By Fr Joshan Rodrigues –
Is Gandhi being forgotten? This is a poignant question to be asked as we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. To some, it may seem that except for the ‘Father of the Nation’s’ image that adorns our currency notes in different hues, there is little else that reminds one of the Gandhian legacy and principles in post-modern India.
India’s independence from British colonialism in 1947 came largely from Gandhi’s firm conviction on ‘ahimsa’ – an adherence to non-violence – and the “fight for truth” (satyagraha). Gandhi was able to unite the entire country and bring people to believe and fight for this singular ‘Truth’. While pockets of violent resistance to the British did continue, the country’s independence was achieved largely due to the British Government’s inability to unravel this effective strategy of ‘civil disobedience’ through peaceful means. This principle was subsequently tried and tested in other places, notably South Africa, through the charming charisma of Nelson Mandela.
However, today’s India seems unable to unite its peoples around this one ‘Truth’, a Satya that is all-inclusive, that works for the benefit of all, and one that seeks to carry everyone equally towards the horizon of prosperity and progress. Quite the opposite, the lofty ideals of the founding Fathers of India seems to have become a victim of relativism, selfish political ideologies and a skewed economic ‘fairy tale’ that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. The media is quite often reflective of this ‘divisive’ mentality – turn on most TV news channels, and you will see invited guest speakers indulging in mud-slinging and noisy verbal duels, with the loudest decibels stealing the cake. The anchor’s job is to keep stoking the fires to keep the battle going. Gandhi would surely have disapproved of the sordid state of the Indian media today.
While Gandhi’s ‘swadeshi’ movement focused on simple living and self-reliance, modern India’s ‘atmanirbhar’ push is an unreflective aping of western consumerism. “We want what the West has, but we will make it ourselves.” His economic vision was an India for all, that did not discriminate on the basis of language, caste or religion. His economic thought was interwoven with morality. He once said, “That economics is untrue which ignores or disregards moral values.” However, in complete contrast to Gandhi’s vision, the Indian economy is largely profit-centred, rather than people-centred. The steady elimination of various protections that were afforded to the working class and those in labour-intensive jobs are reflective of this mindset.
India’s vision should not be a purely market-driven capitalistic prosperity which tends to leave many people behind and concentrates wealth in the hands of a few. Rather, India needs to move in a direction that ensures social and economic prosperity for the many. The scandalous number of India’s poor and the traumatic suffering that migrants and manual labourers endured during the first wave of the pandemic is illustrative of the narrow political vision that successive governments have had in recent decades.
Another looming threat to Gandhiji’s ideal is in the area of religious harmony. It is no secret that Gandhi fought hard for religious harmony, especially among Hindus and Muslims. In his own words, “The Hindu thinks that in quarrelling with the Mussalman, he is benefiting Hinduism; and the Mussalman thinks that in fighting a Hindu, he is benefiting Islam. But each is ruining his own faith.” Gandhi ardently desired an India where people belonging to a particular religious faith had the same regard for other faiths as they had for their own. Unfortunately, communal hatred seems to have become new norm. Recent elections have seen politicians unabashedly making hate speeches against minority communities and getting away scot-free. Offering flowers and veneration at statues and images of the Mahatma on Gandhi Jayanti, and then employing divisive strategies for political gain is blatant hypocrisy. The dawn of majoritarianism poses a threat to the democratic fabric of our country.
India’s most famous export – the very concept of Gandhian-style “Satyagraha” – is under threat today, ironically in the very country that gave birth to it. Marches, sit-ins, hunger strikes and dharnas are branded as ‘anti-national’ and its adherents working for a foreign enemy. Social activists are arrested under stringent anti-terror laws and thrown into prison. Even journalists who dare to investigate the powers that be are not spared. It is a matter of great shame that the largest democracy in the world is consistently ranked among the bottom countries when it comes to human rights and freedom of the press in annual global reports.
Dedicating ourselves once again to the principles of the Mahatma, both in spirit and in action, is sorely needed in today’s India, but I would argue, also as a panacea to many of the ills facing the world today. The movement against global warming and the protection of the environment has much to learn from Gandhi who advocated a style of living and consuming respectful of Nature.
Gandhi is not a past sacred relic to be remembered, but a legacy to be lived in the present.
Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture on his wonderful blog: ‘Musings in Catholic Land’