Dear editor,
LAST week, September 21, the United Nations General Assembly observed “The International Day of Peace.” This week, people are gathering physically and virtually, for another common cause; one that is not strange to us here in Guyana, but one that has bonded the brothers and sisters throughout the world. It is so significant that, at the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations on September 24, 2019, glowing tributes were paid to the one who was fondly referred to as Bapu, one who is considered as “the father of the nation in India.” To quote from Albert Einstein about the person and the reason people are so lovingly adoring the date October 2:  “Mahatma Gandhi’s life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilised world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal, violent forces because, lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role-model for the generations to come. Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as he walked the earth in flesh and blood.”

One-hundred-and-fifty-one (151) years ago, Oct. 2, 1869, Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India. A shy, timid, but unremarkable student went to London at the age of 18 years and attended The University College, London, to study law and in June 1891, he was admitted to the bar at Inner Temple, London. He returned to India and later proceeded to South Africa on a work contract, afterwards, resettling in India. He was married to Kasturba from 1883 to 1944 and she bore him four sons. The late, famous Indian poet, Rabindra Nath Tagore, pronounced him with the title “Mahatma,” one that he Gandhi, never referred to or accepted because he was a very humble individual who chose a lifestyle of simplicity, austerity, fasting and celibacy, free of material goods and followed the teachings of Hinduism and Jainism that espoused non-violence, fasting, meditation and vegetarianism. He immersed himself in sacred texts including the Bhagwat Gita, the Quran and the Bible. Many may ask the question, “Who was Gandhi and why do we need to pay homage to him?” Well, to answer this question, allow former U.S. President Barak Obama to respond. Mr. Obama said in 2010, “I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today as President of the U.S., had it not been for Gandhi and his message he shared with America and the world.” When Mr. Obama was asked in September,2009, “Who was the one person, dead or alive, that you would choose to dine with?” His answer, unhesitatingly was, Mahatma Gandhi, because his biggest inspiration came from him.

What does Gandhism mean to this world in the 21st Century, where we are confronted with devastating problems that are tearing mankind apart globally, externally and internally? They range from politics to economics, social to medical, environmental to wars and other issues covering terrorism and crime. To begin, as per Gandhi, there is no such thing as Gandhism. He does not claim to have originated any new principles or doctrines. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. Rather, it is a political creed, an economic doctrine, a religious outlook, a moral precept and especially, humanitarian world view. It is an effort, not to systematise wisdom, but to transform society and is based on an underlying faith in the goodness of human nature. With this background, we can look at some of his works, achievements, hardships, sufferings and credits that can be attributed to, as answers to today’s disturbing problems:
WARS – A protagonist of peace, Mahatma Gandhi was born as an ordinary man, yet, his extraordinary deeds and non-violence philosophy changed the world we see today.
HIS VISION – Nonviolence is a way to make a political statement. In order for a nation to have peace, violence should be eliminated and people should input justice. Peace is not an ending point, but instead, should be a process that would end a war. EXAMPLE – Gandhi employed non-violent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule.

