Literary Vibes - Edition CX (29-Oct-2021) - Commemorating Gandhiji and Shastriji
Dear Readers,
On 2nd October, when some members of LiteraryVibes family exchanged greetings with each other on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Shri Prabhanjan Mishra stunned us with two wonderful poems on Bapu, our beloved Father of the Nation. He also suggested that we should have a special section in the October edition of LiteraryVibes dedicated to two of the greatest sons of Mother India - Mahatma Gandhi and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. I am glad that many poets and writers rose to the occasion and have contributed beautiful articles for this section. Hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.
Ever since independence, the nation has been celebrating Bapu's birthday, although the image of the frail old man, the blessed Fakir, is fading from the minds of the younger generation. Very few among them realise the enormous strength the frail body emanated - the inner strength built on the foundations of truth and non-violence. The nation is still identified as Bapu's legacy, but like many structures, the edifice has been badly shaken. One has to simply open the pages of a newspaper in the morning to realize how much we have strayed from the path shown to us by Gandhiji - how violence, rape, murder, intolerance, untruth, greed and non-compassion have brought absolute moral depravity - a condition perhaps not imagined by Bapuji. How we wish all those who remember him on 2nd October, those who swear by their devotion to him, those who put garlands on his statue on Gandhi Jayanti with spectacular fanfare, return to the way of life advocated by him. Will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India, was short in height, but a giant in stature - the man who gave us the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan", the leader who steered the nation through the Indo-Pak War of 1965. He was the first union minister who voluntarily tendered his resignation twice as Railway Minister taking "moral responsibility" for two train accidents at Mehboobnagar and Ariyalur in 1956. The first time Pandit Nehru persuaded him to continue, the second time the resignation was accepted with a "heavy heart, to uphold constitutional propeiety." There have been many railway accidents and aviation disasters after that, but rarely has a Minister offered to resign. In fact when we read in the media the frequent demand for resignation by one minister or the other all over the country, we realise how much the nation has slided in the moral scale over the past seven and half decades.
I often wonder how Gandhiji and Shastriji, faced with so many crises in life, met with their moments of indecision, hesitation, inner conflict. I am sure when the mind wavered, they fell back on God and went ahead with what the inner conscience dictated. For them God was truth and truth was God.
It is enough if today we realise that for this God, the God of truth, we need not build temples anywhere, we just have to put Him in the sanctum sanctorum of our heart and listen to Him at every step of life. It's easier said than done, but every tough journey starts with a small step.
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With warm regards
Mrutyunjay Sarangi
Table of Contents::
01) Prbhanjan K. Mishra
MOHANDAS: THE WATCHMAN
ALL WHO WILL NOT SLEEP TONIGHT
THE MYSTERY MAN IN CHILDREN’S CLASS
02) Satya N. Sahu
LALBAHADUR SHASTRI’S ROLE IN NATION BUILDING...
03) Ajay Upadhyaya
NAMING AND SHAMING: POWERS AT PLAY, A THOUGHT FOR GANDHI
04) Dr Prasanna Kumar Sahoo
BYREE, MY NATIVE VILLAGE AND GANDHIJI'S SIXTH VISIT TO ODISHA
05) Ayana Routray
BE THE CHANGE
06) Abani Udgata
GANDHI JAYANTI
07) Chandan Chowdhury
GANDHI AND PATEL
08) Lathaprem Sakhya
KANAKA' S MUSINGS :: ON GANDHIJI
09) Gourang Charan Roul
RELEVANCE OF GANDHI IN CONTEMPORAY WORLD
10) Padmini Janardhanan
ON THE MAHATMA
SALUTATIONS TO SHASTRIJI
11) Prof Niranjan Barik
MY DANDI!
Wax statue of Mahatma melts
awaiting the mounting
of his teachings
in Madame Tussauds.
His statue in our town park
looks down
to find the fistful of salt
he brought from Dandi.
His bust behind the judge
scowls at the judgements,
the injustice justified by loopholes,
the law gone goggle-eyed.
Listen, someone moves on our colony ground,
his stick taps and echoes deep
awakening the night from sleep.
Is it Bapu, or our watchman Mohandas?
ALL WHO WILL NOT SLEEP TONIGHT
(Dedicated to our immortal Bapu, Mahatma Gandhi)
Prbhanjan K. Mishra
Three gunshots, a frail man
fell to the ground,
the gunman stood smug
by the dying man.
The frail victim’s “Hey Ram”
sounded plaintive, not the exhorting
‘Sri Ram’ of his prayer-meetings,
that could arouse the dead.
Before the gunshots
the air did breathe
the aroma of joss-sticks,
humming with the prayer-humility
for our beloved peninsula,
lay cut into two, each part longing
for the other, his prayers
putting healing balm to the wounds.
He was whimpering in pain,
his chest torn open,
instead of “Sri Ram”,
he had mouthed, “Hey Ram”.
Probably his ‘Ram’
would never ride a Ram-Rath
around the land,
spewing hate;
his Ram would not live
in a grand temple, built
on the pyre of a mosque;
never be the doppelganger
whose name is mouthed
by the devils as their victory-cry –
“Jai Sri Ram” - while lynching.
May Bapu’s blood wash their sins.
I shift in bed; restless, insomniac.
Also, restive would be they tonight,
who would remain awake.
How long would this vigil last?
THE MYSTERY MAN IN CHILDREN’S CLASS
It happened in a Primary School around 1947. The recess period given to children to have their afternoon snacks, games, and relaxation for an hour was over. The bell rang. The laughing and relaxed children from playground made beelines for their classrooms. In class three, the sociology teacher was expected to make her entry. Instead a frail old man entered, draped in an ensemble of short handspun dhoti tied at the waist, and another short length of white rough-knit cotton sheet thrown over his shoulders. He wore a teasing smile as if the world around him was a great funny joke.
The children thought him to be their new sociology teacher. They instantly liked this quaint, pleasant looking old man of their grand parents’ age who had come as the replacement for their stern non-smiling ‘miss’ who taught them correct manners and social behavior. What they most liked were the new teacher’s slightly side-projecting elfin ear lobes, often imperceptibly twitching.
Now the old man did a little trick with his eyes. He looked at them as if in great amused concentration, pushing together his two black irises to the corners of eyes by his nose-bridge. It gave him a comical squint. The children broke into a laugh and he joined their laugh showing his white teeth, but the front four, two above and two below, missing. He looked funnier when the tip of his pink tongue protruded a bit through that gap. That gave the children a second round of laughter.
The grandpa like teacher sat down on the teacher’s chair behind the tiny table and said in a halting tone, “My dear children, this is your sociology lesson from me: be happy together, laugh together. This is the right social behavior.” The children loved the idea. They loved this cute old teacher.
Now he asked the famous bully of the class to come to the front. Children, including the bully himself were flummoxed, how the new teacher spotted him, as he would harass his classmates for no reason. So, the bully was apprehensive and the other students were happy that finally the bully had been picked up for punishment though they had not complained about his misbehaviour out of fear.
The new teacher patted his back and said, “This nice boy will be your leader and guide you to be nice playful children. Instead of harassing you, from today he will be your friend, guide and protector against harassments. See, he is strong and he would protect you like a big brother.” He asked the erstwhile bully to stand before the children, and to tease all of them by making faces at them and putting out his tongue.
It was a thing close to the bully’s heart; as he was very good at that; so, his tension of being chosen as class leader by the stranger vanished. But in his confusion he lost his spontaneity and couldn’t do it with his usual gusto. Children didn’t break into the expected happy titters. The bully looked crestfallen.
