Speech on "Relevance of Gandhi's philosophies in modern era"
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Looking at the present state of affairs in India, the birthplace of Gandhi, one would probably surmise that Gandhism, whatever the term may mean, cannot have any relevance in this twenty-first century. Gandhi is rightly called the Father of the Nation because he single handedly stood up against the mighty British Empire, without any arms, and brought her independence. However, today, Gandhi is mostly forgotten and his relevance questioned even by his ardent devotees. Today Gandhi is remembered in India mostly on his birthday which is celebrated as a national holiday rather as a ritual.
As a matter of fact, India is not following any of Gandhi's teachings which are mostly confined to text books. In fact, since independence, the country has witnessed many violent communal riots in this multi communal country. Gandhi's message of 'swabalambi', self-sufficiency with home spun 'khadi' cloth is not used now a days even as a social slogan. Statistics show that the country is definitely not following 'sarvodaya', a broad Gandhian term meaning 'universal upliftment' or 'progress of all' reaching the masses and the downtrodden. On the contrary, India today has the unique distinction of being the only country in the world which has the richest man in the world while at the same time more than 30 per cent of its population lives in dire poverty.
The above shows that today, Gandhism is a very confused 'ism' in India. Today many politicians in India use the term merely as a slogan and the common man make Gandhi almost out of reach of the younger groups by making Gandhi an unwilling 'avatara'. That may be one reason why the only photo we see of Gandhi in India is always that of an old man which brings the image of a very simple and pious man who was meek and mild like Jesus Christ. While Gandhi was not a simple man to say the least, the above does not gives the right image of Gandhi and does not bring any inspiration to the younger group, the group most relevant for Gandhi.
In real world, Gandhi was a politician, a shrewd politician, who was trying to bring peace and harmony to India on one hand while trying to bring her independence at the same time. For Gandhi, the process of change was very important which must be ethical, nonviolent and democratic giving rights to all minorities. In this respect, he resembles the Buddha for whom the noble eightfold path (of right wisdom, right conduct and right effort), itself is the goal and essence of life.
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Explanation:
Modern exponential growth in various fields has seemingly enabled human beings to skim over the fundamental failings of our society and, as each day progresses, our values are being drastically degraded. In these disturbing and difficult times, it might do us good to look back upon one of the greatest peace activists to have ever lived on this earth and discuss whether his principles have any place in today’s world.
It doesn’t need much thought to see that each one of Gandhi’s actions had an underlying premise behind them. His, at first, solitary fight against the mighty British empire could have been just one of the innumerable nameless struggles of that time. Yet, Gandhi succeeded where others could not. His methodology appealed to the conscience of the people; it stirred the masses into a huge Satyagraha. It worked because it was on the assumption of the existence of rudimentary human goodwill. And this is precisely what we require today. In this era of nuclear arms and biological weapons, it is a testament to the relevance of the Gandhian principle that India retains the no-first-use clause in the tenets of its foreign policy regarding the nuclear arena.
The Gandhi approach is not just national based either; with his call for sustainable development, by using just what we need, being recognized globally. Along with this philosophy, at the core of his concept was ‘self-sustainability’. As a leader, Gandhi made firm decisions based on his vision while respecting other’s views and opinions at the same time. It is extremely crucial that we get rid of the homogeneous prescriptions for growth and implanting models irrespective of ecological diversities which have increased the problems in every society.
As the problems in our society assume larger dimensions and greater repercussions, it is up to us now to “be the change we want to see in the world”. Mahatma Gandhi is as relevant today as he ever was, and perhaps it is now, more than ever, in every tragedy and disaster, in every dark and distressing incident, and every moment of weakness that we recognize the Gandhian principle as a shining beacon, a sign of hope for all of us.
Satyameva Jayate!
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