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Gandhian Principles & the Relevance of his Ideology Today

Dr. Ravni Thakur

We shape a culture by the way we portray ourselves. Often this is idealistically done. We fall back on texts, on histories and even myth. Once in a while a man comes along who in theory and practice embodies them. Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi was a man who gave shape to our Indian ideals by proving them in practice and thus came to be called Mahatama Gandhi.

In today's world where terrorism and ethnic conflict, violence and unilateral power play seem to rule, Gandhji's ideology and methods become of even greater importance. In many ways, his principles are derived from Indian ethos and enriched by his own experience. His method of peaceful resistance, his call for equality and an end to exploitation of all, his adherence to truth in personal and political life are the foundational truths of our nation today. As a government of India publication in 1919 stated:

Mr. Gandhi is generally considered a Tolstoyan of high ideals and complete selflessness. Since his stand on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, he has commanded among his countrymen all the traditional reverence with which the East envelops a religious leader of acknowledged ascetism. In his case he possesses the added strength that his admirers are not confined to any religious sect.

After his struggle in South Africa, Gandhiji returned to India and immediately identified with its real problems, those of poverty and untouchability.

In 1924 he said:

"The masses are as yet untouched by politicsÉ Their politics are confined to bread and salt Ð I dare not say butter for millions do not know the taste of ghee or even oil.. We must share their sorrows, understand their difficulties and anticipate their wants. With the pariahas (untouchables) we must be pariahas and see how it feels to clean the closets of the upper classes and have the remains of their table thrown at us. ÉWe must identify ourselves with the villagers who toil in the hot sunÉonly then will we truly identify with the masses."

Gandhiji took a vow of poverty, giving away all his wealth and belongings and wearing what the masses wore, his bare chest and simple dhoti, a stark reminder of India's gruelling poverty. It was his personal example that galvanized the nation and made them respond to his call for struggle against foreign oppression. Under his leadership, the sharp distinction that had existed between rural and urban India was bridged, at least politically.

Gandhiji turned the idea of nationalism into a fighting and practical idea. He reached out to the masses not through sophistication and erudition but by identifying openly with them, by living like them and bringing them into history. The first principle that Gandhiji brought into the freedom struggle was his notion of Satyagraha and Non-cooperation. It was these movements that galvanized not just middle class India but its masses.

According to Gandhiji, nothing could be achieved through the means of violence and the end never justified the means. It was this ideology that he enforced in his struggle for freedom. This was not unsurprisingly welcomed by the masses because it reflected the Indian ethos of ahimsa and spirituality. His idea was to use the spiritual strength and force of the people against the might of the British empire. It was not easy for him to sell his ideas to other members of the Congress in the beginning. But as he explained his Satyagraha as, "It is a movement intended to replace methods of violence and a movement based entirely upon truth."

Along with his use of truth and peace, Gandhiji advocated non-cooperation with the British authorities. Gandhiji was of the opinion that if the Indians refused to cooperate with British institutions, such as their courts of law and their administration, stopped paying taxes and boycotted British goods then swaraj could be gained. Starting with the anti-Rowlatt act movement of 1919, thousands of Congress workers came out and courted arrest. Things came to a head with the tragedy of Jallianwallah Bagh when General Dyer opened fire and killed hundreds of peacefully assembled Indians.

In 1930, the civil disobedience movement launched by Gandhiji changed the political complexion of the country. The civil disobedience movement started with the famous Dandi march of 1930 and took the Independence struggle to the countryside. It asked all the people of India to march together to throw out the shackles of colonialism. Under his leadership, thousands of Indians came out on the streets and courted arrest. The most conspicuous change was the entry of women into the political arena, a fact remarkable in that women in India had remained confined to the house till then.

Along with his non-violent methods of struggle, Gandhiji had also launched a social movement against untouchability. In 1921 each Congressman was expected to sign a pledge vowing to fight the evil of untouchability. Under Gandhiji, this programme became part of the Congress's goals. As he said:

"I believe that untouchability was no part of Hinduism and that if it was such Hinduism was not for me. "

Gandhiji was convinced that Indians could never gain independence as long as they kept the vast majority of their bretheren in a state of slavery. It was his fight that led the Indian constitution of 1950 to abolish untouchability and to provide for positive reservations to improve their status.

Gandhiji was also a champion of the village. He was convinced that unless our rural areas achieved prosperity and an equality of life style, no western type industrialization could help India. He was right as we know today. And that is why the UPA government has made the revival of our rural areas the most important component of its project for development.

Gandhiji gave back to India a pride in its ethics and values and in ourselves. He was able to identify and bring out the best in our ancient culture. He was able to pull out the humanism that defines an Indian value system and use it to bridge the gaps of faith and region. Concern for the down trodden, identification with the needs of the masses. Above all, he gave to us an idea of peace and non-violence. An idea whose time has come again as we face the onslaught of divisive forces in the country and internationally. The use of faith to justify genocide and terrorism, the means always justifying the end are all things Gandhiji would have rightly fought against. And these are things that we need to oppose as well.

The other important principle that Gandhiji gave India was the principle of respecting all faiths and all religions. This is what he, and subsequently, the Congress Party meant by Secularism as enshrined in our constitution. Secularism does not mean no religion, in a country like India it means that all faiths have a right to coexist and people of all religion are equal in front of the law. This is the difference between the BJP and the Congress. An ideological difference.

In politics, ideology has always mattered and today in India, it has become a burning issue because of the difference between the two major Indian parties, the BJP and the Congress. They represent two radically different world-views, radically different ideological visions about India. This difference is spelt out in the fundamental way they conceive of India as a Nation state and how they define citizenship for all its different communities. For the Congress Party Gandhiji's principles became the foundation struggle of both our struggle for freedom and our aims for the nation. We still stand by the principles of secularism and equality before the law. That is why it is laughable that Uma Bharati, who helped destroy the Babri Masjid and Sushma Swaraj who represents a communal party, claim Gandhi. But they can't be blamed. They have no heroes of their own and their rhetoric remains empty and one of hate and division.

Today, not just the Congress Party but the nation needs to once again remember and propagate the simplicity and honesty that Mahatama Gandhi represented. Instead of merely turning him into a symbol and an icon, we need to put our energies into ensuring that his legacy remains alive and is passed down to the younger generation. This is important because many goals that he laid down still remain to be achieved. We still have grueling poverty, caste and untouchability have not been eradicated. We must once again turn back to history and to the ideas of a great man to fulfill his dream of India as a harmonious and ethical society.