The new teacher smiled, patted him, asked him to take his seat and announced, “I will teach you, children, how to make funny faces and do the perfect teasing to entertain your friends. But remember; tease your friends to please them and make them happy, not to bully them. This is your second lesson to be good children.” Strangely, the children would later recall that the class bully changed into a strong sober big-brotherly friend.
He taught the children how to make funny faces, and how to tease by putting out a tongue in the most comical fashion. The children laughed all the way while watching and learning the various innocent tricks of making faces. Then he grew a bit serious and said, “But I will tell you a secret. Do these among yourselves and during play-time only, never tease seniors and teachers, never during study time here or at home, and never secretly, as God watches all of us, all the time and there is no place out of God’s eyes. Will you now give me your words which would be my guru-dakshina?” The children roared in agreement, “Yes teacher.”
The new teacher taught the children many naughty things, but all things innocent, and he asked a promise at every turn for not doing it on unwilling friends or unwitting strangers. All along during that joke-session they learnt a wide range of correct social behavior in between jokes and fun. By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of 45 minutes sociology period, the new teacher and the little brats were great friends. They had learnt many life-long lessons to be good social beings. The lessons seemed to be indelibly imprinted on their clean slate minds.
Then, the new teacher announced, “Children, in fact I am not your new teacher. I was just a proxy for her for today, as she was otherwise busy. I would not be teaching you tomorrow. But remember me, and for that you are to keep your promises to me.” He walked out with his open beatific smile at children, ruffling the hairs of little girls and boys who were close to him, but breaking the little hearts in the entire class.
All along, the regular sociology teacher along with the headmistress of the school were watching the new teacher and listening to his lessons standing behind a side window without the children’s or the new teacher’s knowledge. Both of them were now silently crying, and were promising themselves in their minds to be sociable with the little ones first, and then only teach them lessons on sociology. They had learnt that day that before teaching the children to be good to others in society, the teacher must learn to be good to the children.
Two things were bothering the sociology teacher. Why did the man’s voice and face seem familiar, but she couldn’t exactly place him? Why did the headmistress hold her back on the pretext of having some work with her, and allow this mystery man to be her proxy in her sociology class? But she had been more flummoxed when just five minutes later, the headmistress asked her, “Now let’s go and watch this man from wingdows secretly, and check if he teaches alright?”
Perhaps neither the lady teacher nor the little kids would ever know that Bapu himself, the great father of the nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, had visited them, and taught them the basics of sociology and good behaviour. And he accomplished his goal of that day in a child-friendly way adopted by ancient Vishnu Sharma in his Panchatantra stories, or in the style of the western children-story writer Enid Blyton.
It was, in fact, prearranged that Bapu would meet the children incognito, and the only person privy to the real identity of the mystery man was the headmistress of the school herself. Those days, being the days without TV or internet, Bupu’s voice was familiar to those who heard him on radio. And his face was a rare sight unless one would go through newspapers regularly or attend a few of his public meetings that he addressed as a part of his fight for freedom.
Footnote: Written as a tribute and an offering of love to our beloved Bapu on his 150th birthday, 2nd October, 2019. The events narrated might not be exactly as described but were almost like that, and it is believed that the lucky school was located in a slum area of Calcutta city.
Prabhanjan K. Mishra is a poet/ story writer/translator/literary critic, living in Mumbai, India. The publishers - Rupa & Co. and Allied Publishers Pvt Ltd have published his three books of poems – VIGIL (1993), LIPS OF A CANYON (2000), and LITMUS (2005). His poems have been widely anthologized in fourteen different volumes of anthology by publishers, such as – Rupa & Co, Virgo Publication, Penguin Books, Adhayan Publishers and Distributors, Panchabati Publications, Authorspress, Poetrywala, Prakriti Foundation, Hidden Book Press, Penguin Ananda, Sahitya Akademi etc. over the period spanning over 1993 to 2020. Awards won - Vineet Gupta Memorial Poetry Award, JIWE Poetry Prize. Former president of Poetry Circle (Mumbai), former editor of this poet-association’s poetry journal POIESIS. He edited a book of short stories by the iconic Odia writer in English translation – FROM THE MASTER’s LOOM, VINTAGE STORIES OF FAKIRMOHAN SENAPATI. He is widely published in literary magazines; lately in Kavya Bharati, Literary Vibes, Our Poetry Archives (OPA) and Spillwords.
On 15th August 1947 when India became free from British rule after centuries of colonial subjugation Mahatma Gandhi was not in Delhi to celebrate the independence of our country but in Noakhali to heal the wounds caused by massacre of people in communal riots triggered by partition of India. Referring to the Bengal Ministers who were taking responsibilities to run the affairs of the State and ensure governance he wrote on that day “From today you have to wear the crown of thorns. Strive ceaselessly to cultivate truth and non-violence. Be humble. Be forbearing. The British rule no doubt put you on your mettle. But now you will be tested through and through. Beware of power; power corrupts. Do not let yourselves be entrapped by its pomp and pageantry. Remember, you are in office to serve the poor in India’s villages. May God help you”.
Every word of the aforementioned sane advice of Gandhi to the Ministers was reflected in the work of Lalbahadur Shastri who on that very day was assuming the office as a Minister in the Uttar Pradesh Government after India attained independence. The same values informed all his activities when he was appointed as a Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Gandhi’s earnest pleadings to Ministers on August 15, 1047 to “Be humble, Be forbearing” shaped the personality profile of Shastri who became a living embodiment of those ideals. He was scrupulously honest and the way he defined his life with ideals of simplicity and common touch and common feeling in spite of high offices occupied by him endures in popular imagination and inspires people. He took a loan to buy a car even while serving as Prime Minister of India and that loan remained unpaid at the time of his death. It brought out his exemplary standard of probity and integrity in public life which now is yearning for such standards for regeneration and revitalisation to uplift the sagging morale of people who are shattered by the falling moral standards of the leadership across the spectrum.
First Step for Police Reform
The measures taken by Lalbahadur Shastri as a Minister in UP Government from 15th August 1947 to 1951 clearly brought out the impact of Gandhi’s thinking and worldview. On 29th April 1946 Gandhi’s statement “It is our task to awaken the police” was in conformity with his challenging goal of reforming it so that it would deal with people without arms and weapons. It is instructive that Shastri while dealing with Police Force as a Minister in UP instructed that instead of lathis they should use water jets to disperse unruly crowds. It was a measure which in the formative phase of independence constituted a small step for police reforms which is yet to be done in full measure in spite of several Commission reports recommending it and even the Supreme Court issuing guidelines in this regard.
Response to Call of Duty
In the aforementioned quote of Mahatma Gandhi concerning Ministers the lines “The British rule no doubt put you on your mettle. But now you will be tested through and through. Beware of power; power corrupts. Do not let yourselves be entrapped by its pomp and pageantry” remind us of Shastri’s life and work which represented the essence inherent in those lines. Shastriji apart from remaining unaffected by trappings of power and office was imbued with spirit of service and “tested through and through” when he responded to the call of duty to provide food and nutrition security to the nation and safeguard our country from external aggression.
Moral Dimensions of Accountability
It is well known that he resigned as Railway Minister by taking moral responsibility for a train accident. His decision to do so elevated the whole nation to a high sense of responsibility of set a high benchmark of excellence in upholding ethics while remaining accountable for the acts of commission and omission. It is still cited as a reference point to hold high the moral principles which often get trampled by the high and mighty in quest for power and position.