POLITICS – Gandhi inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
EXAMPLES –  Martin Luther King JR. in USA and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He drew international attention to the injustice of depriving Indians the right to vote in South Africa. In Pretoria, South Africa, his act of civil disobedience awoke in him a determination to dedicate himself to fighting “the deep disease of color prejudice and suffer hardships in the process, appalled by the discrimination and racial segregation faced by the Indian immigrants at the hands of the British and Boer authorities. 1947 – Gandhi’s Indian National Congress and Mohamad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League gained India’s independence, after successful negotiations.
ECONOMICS – He encouraged the “SARVODAYA” economic model which literally means “welfare upliftment for all.” Removing poverty and unemployment were the objective but the economic and development approach preferred adopting technology and infrastructure to suit the local situation, whilst paving a way for equal opportunity for the rich and poor.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY – Rather than buy British manufactured clothes, Gandhi began to use a portable spinning wheel to produce his own cloth. The spinning wheel soon became a symbol of India’s independence and self-reliance. Gandhi wore a simple loincloth and shawl.
SOCIAL – (1) EDUCATION – He favored an education system with far greater emphasis on learning skills in practical and useful work, one that includes physical, mental and spiritual study. He called it “NAI TALIM” – new education.
(2) WOMEN – Gandhi strongly favored the emancipation of women and urged the women to fight for their own self-development. A wife is not a slave of the husband, but his comrade, better half, colleague and friend.
(3) DEMOCRACY – It is more than a system of government. It means promoting both individuality and the self- discipline of the community – it means settling disputes in a non-violent manner, it requires freedom of thought and expression – it is a way of life.
·                         (4) YOUTHS – If India is not to declare spiritual bankruptcy, religious instruction of its youth must be held to be at least as necessary as secular instruction. Whatever may be the pros and cons of going to the public theatre, it is a patent fact that it has undermined the morals and ruined the character of many a youth in his country. Responsibility will mellow and sober the youth and prepare them, for the burden they must discharge. If I was to be their real teacher and guardian, I must touch their hearts, I must share their joys and sorrows, I must help them to solve the problems that faced them, and I must take along the right channel the surging aspirations of their youth.
(5) CRIMES -Every murder or other injury, no matter for what cause, committed or inflicted on another is a crime against humanity.
(6) TERRORISM – Terrorism and deception are weapons not of the strong, but of the weak.
MEDICAL – It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold.
ENVIRONMENT – Recently, in the light of climate change, Gandhi’s views on technology are gaining importance in the fields of “environmental philosophy” and philosophy of technology.” U.S. Vice-president Al Gore spoke and quoted extensively about Gandhi’s influence on him. The best part of Gandhi’s ideas was that they empower the individual. It’s up to each and every individual to simplify his or her life, to share his or her resources and to care for his and her surroundings.
GANDHI’S BELIEFS:
1) Religion – is not about what a person believes, it is about how a man lives, how he relates to other people, his conduct towards others and one’s relationship to one’s concept of God. It is important to improvise one’s way of life and conduct by absorbing ideas from any source and any religion.
2) Influences – His most profound influences were those from Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Jainism
3) Tolstoy – Tolstoy’s “A letter To A Hindu” using love as a weapon through “passive resistance.”
4) Shrimad Rajchandra – A poet and philosopher.
5) Bhagwad Gita – As his spiritual dictionary and greatest single influence on his life.
6) Satyagraha – The essence is “soul force” – His most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears and insecurities.
7) He summarized his beliefs first when he said “God is Truth” but later changed this statement to “Truth is God.”
MISCELLANEOUS ACHIEVEMENTS
1)     Gandhi founded the National Indian Congress
2)     Gujarat Vidyapith
3)     Harijan Sevak Sangh
4)     He was the primary leader of India’s Independence Movement
5)     The architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world.
6)     Anti-colonial Nationalist – a political ethicist
7)     Founded an ashram in Ahmedabad, India, that is open to all classes of people.
RECOGNITION AND TRIBUTES
1)     Gandhi is referred to as “The Father Of The Nation”.
2)     Volumes of books were written and still being written by global authors on Gandhi.
3)     Many movies were made, including Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film, “Gandhi,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
4)     His bust, statue and image can be found in museums and parks in most countries on all the continents.
5)     His image appears on numerous paper currencies and stamps in India.
6)     Oct 2nd is a public holiday in India – Gandhi Jayanti.
7)     Jan 30th is commemorated as “Marty’s day in India.
8)     Many Temples are dedicated to Gandhi.
9)     There is a Mahatma Gandhi Museum in Madurai.
10)       The    International Gandhi Peace Prize is an Annual Award by the Gov’t of India – Yohei Sasakawa from Japan was the 2018 winner.
11)            There is the Gandhi Peace Award in America – Dr. Zaher Sahloul and Mayson Almisri from Syria are the 2019 winners.
12)            UNESCO – Since 1948 – Observes Jan 30th as the “School Day Of Nonviolence and Peace in schools. That was the day Gandhi was shot and killed by an extremist.
13)            United Nation General assembly – 2007 – Declared Gandhi’s Birthday – Oct2nd, as the “International day Of Nonviolence.

Imagining Mahatma Gandhi in 2020 is not an easy task to think about, but his granddaughter Ela Gandhi and Gandhian scholar Tridip Suhrud give it a shot anyway to answer a couple of questions:

Which global leaders do you think he would have looked up to?
They would have looked up to him! I think he would have found a good friend in Dalai Lama.
Anything that would have saddened him deeply?
The divorce between means and ends.
The immortalisation of Mahatma Gandhi is indisputably acclaimed and accepted universally, because of the uncontested significance of the divine teachings of truth and non-violence, a principle that conceptualises mankind’s eternal survival for a peaceful co-existence.

Respectfully,
Jai Lall