Pradeep Kumar Panda
India along with the whole World is celebrating 150th year of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who is known for his struggles for Non-violence, equity, and freedom. He showed the path of peace and harmony to the society which is the mantra for the human being to lead a happy and prosperous life.
Social Innovator
It has been seventy years since Mahatma Gandhi departed from our midst. But his life and soul continue to animate humanity transcending national and international boundaries. His contribution to human development is far too great and varied to have been forgotten or to be overlooked. The world today recognizes him as a far more compelling social innovator than humanity ever realized.
The life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a story of heroic effort to establish the values of Truth and Non-violence in human life. In pursuing this objective Gandhiji became a Mahatma from a mere ‘Monya’. He became a messenger, for the people of the world surrounded by the fire of violence in the twentieth century.
Father of the Nation
He also became ‘The Father of The Nation’. He saved India and Britain from mutual hate and revenge by resorting to the experiment of Truth and Non-violence in India’s struggle for freedom. This created an atmosphere which made it possible for other countries of Asia and Africa to free themselves without bloodshed from the hold of the European countries which had subdued them in the nineteenth century.
Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned several times in his pursuit of non-cooperation and undertook many ‘fasts’ to protest against the oppression of the downtrodden in India.
Seeker of Truth
Throughout his life, Mahatma Gandhi was a seeker of Truth and the greatest proponent of Non-Violence. The importance that Gandhiji ascribed to Truth cannot be overemphasized – he believed that mere reading of the scriptures would not help one to realize God.
The only way of realizing God was by “developing a pure and noble character” – a character based on “virtuous action and virtuous action is grounded in Truth.” Similarly, the power of non-violence was clearly demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, when he used Ahimsa to free India from the clutches of British. Unlike what the confrontationists believe, Ahimsa is not a way of the coward.
Non-violence does not mean “meek submission to the will of the evil-doer, but it means the putting of one’s whole soul against the will of a tyrant.” Working under this law, even a single individual could “defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his honor, his religion, his soul and lay the foundation for the empire’s fall or its regeneration” – something which Gandhiji demonstrated with his life.
Gandhian Philosophy
While Western Civilizations have started realizing the important role that Gandhian Philosophy can play to create a culture of peace and non-violence in today’s’ strife-torn environment, we Indians have, sadly, relegated the ideals of the Mahatma and ignored it as regressive and a roadblock to our development.
While Western Civilizations are incorporating Gandhian Philosophy as a part of their educational curriculum, we Indians are keen to emulate the “Western Culture” which the Westerners are keen to shed!
Greatest Human Being
While we should be proud of the fact that the greatest human being to have ever lived was the Father of our Nation, it is deplorable that most of us, particularly the new generation knows very little about Gandhiji, his contributions to our society, and the relevance of his philosophy in the present context.
His views on peace, non-violence, economics, agriculture and local governance are so apt in the present day that it makes one marvel as to what an extraordinary visionary Gandhiji was when he espoused those ideas/philosophies years ago.
Decentralization of Power
If we are to strive for all-round development of our country, and at the same time ensure social parity, eliminate power centralization and introduce proper decentralization of power and resources, we need to give a fillip to Gandhian thoughts/philosophies and introduce them to our mainstream ideas and policies.
It is high time that we give Gandhian ideas/philosophies their due importance, for which stimulating the through processes of the right set of participants, who can later act as the exponents of Gandhian thoughts, is necessary.
Awareness Generation
Awareness generation on Philosophy of Gandhiji will act as a catalyst and emphasize the relevance of Gandhian thoughts in the modern world. Young community, particularly the student community should propagate the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and imbibe his thoughts into their own lives and contribute toward nation-building and sustainable development.
(The writer is a New Delhi based Economist)