Food and National Security
None can forget his electrifying slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" which he coined as Prime Minister of our country when there was acute food shortage and our neighbouring country Pakistan had been preparing to launch a military assault on India . In hailing both the Jawan and Kisan he was underlining the roles played by both as a categorical imperative for food as well as national security. India under his leadership gave a fitting reply to the military aggression of Pakistan and he cast a spell on the whole nation by the attributes of his leadership which blended gentleness and firmness in equal measure.
In the context of food security it is worthwhile to flag Shastri’s tenure as Prime Minister of India. It was under the leadership of Shri Shastri that green revolution was launched by Agriculture Miister Shri C. Subramaniam with the help of agricultural scientists, administrators and hard working farmers of Punjab, Haryana and some other States. The green revolution started during Shastriji's time bore fruit when India became self-sufficient in food grain productions in 1971 during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She unilaterally terminated the PL-480 programme with the US on the strength of what was achieved in the field of agriculture after the commencement of the green revolution. It was due to the remarkable leadership of Shastriji that a bold step was taken by India in quest for food security in 1964 itself when in many parts of the country there were riots for food and Indians were leading a life of ship to mouth existence. In fact, India attaining self-sufficiency in food grain productions in 1971, in six years after the launching of the green revolution, has been described by Prof M.S. Swaminathan as more remarkable than man walking on the Moon. It was because of the exemplary leadership of Shastriji that pathetic dependence on foreign food could be put an end to. His shining role in that respect can be better appreciated in the context of the mounting challenges India was facing to protect its unity and integrity because of aggression from Pakistan. Therefore, as mentioned earlier his coining of the slogan 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' electrified the nation for the cause of food security and the security of India from military attack of our neighbor.
Nutrition Security
It is lesser known that the white revolution for supply of milk to people across India owes its origin to Lalbahadur Shastri’s support to the Amul Milk Cooperative of Anand, Gujarat, and establishment of the National Dairy Development Board. As Prime Minister he appointed Verghese Kurien as the Director of the Board and he played a historic role in ushering in the white revolution which provided nutrition security to our people. What Shatri did was in consonance with the vision of Mahatma Gandhi who on 27th January 1928 wrote in the context of the erstwhile Bombay that the private enterprise lacked grit and ability to supply milk to the city and so underlined the importance of launching a big venture to provide milk to the people. The venture which Gandhi talked in 1928 was found expression in the form Dairy Development Board which reached out to the whole country and heralded the White Revolution for the masses.
Fight Against Corruption
As the Home Minister of India in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri took the historic step in 1963 to establish the Santhanam Committee to prevent corruption. The said committee recommended the establishment of Central Vigilance Commission to check and fight corruption in our country. The establishment of the CVC represented institutionalized efforts to deal with the scourge of corruption impairing our moral fibre and impeding our growth and development.
Late Shastriji's name will thus be remembered with reverence for his many splendored accomplishments in reconstruction of our country based on probity and integrity and firmness of courage and conviction to provide food security and defence preparedness.
Social Responsibilities of Business
He had the farsighted vision of underlining the social responsibilities of business and even underlined the point that the Companies Act should be amended to achieve the goal. His vision was fructified in 2013 when the Companies Act was amended mandating Corporate Social Responsible activities for companies. Shastri’s outlook in that respect reminds us of the idea of trusteeship of Gandhi underlining the higher responsibility of those who create and own wealth for the cause of society beyond narrow self interest.
Defender of Secularism
In 1965 when tension between India and Pakistan was building up BBC made an announcement that India would attack Pakistan because the Prime Minister of that country was a Hindu. Lalbahadur Shastri responded to it by saying " There is no doubt that I am a Hindu....The unique thing about our country is that we have Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and people of all other religions. We have temples and mosques, gurdwaras and churches. But we do not bring all this into politics. We are not working to make India a Hindu State or a Muslim State. This is the difference between India and Pakistan. Whereas Pakistan proclaims herself to be an Islamic State and uses religion as a political factor, we Indians have the freedom to follow whatever religion we may choose, to worship in any way we please. So far as politics is concerned, each one of us is as much an Indian as the other. It is a distortion of facts to accuse India of hostility to Pakistan on account of the narrow point of view of religion. After all, China is not an Islamic State. So far as the territorial integrity of India is concerned, we have taken the same stand with China as we have taken with Pakistan. If China attacks us, we shall resist her and defend ourselves with all the resources at our command, no matter how great her might. The defence of the country has nothing to do with religion."
The above statement of Shastri invoked the idea of India celebrating coexistence of all religions and not getting defined by any particular religion for the purpose of governance and national security. It is evocative of Mahatma Gandhi’s statement that “The Idea of India best expressed by Gandhiji’s words that “I do not want India to be wholly Hindu, wholly Islamic or wholly Christian but wholly tolerant with all its religions working side by side and flourishing.”
We require the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and Lalbahadur Shastri to address the challenges to our nation building. Such a vision is modern, liberal and forward looking. It is free from narrow and sectarian vision based on self-serving interpretations of religion or any vision rooted in bigotry. It is a vision which is derived from our civilisational ethos and embodied in the Constitution of India. We are duty bound to defend and uphold it.
Author served as OSD and Press Secretary to President of India late K R Narayanan. He is currently a columnist for several digital platforms and teaching as a guest faculty in several universities.
NAMING AND SHAMING: POWERS AT PLAY, A THOUGHT FOR GANDHI
“In the beginning there were two nations. One was a vast, mighty and magnificent empire, brilliantly organised and culturally unified, which dominated a massive swathe of the earth. The other was an underdeveloped, semi-feudal realm, riven by religious factionalism and barely able to feed its illit-erate, diseased and stinking masses.”
Thus reads the opening paragraph of a chapter in a fascinating book on history of India’s Independ-ence (1)
When I first read this, I took it as the author’s preamble to genesis of British rule in India, where she was contrasting the mighty England with a feeble India, humbled by centuries of foreign rule. But my guess was only partly correct.
To my amazement, the chapter continued as: “The first nation was India. The second was England. The year was 1577.”
To paraphrase the author, she was describing Mughal emperor Akbar’s India of hundred million peo-ple, living comfortably, in a vast stretch of land, about 1200 miles across from Kutch to Bengal and spread from Kabul to Vindhyan foothills. This was pitted against a population of 2.5 million in Eng-land, most of whom lived in a state of misery and impoverishment, with two-fifths living at subsistent level.
Fast forward by about three hundred years, to 1850s: By then, almost 70% of Indian subcontinent could be called British territory, albeit under the control of a private East India Company. Through ruthless trading, the company had become enormously wealthy and powerful enough to have its own army and declare wars. Following the bloody first war of Independence, India came directly under British rule, with Queen Victoria crowned as the Empress of India, and became the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, as a mark of British success over the next nine decades.
The independence of 1947 is obviously a momentous event for India. But it is also a landmark in the recent history of humanity. It was the culmination of a tumultuous process, its outcome was akin to the long-awaited result of a protracted social experiment. It set out to test if it was possible for an im-poverished country like India, to drive out the powerful British by the non violent method of civil diso-bedience.
Keen students of history would rightly point out that India’s independence could not be credited sole-ly to the efforts of Indians. Domestic affairs of Britain and international pressure played a major role in the British decision to quit India. But it is difficult to argue that Independence was a gift from the British to Indians who were a mere passive beneficiary of international events. The struggle for inde-pendence saw a galaxy of personalities, who shared the common cause of driving the British out of India, but their method to achieve this goal varied widely. The approach of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, affectionately known as Bapuji (Revered father of the Nation) in this struggle stood out for its novelty; it was Ahimsa (non-violence). My aim, in this brief article, is to examine the basis for his choice of this unorthodox weapon for the independence movement.
