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Remembering the Mahatama

By Rituparna Goswami Pande |
“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability, or the curse of intoxicating drinks ad drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the India of my dreams”. Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi

Sadly we Indians have failed to live up to the India of the mahatma’s dreams. For India is still afflicted by the maladies that the Mahatma wished to eradicate. The evils of castism, untouchability, dowry are still rampant in our country. Women are still persecuted here in the form of female foeticide etc and violence is an ever present reality. India though it claims to have progressed technologically has still a long way to go spiritually.

It was by this great man’s vision that India got a much needed boost in the freedom struggle. The mahatma found India in a state of slavery and left it a land of free individuals. His preaching of non violence and Satyagraha compelled the British to leave India. But now his teachings of non violence has become just a lesson in our history books and nothing more for violence in the name of communal riots, terrorist strikes and crime are very much a part of Indian culture.

Today's society needs Gandhian approach the most for the world is reeling under the onslaught of terrorism which is an extreme form of violence.

Today on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the father of the nation which is also being observed as Non Violence Day let us once again pledge sincerely to built a nation based on his ideals. A routine and hypocritical oath is not enough for today India needs a new Gandhi who will once again light the beacon of peace and unity in our divided hearts.

Comments

jay's picture

Submitted by jay on Sat, 08/12/2007 - 04:06
Nice thoughts, I wonder sometimes that are all journalists think like you? I have been going through your articles for some time now and find that although you just stop short of answering, you tend to address issues which are important to the societies. Not that the people have forgotten Gandhi, but moving around in the social circle, I have definitely felt that relevance of his teaching have certainly been forgotten. Why do you go far, travel across to Gujrat, his birthplace, if they, being the people whom he was raised amongst, lived closely with them, except for Liquor prohibition, do we find anything else for which he laid his life for? I would say I would rather drink and die than go all out and kill people, just because I don’t like their faith. But then we are OXYMORONS, right. I know if we sit and think, we may find that the teachings are still relevant but have become insensitive and this insensitivity is taking its toll. Keep posting.

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