Contemporary Gandhism

To evaluate someone on their sesquicentennial year of birth is to define the relevance of that individual in the contemporary social framework. It is with the same perspective that we ought to gauge the relevance of Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. Again, the word relevance can be an epigram in itself because an individual can be present without his ideas being followed. It seems Gandhi is ever present. He is featured on our currency notes, he continues to be referred to in the ongoing political and economic discourse taking place in the country and we celebrate his birthday as a National Holiday. The question is whether we let Gandhi remain confined to currency notes and to our rhetoric or we seek application of those ideals that Gandhi epitomised.

Looking at the present state of affairs in India, one would probably surmise that Gandhism, whatever the term may mean, does not have any real existence in this century. But if we explore the basic tenets of Gandhian philosophy, we come to realise that the moral crisis that has gripped us can be remedied by Gandhian principles. Hence, it is for us to decipher those virtues of Gandhi which singled him out as a thinker and meditate over their application in the present era.

Mahatma Gandhi stood for Pluralism. His politics did not exhibit any parochial attitude as he advocated for an amalgamation of ideas. The emergence of Gandhi saw the rise of nationalism in India. He himself became the most acknowledged political personality during India's struggle for Independence. It was also an era of various political ideologies, many of which were contrary to each other. Gandhi, however, never displayed any unilateral political approach. He spoke for political inclusiveness while also standing for the Indian belief of assimilation and mutual reciprocation. There may have been situations where his discussion with the Muslim League failed or his relationship with the RSS got strained but Gandhi never wavered from his policy of bilateral discussion. Regarding the strategy of the Mahatma, George Bernard Shaw once remarked that though Gandhi has committed some tactical errors, his essential strategy continued to work.

If there is one reason for Mahatma Gandhi to be remembered for generations to come, it is for his creed of non-violence as a means of protest. One wonders how non-violence and peace can be relied upon as a method to fight for justice, freedom and human rights. The western world was in absolute awe. It came at a time when Europe was buckling under the impact of World Wars. The holocaust and genocide aroused a yearning for peace which Gandhi and his philosophy centred on.

In India, Gandhi's non-violence manifested an unconventional method of non-cooperation that had a far more persistent effect than militancy. The British were bamboozled about finding a response. Little wonder that towering intellectuals of the west like Romain Roland, Louis Fischer and Albert Einstein embraced Gandhian thought.

Mahatma Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence stood upon the prop of Humanism. He was a humanist who manifested the spirituality and universality of Indian philosophy. His movements, be it with the indigo cultivators in Champaran or the textile mill workers in Ahmedabad or even against Apartheid in South Africa are crusades for justice and social rights. At a time when the country was burning in the flames of partition and when most of the leading politicians in India were busy in weaving political motif, Gandhi went to Noakhali in the eastern part of Bengal and it is largely because of his intervention that the drive for ethnic killings in Bengal was diminished. If Karl Marx has voiced his concern for the benediction of the oppressed class through his socialistic philosophy, Gandhi, too, longed for the same, perhaps in a more holistic manner. He took up the fight against untouchability and sought social rights for the so-called untouchables. As a humanist, Gandhi has influenced the likes of Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. The struggle to uphold humanism is an unending one in which Gandhi shines like a beam of inspiration.

To many, Gandhi's concept of Gram Swaraj appears to be utopian but it is to be remembered that all thoughts with novelty and iconoclasm are primarily utopian. In his famous work "Utopia", Thomas More remarked that all philosophers dream of utopia till it is not practically applied. So, Gandhi's dream of a social order based on welfare, economic parity and amicability can be considered the ultimate condition of proper sociable existence. It is this craving that has led saints, philosophers and liberals in their fight against forces that are antagonistic to humanism. Given that even today, the majority of India lives in the villages, Gandhi's idea of Gram Swaraj cannot be done away with and nor can we still ignore the significance of cottage industries in the matter of economic prosperity at the rural level. In his zeal for the upliftment of the economically challenged and socially deprived, Gandhi sings in the same tune as Swami Vivekananda and Adam Smith. Gandhi's ideas on basic education still hold true for his emphasis was not on mass literacy alone but on fundamentals of goodness being imbibed through education.

Mahatma Gandhi was no saint nor did he do anything hitherto unknown. He once stated, "I have nothing to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills." If today, Gandhian principles are still lacking in India, it is because we are visibly lacking individuals who think beyond their peevish desires. Whether in the context of welfare governance or global peace or distributive justice, India cannot disown Gandhi. In a world of materialism and consumerism, we are to attain economic, social and moral freedom and for that, we need the 'Saint of Sabarmati' with us.

(The author is Headmaster, Ariadaha Sree Vidyaniketan High School, Kolkata. The views expressed are strictly personal)