The foregoing introduction begs the question as to how the tiny British isle came to dominate the vast Indian subcontinent in the first place. Their approach to education, as shown in the Indian Edu-cation Act of 1835, is one example of their winning strategy of “divide and rule”. The mastermind behind this Act, Lord Macaulay was openly scathing on the inferiority of native culture and learning . He was convinced that western leaning was superior, at least in the fields of science and justice. He articulated the superiority of English language as, “A single shelf of good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”. His expressed aim was to, “Do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, In-dian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.”
The colonial rule was predicated on the belief, systematically inculcated in the natives, that their cul-ture and language were inferior and their custom and habits were outdated compared with the pro-gressive western culture of the rulers. The supremacy of the West stemmed from intellectual pro-gress based on logic and establishment of civic society through liberal democracy and rule of law. Despite Lord Macaulay’s racial arrogance in face of his limited knowledge of the Oriental heritage, his claims of West’s superiority over its Eastern counterpart was accepted almost as an axiom. This was hardly surprising as in the wake of industrial revolution, the world had been dazzled by its spec-tacular achievements from the phenomenal success of science.
Bapuji’s strategy of civil disobedience, designed to be non-violent but confrontational, shows his re-markable insight into the western psyche. The aim was to confront the British, who prided on their sense of justice, with the stark injustice of their ruling an unwilling populace through brutality. If the rulers boasted of their rational thought process Gandhiji’s confronted them with the irrationality of their rule over India. In stead of challenging their ability to rule it questioned their authority to do so by appealing to their rational thinking and sense of fair play.
He knew that civil disobedience by people would evoke a violent suppression from the rulers. In face of the Gandhian approach of continued defiance, this would set off a vicious cycle of escalating violence in their attempts to suppress the mass disobedience. Eventually, it will reach such a pitch that the ruling power will be shamed into recognising the injustice of their rule. Eschewing violence was critical for driving this message home to the rulers as any violent retaliation to their brutal sup-pression of the unrest would foil the core message and nullify his strategy. Hence the Gandhian preaching, “If you are slapped in one cheek, show them the other cheek”.
Bapuji turned the sense of powerlessness, felt in face of the colonial might, into a potent weapon, in form of peaceful and defiant no-cooperation. He called it “Satyagraha” (literally meaning “Truth force”) and the proclaimed truth was: British rule over India is illegitimate. As Sunil Khilnani notes, “Gandhi’s conception of non-violent action was not merely a tactical one. He was making a funda-mental point about power’s legitimacy.”(2) He quotes, “Gandhiji was waging a battle over beliefs - ‘robbing the privileged group (the colonial rulers) of their moral pretensions.”
In short, Bapuji’s modus operandi was to beat the foreign rulers at their own game. In the face their claims to superior intellect, his strategy was designed to create a cognitive dissonance, forcing them to the inevitable conclusion that their authority was untenable and their continued ruling unsustaina-ble. There was no need to be drive them out by force; they would voluntarily relinquish their power.
This approach seemed counterintuitive to some revolutionary patriots, who, in stead, advocated ex-treme violence as they believed in defeating the British through assassinations and guerrilla warfare. But Bapuji maintained, “What is granted under fear can be retained only so long as the fear lasts.” What they are fighting for was a free India in the pale imitation of other nations - not true Swaraj, merely “English rule without the Englishmen.”
Gandhiji’s masochistic method must have been anathema to some, whose motto was: injustice must be confronted with active aggression. Subhash Chandra Bose, a firebrand nationalist, nick-named, Netaji (The Revered Leader) worked furiously behind the scene, engaged in manoeuvres with for-eign powers, supremely confident in his belief that the British could be driven out by military means. For him, “….Gandhi is too good — too moderate — in his ideas and actions. We want a more radi-cal and more militant policy.”
His most high profile critic, however, was Rabindra Nath Tagore, another colossus of his time, and an ardent patriot, whose contribution to the freedom struggle was eclipsed by his towering stature as a poet and philosopher, earning him the sobriquet, Gurudev. His concept of freedom was broader than independence from the foreign rule, as he felt the latter subordinated freedom to expediencies of nationalism. He wrote, “The British government is not a cause of our subjection; it is merely a symptom of a deeper subjection on our part.” According to him, “Those people who have got their political freedom are not necessarily free; they are merely powerful.”
Gurudev’s concept of freedom is best encapsulated in his famous poem of 1901, which reads:
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
My aim here is not to catalogue, let alone discuss, the gulf dividing these two gi-ants, nor to order the diverse approaches towards our independence into any hier-archy The nationalistic fervour and the anti British sentiment probably had to reach a critical level for galvanising the people, through this divergence of viewpoints.
Without doubt, Bapuji’s callings had a unique appeal for the masses. If his strate-gy showed his gift of insight into the psyche of the ruling power, the methods em-ployed for this goal marked his intuitive grasp of the workings of Indian mind. His message awoke the country from its slumber of resigned servitude, binding its di-verse factions with a nascent sense of nationhood. The tacit mantra, “Unite and Win” was coined to combat the “Divide and rule” formula of the colonial masters.. Above all, Bapuji captured the imagination of the nation, more than all others, by giving the allure of independence a semblance of reality.
Bapuji’s shrewdness as a leader was also evident in his astute use of media, both locally and globally. As Khilnani observes, “ With the advent of telegraph, which linked Europe and the subcontinent, Gandhiji’s life coincided with the rise a new type of political power,-public opinion. He became a master at using his own im-age, body, and words to shape global opinion in a way that undermined imperial self-justification”.
Bapuji and Gurudev differed fundamentally in their vision and methods. But some differ-ences between them can be seen as a clash of perspective between a pragmatist and an idealist. For Bapuji, the pragmatist, wresting power to rule the country from the colonial masters was perhaps a means for achieving Gurudev’s goal of freedom of spirit and mind from India’s dark past of superstition and rituals. Viewed this way, independence was a stepping stone in the right direction.
For a life, so remarkable in struggles and achievements, Bapuji had his fair share of critics. For example, he has been blamed, in some quarters, for introducing religion into politics by infusing symbols of Hinduism into Indian nationalism. Ironically, another section of Indian society berates him for being an appeaser of Muslims and holds him responsible for partition of India. In fact, it is the strength of emotion from the latter quarters which eventually did cost him his life.
Subjugating a colony comes with assertion of the superiority of the colonial mas-ters. This usually goes with denigration of the history and heritage of the natives. It is natural for the freedom fighters, in this situation, to invoke the spirit of nation-alism as a potent remedy for this hurt pride. Like all others, Bapuji deployed this tactic in attracting the masses to his cause. As he never actively pursued political power for himself, any tricks, he used to influence people’s beliefs could be justi-fied as fair play, for the foremost task of leaders is to mobilise the masses into their cause.
Not only he successfully tapped into the western mind to come up with his formula for demolishing their moral superiority, he had his fingers firmly on the pulse of the people, displayed in his methods to motivate the masses.
After some experimentation, he decided on sartorial minimalism for the garb of his new avatar. As the majority of Indians lived frugally, with inbuilt austerity, this aided in the masses identifying with Gandhi as their hero. He himself adopted a spartan life style in his daily routine. A scantily clad, slightly built Bapuji, beside a charkha (spinning wheel), came close to the image of a Hindu sadhu (ascetic).
Whether he cultivated this image for creating the cult of Gandhism or subcon-sciously colluded with his followers in fashioning this new image and identity for expedience, is a matter for debate. Our ancient religion and philosophy is a major part of Indian heritage. Hence, equally debatable is whether this religious facet of his new image was engineered to ignite the flame of nationalism or it was a percep-tion by the masses interpreted through their own religious leanings. Irrespective of the intentions, this tactic spurred the country into action for his cause, with strik-ing results.
