Farewell to Gandhi
It was another Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd Oct’09,and jokes apart, time to remember our father of the nation. More importantly it was time to ponder and introspect once again the relevance of the Mahatma to India as a people in progress. Einstein remarked years ago that generations to come would scare believe that such a one as this in flesh and blood walked over the earth and it would not be wrong to surmise that ours is one among these generations which has taken the first step in consigning the Mahatma and his values to the dustbin of history. DF Karaka wrote a book titled ‘Out of Dust, He Made Us into Men’during the freedom struggle days and now we have wiped his dust from our memory, so to say. Reams of newsprint have spoken about his life and work but somewhere amidst all these, has been lost the essence and meaning of what he stood for.
In the commodified world we live in,everything has a price. At all costs seems to be the spirit pervading the corporate corridors. How high is the asking price determines how successful and powerful one is. Previously unheard of obscene figures dot ones pay cheque. Even as one more zero gets added to one’s salary, one more malnourished child goes into the coffin at Melaghat, and one more famished image of a Kalahandi local cries for attention. As someone raises his hands to his head in despair, another shrugs his shoulders with an air of indifference. It is here that two of Gandhi’s telling observations- There is enough for man’s need but not enough for man’s greed and to wipe every tear from every eye finds resonance.
All around us lifestyle changes and lack of values are too glaring to escape attention.Palatial houses for accommodation, designer and branded wear for one’s attire, fast food for consumption, SUVs and airways for transportation, hifi gadgets to keep in touch are all too common. Lack of respect for elders, indecent and immoral forms of relaxation and entertainment, dishonesty and lack of intellectual integrity in achieving goals, unethical conduct, lack of civic sense and the devil may care attitude are the accompanying virtues. Caste and religious discrimination and lack of dignity in labour are welcome additions.Contrast this with the Gandhian way of life and values and we know where we stand. No wonder the Gandhian is an extinct species.
For Gandhiji, non violence and truth were as old as the hills, majestic and standing in silent splendour, but to us they are obstacles to personal progress, a vice rather than a virtue. Amassing fortune rather than earning goodwill is the order of the day. Every man to himself, each to his own is the ruling credo. Both eyes for an eye, to give as good as one gets is the guiding principle.To top it all Gandhi has become a brand for others to make money.
With each passing day, the disconnect is only getting greater, the Mahatma becoming merely a subject of academic interest.The day is not far when our father of the nation loses even the symbolic significance that he enjoys now. Meanwhile we can continue milking the holiday on Gandhi Jayanti for our own ends.
What a father, what a nation.
It was another Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd Oct’09,and jokes apart, time to remember our father of the nation. More importantly it was time to ponder and introspect once again the relevance of the Mahatma to India as a people in progress. Einstein remarked years ago that generations to come would scare believe that such a one as this in flesh and blood walked over the earth and it would not be wrong to surmise that ours is one among these generations which has taken the first step in consigning the Mahatma and his values to the dustbin of history. DF Karaka wrote a book titled ‘Out of Dust, He Made Us into Men’during the freedom struggle days and now we have wiped his dust from our memory, so to say. Reams of newsprint have spoken about his life and work but somewhere amidst all these, has been lost the essence and meaning of what he stood for.
In the commodified world we live in,everything has a price. At all costs seems to be the spirit pervading the corporate corridors. How high is the asking price determines how successful and powerful one is. Previously unheard of obscene figures dot ones pay cheque. Even as one more zero gets added to one’s salary, one more malnourished child goes into the coffin at Melaghat, and one more famished image of a Kalahandi local cries for attention. As someone raises his hands to his head in despair, another shrugs his shoulders with an air of indifference. It is here that two of Gandhi’s telling observations- There is enough for man’s need but not enough for man’s greed and to wipe every tear from every eye finds resonance.
All around us lifestyle changes and lack of values are too glaring to escape attention.Palatial houses for accommodation, designer and branded wear for one’s attire, fast food for consumption, SUVs and airways for transportation, hifi gadgets to keep in touch are all too common. Lack of respect for elders, indecent and immoral forms of relaxation and entertainment, dishonesty and lack of intellectual integrity in achieving goals, unethical conduct, lack of civic sense and the devil may care attitude are the accompanying virtues. Caste and religious discrimination and lack of dignity in labour are welcome additions.Contrast this with the Gandhian way of life and values and we know where we stand. No wonder the Gandhian is an extinct species.
For Gandhiji, non violence and truth were as old as the hills, majestic and standing in silent splendour, but to us they are obstacles to personal progress, a vice rather than a virtue. Amassing fortune rather than earning goodwill is the order of the day. Every man to himself, each to his own is the ruling credo. Both eyes for an eye, to give as good as one gets is the guiding principle.To top it all Gandhi has become a brand for others to make money.
With each passing day, the disconnect is only getting greater, the Mahatma becoming merely a subject of academic interest.The day is not far when our father of the nation loses even the symbolic significance that he enjoys now. Meanwhile we can continue milking the holiday on Gandhi Jayanti for our own ends.
What a father, what a nation.
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