Is Gandhi relevant?Dr. Mrinal Chattejee

ProfessorIndian Institute of Mass Communicatin

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Is Gandhi relevant today?What does that mean?

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That meansWere his insights into the nature of modern

civilisation right?

Does his vision of the ideal society stand the test of time?

Are his political and economic prescriptions valid today?

Should humanity move along the Gandhian route?

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Critics say, he is notAnd they have their arguments

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Their argument"(His critics) argue that his basically conservative,

puritanical, pro-bourgeois and pacifist thought hindered the development of radical political movements, harmed the cause of the Dalits, burdened the Indian psyche with a paralysing sense of guilt about economic development, hampered the emergence of a strong and powerful state, created a national schizophrenia about the need to acquire and exercise political power and perpetuated unrealistic and confused ideas about human sexuality."

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The Marxists have their own reservations.

Gandhi’s rejection of a technological society ran

counter to the Marxist vision of technological

progress.

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5 pointsWhy Gandhi is relevant in

present times

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1. Non-violenceHis entire political strategy, satyagraha, ahimsa

and fasting was based on the superiority of 'soul force' to physical force. He once said: "Nonviolence… means the pitting of one's whole soul against the will of the tyrant.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.""An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

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2. EqualityGandhi envisaged an equal and egalitarian

society.

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3. SustainabilityDr E.F. Schumacher, author of the classic

critique on modern economics, Small is Beautiful, who called Gandhi the greatest 'people's economist', says: "Gandhi abhorred the industrial civilisation because it was based on callous exploitation of non-renewable resources. It made bodily welfare the sole object of life, which reduced man to nothing but a clever animal."

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“The world has

everything to fulfil our

need, but it cannot meet our greed”

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4. Respect for all religion

In the Indian context the most relevant of his teaching was respect for all religions, a must if India is to survive."

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5. Vision for India..Village-based economy

Individual-centric political system

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..and worldA world that respects all religions and

synthesises the essential truth in each. A world that operates on the spiritual principle of the unity and divinity of all that lives. A world focused on the welfare of the other. A world of peace, love, nonviolence, equality, compassion. A world that lives in harmony with itself and with the environment.

In a world increasingly enamoured with technology and good-living on one hand and giving in to violence on the other, perhaps it is time to rediscover the Mahatma

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Gandhi showed that idealism is practical,

which makes him eternally relevant.

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''If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore Gandhi at our own risk."

-Martin Luther King Jr

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“Gandhi is not the past, he is the future. He is an early sign of what we can

be."

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Thank Youwww.mrinalchatterje.inmrinaliimc@yahoo.in

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Referencewww.gandhifoundation.org

http://www.lifepositive.com/spirit/masters/mahatma-gandhi/gandhi.asp

http://www.nif.org.in/Mahatma_Gandhi_Memorial_Oration