Bapuji, however, never claimed primacy of any religion, let alone Hinduism, over others, nor did he single out “Hindutva” (Hindu - ness) for glorifying India’s herit-age. He recognised her history of religious multiplicity and respected the plurality of her people. In his startlingly candid autobiography, we have the portrait of a fal-lible Gandhiji, with all human foibles, who was open to correction, with a remarka-ble capacity for self-improvement through experimentation. But this did not stop his followers from putting him on a pedestal as Mahatma (the Great Soul) and em-bellishing him with saintly attributes. For his most ardent followers, his achieve-ments in driving the mighty British from India without a war, bordered on a miracle.
History tells us, Bapuji’s strategy was fit for purpose and his goal was achievable. Some might contend that Gurudev’s vision of freedom, on the other hand, with its universal theme, is so grand in scale that it remains a lofty dream of idealists. If independence was thought to facilitate India’s progress on this path to Gurudev’s version of freedom, the re-sults so far have been disappointing. But pragmatic followers of Gandhi would argue that three quarters of a century is still a short period in history of a Nation. Future holds the answer to whether Gurudev’s utopian idea of gaining freedom from the shackles of our own minds, is a realistic aspiration, worth striving for.
References:
1. Alex Von Tunzelmann: Indian Summer, The secret History of the Indian Empire, Simon and Schuster UK, 2007
2. Sunil Khilnani: Incarnations. India in 50 Lives. Penguin Random House UK, 2016
October 2021
Dr. Ajaya Upadhyaya from Hertfordshire, England. A Retired Consultant Psychiatrist from the British National Health Service and Honorary Senior Lecturer in University College, London.
BYREE, MY NATIVE VILLAGE AND GANDHIJI'S SIXTH VISIT TO ODISHA
Byree is my dear village where I was born. My entire childhood passed there and my life is intimately attached to her soil, water and air. Through rail route it is only twenty seven kilometers from Cuttack City and by road via Chhatia the distance is twenty nine kilometers. Proceeding only four kilometers in the west direction from Chhatia on the Chhatia Kalakala major district road one will reach my village which is situated in between Highlevel Canal in the east and a tiny hill and bushy forest in the west. In our childhood days we used to swarm into the bushy forest and the hill to pluck varieties of nuts and berries to our great pleasure.
Byree is the border village of Jajpur District. The railway track passes through the middle of the village dividing it into Upper Hamlet and Lower Hamlet. In the East Coast Railway Division Byree Railway Station is a mute spectator of many illustrious past events. The location of the railway station is such that the north side outer signal is in Jajpur District and the South side outer signal is in Cuttack District. We friends joke every now and then that our villagers go to the open fields to answer nature's call in Cuttack district and wash in Jajpur district. The railway station has a remarkably glorious past. Prior to the eighties when transport was not well developed and organized, buses were not plying, taxi service was meager, railway route was the preferred means of travel and this railway station was the destination of majority of people. The villagers of the neighboring villages board the train at this station to travel to places like Kolkata, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Chenai and New Delhi, the national capital. The most trusted and used trains were two passenger trains 5 UP and 6 Down running between Howrah and Puri railway stations. Because of the historical relevance these two trains still run even today, bearing numbers 58001 & 58002 although many other passenger trains of that era have been cancelled.
Gandhiji treated Odisha as a holy place; a TIRTHA, a pilgrimage. In true sense Odisha was a pilgrimage to him because he started the Harijan Movement altogether in a different perspective in this area. He visited Odisha eight times from 1921 to 1946 on different occasions and spent 69 days in Odisha during these eight visits. In his life time he only undertook two PADAYATRAS; (the foot-march) the first one being in Odisha in 1934 and the second one in Noakhali in 1947. The 5th visit to Odisha in 1934 deserves special mention because it started a new chapter in the freedom movement through a foot-march for the first time. The 6th one, also in 1934, is notably very dear to us, the villagers of Byree, because Gandhiji put his foot on its soil to resume the 2nd phase of padayatra for the Harijan Movement to set in.
- Gandhiji’s 1st visit to Odisha was from 23rd to 29th Match, 1921 when he arrived at Cuttack and conducted his first meeting at Qadam-e-Rasool on 24thMarch and addressed a huge crowd at the Kathajodi riverbed in the evening. On subsequent days he visited Bhadrak, Puri and Berhampur.
- In the 2nd visit on 19th & 20th August, 1925 he visited Utkal Tannery of Madhusudan Das and other places of Cuttack district.
- The 3rd visit from 4th to 21st December 1927 was meant to promote Khadi. During this extensive journey he was over exhausted, fell ill and was compelled to remain indoors for few days to take rest.
- The 4th visit was only for one day on 22nd December, 1928. On that day he got down at Jharsuguda on his way to Kolkata to attend the Congress session, addressed a meeting and visited Sambalpur also.
- The 5th visit from 5th to 16th May 1934 is the most noteworthy one because he started his celebrated Padayatra for the first time during this phase from Puri to Cuttack with the mission of uplifting the Dalits and abolishing untouchability. He visited Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul, Puri and Cuttack before leaving for Patna on 16th May.
- The 6th visit from 21st May to 7th June 1934 was spent on padayatra only which started from Byree, my native village. During this phase he visited a number of villages in Cuttack district, Kendrapada, Bari & Kabirpur in Jajpur district and Bhadrak district.
- During the 7th visit from 25th to 31st March 1938 he along with luminaries like Sardar Vallabhbhai Parel and Dr Rajendra Prasad attended a week long conference of Gandhi Seva Sangh and an agro and village enterprise exhibition at Beraboi in Delang area of Puri district.
- Gandhiji's 8th visit was a one day program during which he met his supporters in the railway stations of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Berhampur on his way to Chenai on train.
Gandhiji's historic sixth visit to Odisha, is important for the villagers of Byree, the dearest birthplace of mine. The BYREE RAILWAY STATION is the mute spectator of the glorious event which occurred on 21st May 1934 because on that day our beloved Bapu got down from the 6 Up Howrah Puri Passeger Train after attending the AICC Session at Patna to resume his padayatra and set his sacred foot on the platform of the station. A massive gathering was waiting there to welcome the Father of The Nation. Bapu addressed the gathering on the platform and the historic padajatra to uplift the Dalits, the downtrodden and oppressed section, commenced from the railway station itself. Gandhiji visited villages like Champapur, Bheda, Laxmanpur, Bahukud, Patapur, Nischintakoili, Kaktia, Salar, Kendrapada, Kabirpur, Budhaghat, Jajpur, Manjuri, Bhandaripokhari, Todanga and Garadpur in Bhadrak district. On the whole he covered 156 miles in coastal Odisha on foot and felt the rural problems during his 26 days' sojourn. The Harijan Movement gained momentum with his efforts after the padayatra.
Unfortunately till date no step has been taken at Government level to preserve the golden memories of Bapu's momentous visit to Byree. The present generation is completely unaware of this historic visit. Of course the villagers have not forgotten Gandhiji's arrival here at this railway station. Every year on 21st May people gather here at the railway station, garland the portrait of Gandhiji and Kasturba, Ramdhoon is recited, a meeting is held which is addressed by the living freedom fighters and all the people after the meeting proceed on padayatra to Gandhi Sikshashram, Champapur. The Government should construct a museum displaying the available photographs of his arrival at this place and commencement of the historic padayatra. Such a step will add to the knowledge of the present and future generations.
