“Long years ago we made a pledge with destiny and now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge, not in full measure but substantially… when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom”. That was a quotation from India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his legendary ‘Tryst with Destiny’ address to the nation on the midnight of August 14, 1947. It is now 64 years to that day when India emerged as a free nation from the yoke of British colonialism. Today will be another celebration of the country’s independence. But the question is how far it has moved forward in realizing the ideals or the ‘India of my dreams’ as stated by the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. In fact the country has moved forward leaps and bounds in almost all areas of its development and India can be proud of the many achievements it has made. It needs to also introspect where it has failed. Today poverty, disease, illiteracy, discrimination on the basis of caste, sex etc, corruption, violence and unresolved conflicts continue to remain problems having an adverse impact on the health and vitality of India as a Nation State. And isn’t these the very things that Gandhi was totally against?
That Gandhi influenced India’s independence movement more than any other individual is a self-evident fact. But many ask whether he exerted any influence at all after 1947? After all, the messiah of non-violence saw his dream of freedom becoming a reality in an ocean of blood. And although the political leaders who ruled the country were handpicked by Gandhi, the ideals of a peaceful democratic order died along with him when those very leaders repudiated what was most dear to him. Then off course, when we talk about the Naga political movement, every Naga leader worth its name spoke with regard for Gandhi. There is a sense of despondency among the Naga people who feel strongly about the fate of the Naga issue had Gandhi lived longer. The Mahatma was sympathetic to the Naga cause and publicly stated that there should be “no forced union” with India if the Nagas did not want to be under the Indian union. Not just for himself or for the Indian people but Gandhi understood the aspiration of freedom of other peoples as well. And if only he had lived longer there would have been better understanding, peace and amity among the different nationalities.
In fact, Mahatma Gandhi was often described as a ‘philosophic anarchist’ rejecting the conception of the State and its authority, which to him was driven by violence and coercion. His pioneering contribution to the thought of mankind was his concept of Satyagraha as a principle in resolving conflicts between men. And the Indian State has today become just that—grappling with conflict and violence of different hues and degrees. Be it Kashmir, Northeast or the Naxalite problem, it is time to go back to the thoughts and action of Gandhi whose concept of Satyagraha as a principle in resolving conflicts between men remains as relevant today as it was in combating the British rule. The relevance of Gandhi’s teachings becomes even more vital for the future of a democratic India. Hopefully Gandhi’s philosophy will give the Indian State the much needed human touch. For a country facing numerous challenges from both within and without, Gandhi’s message should be remembered with a new piquancy.
That Gandhi influenced India’s independence movement more than any other individual is a self-evident fact. But many ask whether he exerted any influence at all after 1947? After all, the messiah of non-violence saw his dream of freedom becoming a reality in an ocean of blood. And although the political leaders who ruled the country were handpicked by Gandhi, the ideals of a peaceful democratic order died along with him when those very leaders repudiated what was most dear to him. Then off course, when we talk about the Naga political movement, every Naga leader worth its name spoke with regard for Gandhi. There is a sense of despondency among the Naga people who feel strongly about the fate of the Naga issue had Gandhi lived longer. The Mahatma was sympathetic to the Naga cause and publicly stated that there should be “no forced union” with India if the Nagas did not want to be under the Indian union. Not just for himself or for the Indian people but Gandhi understood the aspiration of freedom of other peoples as well. And if only he had lived longer there would have been better understanding, peace and amity among the different nationalities.
In fact, Mahatma Gandhi was often described as a ‘philosophic anarchist’ rejecting the conception of the State and its authority, which to him was driven by violence and coercion. His pioneering contribution to the thought of mankind was his concept of Satyagraha as a principle in resolving conflicts between men. And the Indian State has today become just that—grappling with conflict and violence of different hues and degrees. Be it Kashmir, Northeast or the Naxalite problem, it is time to go back to the thoughts and action of Gandhi whose concept of Satyagraha as a principle in resolving conflicts between men remains as relevant today as it was in combating the British rule. The relevance of Gandhi’s teachings becomes even more vital for the future of a democratic India. Hopefully Gandhi’s philosophy will give the Indian State the much needed human touch. For a country facing numerous challenges from both within and without, Gandhi’s message should be remembered with a new piquancy.
