He means so much to the world yet so little to Indians. Most of the younger generation indians fed on a diet of lies,misinformation & pop culture either know little about the Mahatma or consider it "cool" to bash gandhian values. Afterall independent thinking is a rare commodity. We gloat when Western leaders like Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr express their unqualified admiration for Gandhi. Sadly our Netas either misuse Gandhian values or consider those values anachronistic. Gandhian values extend beyond mere Ahimsa (non-violence) and are broader doctrines towards simple,harmonious life and love of fellow human being (and animals).
Godse didn't just kill a human being at 5:17 pm on 30th January,1948 . But he muted the voices,hopes & aspirations of millions people around the world .The voice of Truth.
Perhaps one of the best autobiographies I have ever read is "My experiments with truth". The text of the book is simple,direct and has no lyrical makeover nor glossy words.But it has Hard-hitting truth and confessions of all his mistakes.Nothing can be more biting than truth and it leaves one with admiration for the great man's candor.
So what set me suddenly on this Gandhian espousal? I have always been a great admirer of the man and his values.Read an article in Outlook titled " What If Gandhi Had Lived On?" & " What If Godse's Bullets Had Missed Gandhi?"
But unfortunately there are no ifs & buts in time.
posted by Cogito at
Thursday, August 19, 2004
3 Comments:
Sometimes we have to be so senti, i think this is the time for that also we have to be very consious on spreading his voice to new culture, govt have to do that, will they?
By
ILA (a) இளா, at 5:29 PM
I am too sure if I was being Senti.I sincerely believe in it and its just that the words sounded senti because of the Cause.
By
Cogito, at 10:56 AM
We can't blame the historians for the current generation not understanding the Gandhian values. I think people started not following him the moment they made him a "Mahatma". The logic being "he could do all he can preach bcoz he is a Mahatma. I'm a ordinary mortal and i can't follow his principles in life"
No doubt Gandhiji was a great person and was a great moral & conscience keeper of the nation. But my Samskrutha(sanskrit) lecturer in college used to say this "Great people make great mistakes".
I certainly think M.K.Gandhi had a definite contribution to the partition and the after effects.
-Sunil
By
Anonymous, at 5:07 PM
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