Gandhiji paid his first visit to Odisha in the year 1921. This year, 2021, is the CENTENARY YEAR of Bapu’s first visit. Programmes could have been held in our state to commemorate the historical event. The Present edition of Literary Vibes is a tiny effort to recollect and commemorate association of Gandhiji with Odisha.
Certainly I feel proud to be the son of the soil of Byree, my dearest village to be associated with the Father of the Nation.
Dr. Prasanna Kumar Sahoo,MD (Pediatrics) is a retired Joint Director Grade 1 of Health and Family Welfare Department of Government of Odisha and now a practicing Pediatrician at Vyasnagar, the Steel City of Odisha. Besides being an eminent Pediatrician of Odisha he is also a prolific writer in Odia. He pens down the real happenings around him and his characters are his patients, the parents and his colleagues. He has contributed a book in Odia " BABU SAHOO KALAMARU " which is an unique characterisation of human values and nature and is adored by one and all. He is also a Columnist in Health Problems and writing on different aspects of current health issues since last several years in a local monthly Newspaper " The Kalinga Nagara Bulletin". He has represented the state in several National Platforms. He has a record number of 24 Awards, Local, State and National, noteworthy being PURBANCHAL SISHU BISESANGYA SHIROMANI AWARD 2017 and MAHATMA GANDHI AWARD 1997 by Government of Odisha. He is Life member of many Organisations including Indian Medical Association, Indian Academy of Pediatrics and National Neonatology Forum. At present he is State President of both, Indian Academy of Pediatrics and Pediatrics Allergy and Applied Immunology Chapter.
This is our India of the new century
Here corruption is the trending game
All spirits of morality seems to have lost
Only that voices aloud is the power of purse and fame
It's always said pen strikes stronger
Many a say actions speak loudly
But the time's changed, now with just a handshake under- table,
Everything gets done soundly
Gandhi was followed by masses for his beliefs and works
There was a time he spoke in all flesh and blood
Making efforts for a better change
And to listen his might people came in floods
People still value him for sure
But more because his face found on the notes
Hold more power than any pen or sword
Which can buy us anything, even the votes
This corruption has become a deep rooted disease
The society, the system, the nation have all fallen sick
The fat- pocket rich man to the frauds in power
Will soon sell the country away, if we don't act quick
Everyone sees this truth but with a blindfold on
Everyone rants of the change in need
But just by sitting at home
Rather of this, let's work for the change and uproot it by it's seed
Start questioning every unfair that seems
If you learn of anything wrong, then voice against it
If we ourselves start denying the bribe
Anyone 'll think twice before this sin they commit
Once it was wisely said by Mr. Gandhi
'Be the change you want to see'
Start with yourself, radiating it globally
And one day for sure, in a true sense our nation again will be free
Ayana Routray, a student of Class X in Bhubaneswar, is a young poet with keen interest in Literature, Fine Arts, Singing, Modelling and Anchoring. She is also a television artiste in Odiya TV channels.
It talks only to itself like
the mountains
or so we think.
A framed photo is a convenience
as it can only look on at the garden
now overtaken by weeds,
nettles, puzzles and wandering bulls.
That day we let the scented aroma
of the agarbatti lit below the portrait
climb to explore the contours of
greatness, of infinite space
We dreaded heights.
.Abani Udgata ( b. 1956) retired as a Principal Chief General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India. in December 2016. Though he had a lifelong passion for literature, post- retirement he has concentrated on writing poetry. He has been awarded Special Commendation Prizes twice in 2017 and 2019 by the Poetry Society of India in All India Poetry Competitions and the prize winning poems have been anthologised. At present he is engaged in translating some satirical Odia poems into English. He can be contacted at his email address abaniudgata@gmail.com
By the time India got independence, Gandhiji was the least content due to the prevailing circumstances. The way the country was being ripped apart into two states and the continuous riots in the name of religion marred the happiness of long awaited freedom. India did have a tryst with destiny and it bore two children- India and Pakistan. On the day Gandhiji was assassinated, he was completely broken mentally and almost knew what was coming. This is a fictional conversation between him and Sardar Patel. But the historical details are accurate and Sardar was actually the person Gandhiji met the last before assassination. Here we go...
4 pm, 30 January, 1948
Birla House, Delhi
By the call of Gandhiji, Patel with his daughter Maniben and secretary reached at 4 pm. He had called him mainly due to the growing dispute between him and Nehru within 5 months of formation of the government. He wanted to discuss if he would resign so that Nehru can freely implement his ideas. Gandhiji was in the bathroom. As soon as he came out Patel spoke to him.
"Pranam Gandhiji. It must be urgent that you called in such a haste. I might guess the reason as well."
Gandhiji, sat near his Charkha, spinning it. Then kept it aside. He looked disinterested to even breathe anymore. "Patel you Know what the nation is going through. You definitely need no brief. You and Menon are creating history in your own right. I am very happy and even inspired by your dedication. How are you?"
Patel brushed aside the question "Gandhiji you can speak to me freely. Please don't hesitate. I know the widening gap between me and Nehru. Anything you want me to do or want to say, please do."
"We will discuss that after the prayer meeting. Tell me have done at least most things correct? Or have I riddled the history with blunders? How do you see me? Today Abha didn't care to come to morning prayers. She slept. I think I am losing my influence."
"I don't know if I should be consoling or honest. For consolation and it's true, that without you nothing of what we achieved would have been possible. For honesty, your biases and stubbornness have grown with age, haha."
Gandhiji was looking outside the window now. "I left the Non-Cooperation halfway. The Quit India movement didn't have the desired effect. Yet these two are my life's biggest achievements so as to say."
"Many rightfully boycotted Quit India. But after Cripps Mission failure, we had to put forward something. The problem occurred when we resigned our seats. The Muslim league and its sympathizers grabbed them in swathes. And with all of us in jail, and me losing 20 pounds, haha, we also let them play everything to their tunes. This finalized partition to an extent."
Gandhi seemed interested. "And what about my biases?"
"Well you being the Drona choosing Nehru the Arjuna before anyone else, be it Eklavya or Karna or Bheema. I wouldn't associate names there. But about Nehru, I love him. But at the current situation I would simply resign. You both share a common bond of mystic idealism as if the world was as good as you. Nehru's ideas for unnecessary socialist over strict 5 year plans will simply restrict growth. I do agree with socialism, but the context should be ours. You cannot go for a tour, your like something, some machinery or Idea, copy paste it here. No! Think this way, to grow as an economic power, we need to bring money in, by giving the best product out to the world, or else we cannot compete. This isn't possible with pure socialism. Only then can we strengthen our infrastructure, defence, communications, everything. Totally closed economy cannot sustain the might that India will grow into! I am not much literate I agree, but I do have this much common sense. And about the Kashmir issue, Pundit has done a blunder by taking it to UN."
"It's already 5:05 pm, prayers should begin. Before I leave please just tell me who the Eklavya is? We will talk again of the matter at hand after the meeting."
"Haha! In my guess, there can be only 2. Subhash and Ambedkar, both far ahead of times. Do you know, Ambedkar, as he's in the committee of constitution drafting, warned about a clause he himself is putting. He says India is like a mud toy now, and laws like reservation should quickly be abolished once they serve their purpose or else shall remain etched in stone forever dividing India."
Gandhiji never returned from the prayer meeting. That was his last talk, with Patel.
Chandan Chowdhury is a final year MBBS student at IMS and sum hospital, Bhubaneswar. To get in Touch: twitter.com/c_howdhury ; linkedin.com/in/c-howdhury ; Email - c.ku.chowdhury@gmail.com.
