How would Gandhiji have reacted to ‘New India’ if he was still alive in 2019

What would Mahatma Gandhi have done or said, had he been alive? It is difficult to predict what kind of action he would have taken because his mass actions had evolved over time, were not static or dogmatic and also changed from one situation to another.

We will, therefore, not venture any guess as to what Gandhiji would have done to address contemporary issues but only consider how we can plan an action programme based on principles he had laid down.

What is the situation today? Media reports indicate the common man is not happy with his life. People are complaining of rising prices of essential goods. There are reports of widespread corruption. News about rape of women pour in from all corners of the country. There are sporadic incidents of terror attacks and trans-border skirmishes and gunfire. The falling value of our currency, volatile stock market and the rising price of bullion betray the unstable state of our finances and economy.

Intermittently, elections are held from Panchayats to Parliament. An election fever grips the people. Leaders vociferously promote themselves and engage in mudslinging at rivals. Though people don’t believe what political leaders say, they nevertheless elect them. Civil society groups, which try to draw the attention of the government to the problems faced by a cross section of people, are either violently suppressed or bought over.

The lifestyle of the fast-growing middle-class appears to have bid goodbye to Gandhian values. Even though consumerism, ostentatious lifestyle and conspicuous consumption have grown by leaps and bounds and caused alarming levels of inequality, environmental degradation and caused serious ecological imbalance and climate change, even educated people hail them as signs of ‘development’.

Millions of farmers have committed suicide. These suicides find place in the record books of mortuaries but fail to move the rulers to take effective action.

Gandhiji’s dream was to make India not only politically independent but also economically and socially independent, and spiritually liberated.

But the colonial legacy of administrative machinery continued. The style and structure of the government and polity remained the same. Ministers and administrators increasingly distanced themselves from the common man. In the first few decades after Independence, people still found ministers following a relatively simple lifestyle. But over time, an increasing number of ministers and political leaders took to luxurious ways of living.

Before Independence, the country had a common goal of getting freedom from tjhe British Raj. After Independence, there was no such common goal. Different political parties and their leaders worked at cross purposes and led people in different directions.

However, there was one redeeming factor. The founding fathers made freedom, equality, fraternity and justice for all as the guiding principles of our Constitution. These lofty ideals, alas, remained on paper and did not get reflected in the action of the rulers. There were many welfare schemes announced but since they were implemented from top down, as former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said, only ten paise out of one Rupee meant for them reached the people.

Because of the vision of the founding fathers of our Constitution, we got democracy which continues even today despite its fault lines and limitations. However, we could not inculcate civic sense.

An unhappy and undesirable trend which has received little attention is the increasing dependence of people on governments. This has been due to the tall promises made to the people. “Vote us to power, we will improve conditions of your life,” is their common refrain. This has made people not just dependent on governments but also turned them into passive parasites.

As a result, we missed the opportunity of mobilising people’s power in realising Gandhiji’s dream of making India a truly and completely independent country.

If Gandhiji were alive today, he would have lived a principled life presenting an ideal model to others. What were the founding principles of Gandhiji’s life? These were a life of self-discipline, self-reliance achievable through various constructive programmes and Satyagraha.

The foundation of Gandhiji’s thoughts and principles was based on Truth and Non-violence. From this were developed his basic tenets of austerity as opposed to greed, fearlessness, overcoming carnal desire and respect for all religions.

To combat corruption in political and economic spheres, the society would have to overcome greed, desire for material possession and the courage to do so.

To fight communalism and caste discrimination, one would have to adopt Gandhiji’s programme of removal of untouchability and develop respect for all religions. To combat consumerism which is the root cause of pollution and ecological catastrophe, India and the rest of the world would have to opt for a simpler lifestyle.

Gandhiji had suggested promotion of khadi, village and cottage industries with the objective of providing employment to millions of men and women while not adding to pollution and destruction of environment.

If only the country had laid more stress on achieving communal harmony and removal of casteism, we would have substantially reduced tension and violence of the level we are witnessing today.

To Gandhiji, Satyagraha was not just for opposing an unjust system but a way of life. For Gandhiji, Satyagraha was applicable to all aspects of life.

There have been scores of movements in the country inspired by Gandhian thoughts after his death: The Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand, the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the mass movement against bauxite mining in Odisha, the agitation against nuclear power plants and missile testing range, all which have been successful completely or partially.

These people’s movements, aimed at establishing a just socio-economic order, point to possibilities of applying Gandhian methods in future to address some of the pressing issues of the country.

(Translated and abridged from the original article in Gujarati)