Gandhi - 71st Death Anniversary

India is celebrating the 150^th birth anniversary of Mr. M. K. Gandhi and today was the 71^st death anniversary of him, of Mahatma Gandhi, many call him Bapu. He was a normal man born with no charismatic qualities. There was a lot he embarked upon from M.K. Gandhi to being Bapu. The incident when he was thrown out of an upper-class compartment of the train in South Africa where his seat was reserved but he was racially treated by Britishers changed his life course. He fought for equal treatment and rights for South Africans when he was in South Africa. Satyagraha was his invention. Gandhi Ji was a religious fellow and he had read many religious texts thoroughly (as I read in his self-autobiography). He was an ambassador of nonviolence led freedom struggle. His plain ideology that if someone slaps you, put forward your second chin, forgive instantly and do not retaliate with violence. He spent half a decade in prison fighting for freedom struggle which proves that it was not rhetoric but he was devotional and practiced himself what he conveyed. He broke the law which he saw regressive in nature, at the same time he was ready to surrender before the law. After coming back from South Africa, he did not start haphazardly but wandered for whole one year to understand India. It was interesting of his approaches which put scrutiny in his methods. He experimented with the clothes he wore. He wanted to connect to the masses. One read in the history that during one of the round table conferences, he went to London and there he would meet Winston Churchill. Many asked him to wear a suit which he plainly denied. He wanted a bottom-up approach, i.e. development should start from villages. Although India started from the top down, later on, it established Panchayati Raj Institutions after realizing the fact that India is a very diverse country and the needs of the people are different in different areas. Not all of the tribal wanted to live a life as in urban areas. India simply could not be managed from the center and follow instructions. Britishers were clever in this regard as they continuously mapped Indian territories (obviously for their benefit) and done regular consensus to understand the demography of India. Charkha was the symbol of self-empowerment. As per him, there is enough in Earth for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.

There is a lot to learn from his personality. Even though many are now criticizing his role in the independence although he was the one who first led a mass movement starting from Non-cooperation. Before that India was a fragmented land and many regional leaders with the policy of appeasement towards Britishers with no single goal. He inspired many world leaders. He advocated several leaders of Europe when they were in great wars. His approach and advocacy for truth and non-violence have left a legacy for many to follow even today and times to come. To disregard Gandhi without learning about him would be a dishonor to him.

There is no question in living in a divided world with own your set of ideologies. We could neither emulate the past conditions nor the atmosphere. The only option left is to learn from all the personalities their best of traits and conduct oneself accordingly...