KANAKA' S MUSINGS :: ON GANDHIJI
Mahatma Gandhi was always an enigma for Kanaka and a great source of inspiration from childhood. Some of his tenets were taught to her by her father who was a gandhian in his thoughts and deeds. Thus she had imbibed many of his tenet's in her girlhood which helped her in life. Of the many, the few that stuck to her were simplicity, dedication for a cause, lack of desire for power or position, his attitude to karma or duty, love, and finally dignity of labour. What really made her love him was his innate humanness with flaws and merits which is evident in his actions and writings.when one read his "He was just an ordinary human like any one of us, with a bundle of weaknesses." She would think. But what made him
great was his sublime thoughts and actions. He was never ashamed of speaking about his vulnerabilities and laughed at himself thus helping others who read him feel comfortable as they are.
Kanaka remembered an incident that she had studied in his own words that had really won a place for him in her heart. It was something about his student days in England. His was a child marriage so, when he went to England, to pursue his higher studies in his teens, he was already a father of a Son. In his class he found he was the only one like that. So he hid his marital status and fatherhood from his classmates because he was embarrassed. But he was greatly tormented by his guilt. But he still hung on to it knowing that it was " a canker" that was eating him.
He hid this truth even from his landlady who was really fond of him. She liked him so much she started thinking of him as - a suitable groom for her niece. When Gandhiji came to know of it he was so sad for giving a false impression yet he did not have the courage to confess the truth. So he left the place and wrote a long letter revealing the truth. After that he felt free of guilt but now got worried about what she would be thinking. He was really surprised when she replied in a letter that they had a good laugh over his letter and that he was always welcome in their house as a dear friend for they loved him all the more.
Yes. For Kanaka too it was this humanness and simplicity of the father of her Nation, to cherish him as a great source of inspiration. Here was a real human being with all human frailties and he was never ashamed of his human weaknesses and spoke about it openly so that others could follow him easily. No wonder he was able to wake up the millions of people in India, to fight a weaponless war and win freedom for his Nation.
Prof. Latha Prem Sakhya, a poet, painter and a retired Professor of English, has published three books of poetry. MEMORY RAIN (2008), NATURE AT MY DOOR STEP (2011) - an experimental blend, of poems, reflections and paintings ,VERNAL STROKE (2015 ) a collection of? all her poems.
Her poems were published in journals like IJPCL, Quest, and in e magazines like Indian Rumination, Spark, Muse India, Enchanting Verses international, Spill words etc. She has been anthologized in Roots and Wings (2011), Ripples of Peace ( 2018), Complexion Based Discrimination ( 2018), Tranquil Muse (2018) and The Current (2019). She is member of various poetic groups like Poetry Chain, India poetry Circle and Aksharasthree - The Literary woman, World Peace and Harmony.
RELEVANCE OF GANDHI IN CONTEMPORAY WORLD
A couple of years ago, I was invited to be with the people of my area to celebrate the 150th Gandhi Jayanti at Panchayat High School, Sahira, Kendrapara and given the opportunity to unveil the statue of the father of the nation. The inaugural function was attended by large numbers of local people, eminent educationists of our district and school students from nearby schools. In the commemorative meeting, the relevance and influence of Gandhiji was apparently visible as about 20 invitees spoke on the various aspects of the Mahatma from his childhood till his assassination. Incidentally, Sri Raghunatha Nayak, the Gardner of Birla House, New Delhi on whose lap Gandhiji breathed his last, hailed from a neighbouring village. On that fateful day of January 30, 1948, it was Sri Raghunatha Nayak’s heroics and courage that caught Nathuram Godse, the man who shot Bapuji. Smt.Mandodari Nayak aged 92, wife of Sri Raghunatha Nayak who used to offer goat milk to Gandhiji, passed away on 10th September, 2019 in her Jaguleipada home, 22 days before the 150th birth anniversary of Bapuji. Her dream to visit Gandhi Smriti (Birla House), where the Nayak couple lived in their quarters up to 1965, to pay homage to the Father of the Nation, remained unfulfilled. Raghunatha Nayak never got recognition for his dedication and service to the Mahatma and remained forgotten till the German automobile maker Daimler-Chrysler came forward all the way from Germany to build a memorial to the Mahatma and Raghunatha Nayak in the village in 2005. Since then the iconic memorial has been enlivening the fond memories of Bapuji and the son of the soil Raghu, and stands as a monument in the locality to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti every year. However, Raghunatha Nayak’s heroic act finds a mention in “Mahatma Gandhi - The Last Phase” - the biography of the Mahatma by his private secretary, Pyarelal.
The ceremony continued for almost 4 hours, and my turn as the chief guest came by 2pm to address the audience that were already soaked with the speeches delivered on the relevance and significance of Gandhi and his teachings. I was simply overwhelmed to witness such enthusiastic gathering listening with rapt attention to the speakers who spoke about the Mahatma, his philosophy and his way of life. As it was past lunch time, I choose to make my speech brief and to emphasize only a few facts about the relevance of Gandhiji.
Mahatma Gandhi has been regarded as one of the most influential leaders of 20th century. He was an apostle of peace and votary of truth. He has been credited for his revolutionary non-violent way of conflict resolution, when most of the countries of Asia and Africa were under colonial rule, struggling for independence. Teachings of Gandhi imbibing values like peace, truth, and non-violence are very much appreciated to control violent scourge afflicting the contemporary world. His theories of ‘Ahimsa’ and ‘Satyagrah' found popular acceptance all over the world. As one of the greatest of the great personalities of the 20th century he had profound influence on the world with regard to many issues. He evinced interest in everything and anything that concerned the individuals and society and devised suitable solution to solve the problems. His autobiography ‘My Experiment with Truth’ is an epochal masterpiece, in which he has elaborated his experiments and inferences to myriad social problems. He also promoted positive reforms in educational system, decentralization of democracy, women's empowerment, etc. His philosophy of non-violence was an effective tool in the freedom struggle. His entire political strategy was based on this. He abhorred violent means in achieving one’s goal. This is an important principle put forward by Gandhiji as it helped avoiding bloodshed in various pursuits. Many a time violence arises from ignorance or untruth, truth conversely arises out of non-violence. Gandhiji equated truth with God. Ahimsa (non-violence) constitutes the core value of Gandhian philosophy. Gandhiji devised a novel theory of conflict resolution and coined a term ‘Satyagraha’ while in South Africa to express the Indian minds and methods of meeting violence, injustice, and racial discrimination practiced by the white minority ruling over the majority. It is essentially a method which involves breaching of law, but without violence and harming the agents of law. Satyagraha is a relentless search for truth and determination to reach truth not by inflicting of suffering on the opponent by one’s self. Non-violence is the core principle of satyagraha. From reacting out of fear in the mindless reflex action, violence has the tendency to be self-perpetuating through the cycle of revenge. Moreover, his theory and practice of non-violence, and satyagraha , were key to his politics resorting to ‘Appeal’. He appealed to the common sense and morality of his adversary and won most of the time.
