are not at the reach of the common
man and he slogs his day in utter poverty and misery. Corruption, is smiting
the lives of the under privileged today like a silent killer. Though welfare
policies are made, many are still deprived of the benefits. Today we live a
life with constant adjustments to changing conditions which calls for a total
discipline in all walks of life. It is also imperative to see that along with
development, the democratic values of the country remain intact. The communal
harmony and composite culture of the nation must be maintained while ensuring
social justice and gender equality to all. If we are able to achieve this, we
shall be helping in fulfilling Gandhi’s cherished dreams.
Gandhi
left many valuable sayings for the modern man tom fight for goodness in the
society in a non-violent way. In the words of Gandhi ‘Good travels at a snail’s
pace, non-violence is a tree of slow growth. It grows imperceptibly but surely.
Mere goodness is not of much use. Goodness must be joined with knowledge,
courage and conviction. One must cultivate the fine discriminating quality
which goes with spiritual courage and character. While studying Gandhi, it is
important for us to not get stuck to his experiments that left negative
impressions in the mind of the readers while reading his ‘autobiography’.
Gandhi was the man of principles, he justified his every actions. He had every
counter for the questions that were raised against him. If he would have been
here, the world would have been a very different place. Being a mere student I
could say this very confidently because he was a man who brought serious
changes during the Brtish Raj when India didn’t even breathe the air of its
choice. Now when India is free and had Gandhi been here the picture would have
been very different. No issues his principles still very much exist so we
should not only study them but should also practice them in our lives and
should also try to preach others so that they may implement them on themselves
and thereafter forming a chain.
(This essay is the outcome of a sudden class test in 'Gandhian Studies' paper conducted by Dr. Mehnaz Najmi, Department of Political Science, SHSS, Galgotias University. Article is put here in order to celebrate and appreciate the students' perspective.)
Good Job @Kulbhashkar.
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