Gandhi Today: Marking the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s October 2 Birthday

Kapani Athilu Khrasi [dropcap]G[/dropcap]enerations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.” Albert Einstein. In this materialistic age, where economic has become all important and nuclear power a must, the post independence generation has begun to consider Gandhi and his principles totally irrelevant in the present context. They think that the Mahatma belonged to a by-gone era and his ideas have become obsolete. But is it really so? Is Gandhi irrelevant today with all his lofty ideals? No. Not at all! On the contrary he is more relevant today and his ideas more urgently needed than ever before. Let us have a brief glimpse of Gandhian concepts and then we will find ourselves that Gandhi was the man for all seasons, for all times. His ideas were universal because they delved in to the core of the humanity and he tried to come up with values for the moral upliftment of all mankind. Can a man possessing such ideas ever become irrelevant?Despite the unprecedented advancement of science and technology, Gandhian ideas still hold well in economic, social and political fields. Gandhian realized that the fabric of the Indian economy rests on a rural base. The tiller is still the backbone of the Indian economy. If he remains illiterate, his crafts are not properly organized, if education is not centered around the crafts, villages are without water and the ecological balance is disturbed. Indian economy will not be able to progress much. In fact, Indian planners have again and again turned to take a second look at the rural sectors from the Gandhian point of view. Gandhi was not against industrialization but his venue was half a million villages which he wanted to see developed as authentic village republics. He pleaded for the technology that would supplement and complement the manpower and animal power easily available in India. That was the way to safe guard unemployment and starvation. Gandhi’s concept of decentralized economy and industrialization would perhaps have led to a prosperous village population with an exploitation free, equitable distribution of natural resources, means and instruments of production as well as the produces. The fact that India is now concentrating on the production of bio-gas and solar energy is itself vindication of Gandhian ideas. In the political field, we are experimenting with Panchayati Raj, Lok ayuktas’ etc. Gandhian views on education too are relevant today. For instance, in a highly materialistic American society, which has reached the zenith of economic prosperity, there is strong advocacy in favour of school prayers which is nothing but Gandhian offshoot of spiritual and religious education. Gandhi felt that education should not only increase knowledge but develop the culture of the heart and the hand. It should teach self-reliance and inculcate the value of institutions should not ask for outside help, but manage to exist and develop on their own internal resources, and finally and finally it must be craft centered (skill oriented). All these are valid points and are being experimented with now. Vocational training in fact, is just a takeoff from craft centered education. Gandhi has often been accused of being conservation. But, it would be wrong to call him so. His views were conditioned by the knowledge of life in the country where the standards of living were deplorably low, unemployment had assumed staggering portions and the privileged few were leading the most sophisticated life. Gandhiji did not have any soft corner in his heart for rich. His concept of trusteeship has often been misunderstood. Trusteeship is a means of transferring the present capitalistic system into an egalitarian order. It does not recognize any right of private ownership of property except to the extend regarded by the community as essential for its welfare. Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of life has been criticized to such an extent that independent India has completely repudiated it. Modern India is committed to the operation of highly-centralized Parliamentary Government., the creating of a Socialist order, large scale industrialization on the western pattern and modern science and technology. But Mahatma’s views on autonomous village, his advocacy of cottage industries, Charkha and khaddar, his general opposition to mass production, big labour-saving machinery and imitation of western production methods should be considered in the context of the conditions prevailing in the country. His greatest contribution to modern thought lies in his insistence that man is fundamentally a spiritual and moral being and that society is an association of human spirit, an association which is not limited in any way by considerations of nationality, race, creed or sex. Today, when there has been a deep erosion of moral values in our public life and when ethical principles have virtually disappearing from politics, Gandhian values appear as a whiff of fresh air. In his time, Gandhi provided not only political but also moral leadership to the country, something which is missing in today’s India. However, the yearning for raising the level of our public life remains and as long as that is there, Gandhi can never become irrelevant. (An extract from the 21st Century, Advanced Essays, Batra, S.)