Gandhiji’s turning point in life was reading John Ruskin’s book “Unto This Last”. This book was given by his friend Henry Pollok, during his train journey to Johannesburg, as a reading companion. It cast a magic spell bringing an instantaneous and practical transformation in his life as admitted by Gandhiji. Ruskin’s Unto This Last, directly or indirectly had a profound influence on Gandhiji in adopting the ideal of sarvodaya as his life’s mission. Unto the last mean only to uplift the last (Antyodaya). Besides this book, The Bhagabata Gita played a vital role in shaping the formative years of young Mohandas’ life. The Sermon on the Mount, Gandhi admitted - went straight to his heart. Western thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Count Leo Tolstoy, and Indian thinkers, and nationalist leaders such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak, Mrs. Annie Besant, Dadabhai Naroji, Viswakabi Rabindra Nath Tagore influenced the thinking of Gandhiji in many ways. Besides these, Gandhiji’s simplistic way of life, his staunch belief in non-violence, noncooperation, passive resistance coupled with organizing capacity, his launching of mass movements for the Indigo sharecroppers at the persistence of Rajkumar Sukla of Champaran brought about success of unprecedented nature. His establishment of Phoenix farm in Natla, Tolstoy farm in collaboration with Kallenbach- a German Physician, near Johannesburg in Africa ,and subsequent ashrams at Sabarmati and Wardha in India for imparting training to thousands to be self dependent ,and to launch peaceful resistance to the colonial powers, deeply inspired and influenced the American Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the South African anti-imperialist leader Nelson Mandela, and so many African liberation movement leaders like Jumo Kenyatta (Kenya), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), and others of the dark continent who fought relentlessly against the European colonial powers.
Gandhiji passed away seven decades ago, but his legacy is still alive in the public psyche. It has been felt, Gandhi has been always contemporary to each generation and will continue to be so and remain relevant throughout ages. He was really a saint who had collected essence from all religious beliefs, all scriptures, teachings of all thinkers, and efficiently molded his persona to excel which is incomparable in this world. Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore conferred the honorific - Mahatma on Sri M. K. Gandhi on 6th March, 1915 in recognition of his role in South Africa, after his arrival in India on 9th January 1915. The prophecy of Einstein that ”Generations to come, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth”, is about to be proved in our society of late, when attempts are being made to tarnish the image of the Mahatma. New India may have distanced itself from the Mahatma -the father of the nation, but ultimately Gandhi is likely to win the battle against collective amnesia, as evident from the various diplomatic mentioning of the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi during the meetings of our head of states to foreign countries. The name of Mahatma Gandhi transcends the bounds of race, religion and nation-states, and has emerged as the prophetic voice of the twenty first century. Undoubtedly, Gandhiji is an international icon, respected worldwide as evident from the –Resolution A|RES|61|271 of 15th June2007 of the U.N. General Assembly, which established the commemoration, the International Day of Non-Violence to be observed on 2nd October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.” The International Day of non-violence is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.” Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.
Gandhiji’s contribution to the political awakening and freedom movement in different parts of the world, and adoption of non-violence strategies which help the opposing groups respect each other’s sentiment and accommodating the views of others as much in common with UNESCO’s decision to propagate the message of tolerance for humanity's survival. During the mid twentieth century Asia and African continent particularly, have seen transition of power and social change, thanks to Gandhiji’s initiative and teachings. In United States of America, Martin Luther King Jr. had admitted that he learnt his operational tactics from M.K.Gandhi and effectively employed in his civil rights movement on Gandhian lines from 1955 to 1968 until his assassination.
After briefly delving into Gandhiji’s role in the freedom struggle, culminating in the Independence of India and his assassination which was lamented and deeply mourned world over - more articulately by Pearl S Buck, the writer of a bestselling book ‘Good Earth’ and a Nobel Laureate for literature, who termed it as another crucifixion, I concluded with a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted, inspired by the version of humanity evolving towards a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore him at our own risk.”
Gouranga Charan Roul (gcroul.roul@gmail.com) : The author, after completing post graduate studies in political science from Utkal University, Odisha in 1975, worked as a senior intelligence sleuth in the department of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax and retired as senior superintendent. As a staunch association activist, he used to hold chief executive posts either as General Secretary or President of All India Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officer's Association, Odisha for 20 years. Presently in the capacity of President of Retired Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officer's Association, Odisha, coordinating the social welfare schemes of the Association. Being a voracious reader, taking keen interest in the history of India, Africa, Europe and America. In his globe tottering spree, widely travelled America and Africa. At times contributing articles to various magazines.
ON THE MAHATMA
Padmini Janardhanan
Was Gandhi really a visionary?
Did short term issues cloud long term vision?
In retrospect, could any have done better?
Don’t know; am no political scientist.
Looking beyond the political scene,
He lived truly as a Mahatma.
Simple, genuine, not to be ignored;
Kind, yet uncompromising principles,
Contradictions simply did not exist.
His persona is his true legacy.
Generations inherit this legacy.
May we be true to this fine legacy
Simple, genuine, kind and principled.
SALUTATIONS TO SHASTRIJI
Padmini Janardhanan
Life rests on farmers
Our safety on our soldiers
Jai jawan Jai kisan.
Padmini Janardhanan is an accredited rehabilitation psychologist, educational consultant, a corporate consultant for Learning and Development, and a counsellor, for career, personal and family disquiets.
Has been focussing on special education for children with learning difficulties on a one on one basis and as a school consultant for over 4 decades. The main thrust is on assessing the potential of the child and work out strategies and IEPs (Individual Educational Plans) and facilitating the implementation of the same to close the potential-performance gap while counselling the parents and the child to be reality oriented.
Has been using several techniques and strategies as suitable for the child concerned including, CBT, Hypnotherapy, client oriented counselling, and developing and deploying appropriate audio-visual / e-learning materials. Has recently added Mantra yoga to her repository of skills.
She strongly believes that literature shapes and influences all aspects of personality development and hence uses poetry, songs, wise quotations and stories extensively in counselling and training. She has published a few books including a compilation of slokas for children, less known avathars of Vishnu, The what and why of behaviour, and a Tamizh book 'Vaazhvuvallampera' (towards a fulfilling life) and other material for training purposes.
My Dandi had begun long before yours did start
Mine did commence when I had blossomed barely into a teen
It was a different Dandi
Not to break a law
But to follow an age old one
A law of devotion and dedication that was supposedly a divine plan
A vow with 'Fire' as witness,
A Vow, not to break the tie ,but to survive it at least for lives seven!
All eyes set on your Dandi
Never ever one thought of my journey, my Dandi
An arduous Dandi
Undertaken across continents, in new habitats, at different times and in different climes,
In missions that had my compassion
And me as your companion through thick and thin
I was also burning in the night as you burnt your midnight oil
As you poured your answers for the seekers on papers
Hundreds did visit you for solace and solutions
To carry a unique movement forward
But ease of doing business lay on my shoulders
The villa in village or town that you lived
Needed to look fresh, swachh every morning ,day in and day out,
Sanitized and cleaned,
People cared and fed,
A huge responsibility discharged gendered !
Dandi for me was a marathon with you,
Walked like a shadow inseparable
All basked under the shade of the tree
But praised the tree, not the shade.
True, for me many a “Baa”s descended on the road
People gave credit to you ,
As if we sisters had no right to the road ,
But had I not gone to the street
Yours would not have been the full credit.
True, it is your favourite white Khadar chadar,
You had woven with your hands with care
That you put it on me as your last love metaphor
With torrential tears as if to give the last ritual bath in water ,
One could give the final parting gift ever!
People heard you and you
But you had no time to hear what children wanted, or wanted to say
You were cut out to be a statesman, not a family man
I see the irony
People not good with their better halves
Can be better with more than half of the world !
You rarely cared for the partner
Took a sudden new vow on a new voyage
Turning me into a friend as if I was not one
Your experiments were fantastic ,though fantasies to many
But I know how true you were
Keeping your life book open wider and wider.
Now we sleep apart
You at Rajghat and I, miles away, at Pune’s Aga Khan Palace outdoors.
Dr. Niranjan Barik is a retired Professor of Political Science from Ravenshaw University, Odisha and is currently attached there on teaching and research on an ICSSR project. He is passionate about literature and writes poems, short stories.
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