Second of October is Gandhi Jayanti which is celebrated in many parts of the world. This lean man in his loin cloth epitomised frugality while promoting the ideal that there is, in this world, enough for everybody’s needs but not for everybody’s greed.
He was the indefatigable prophet of non-violence so much so that he was faced unarmed hordes of armed soldiers and police. He was a staunch believer in Ram Rajiya, a form of truly democratic governance, devoid of discrimination of all sorts where all his citizens, Muslims, Hindus, Christians. Buddhists, Jains and Parsees could cohabit peacefully. He was so averse to discrimination that he taught humanism by examples. He called the downtrodden “Harijans” (children of God) and cleaned their houses. During his tenure, the Constitution of India made special provisions to ban discrimination in any shape or form for ever.
Gandhi laid his life on the line with his causes his assassin hated the order he wanted to establish. His last words were “Hey Ram” as he breathed his last in his belief of a just world.
Gandhi has influenced icons like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Ho Chi Min and Albert Einstein and is as relevant as ever or even more so as the world is being blind to genocides taking place. Those mindless annihilators are not even paying heed that the victims can hit back and in this tit for tat, the whole world could face a doomsday scenario. Just as Gandhi did, sane leaders are amassing hundreds of thousands of peace activists but who are unfortunately ignored.
Ram Rajya could be a solution to the problems of the world. World nations have their own versions of Ram Rajya under different names but alas, they are paying lip service to the concept; even in India, the perception is that the country has deviated. And to confirm the view, Kangana Ranaut lit fire on social media in the following words: “Desh ke pita nahi, desh ke to lal hote hai. Dhanya hain Bharat maa ke ye lal” (Country does not have fathers; it has sons. Blessed are these sons of Mother India).
At a time when the world needs peace more than anything else, a solution for the hungry as well as a green environment, the teachings of Gandhi are a green growth in the desert and a light in the darkness that humanity has cast upon itself by its greed and selfishness.
Dawood Auleear
