2nd October, celebrated every year as Gandhi Jayanti to commemorate the great martyr born amidst us, who led us from darkness to light, whose tales non-violence still echo in the classrooms of schools and the courtyards of homes. We remember his sacrifices for us, his dedication towards this nation and his resilience which got us our Independence.
But, Gandhi ji wasn’t the only one because of whom India is a democratic republic today, he isn’t the only one to march towards the path that got us our freedom. There were millions and millions of others who laid down their lives. Some, who after the long strived-for freedom, sought to maintain the interference and sovereignty of this nation. One such nationalist who gave his everything to this country at a time when Nehru passed away and there couldn’t be seen another ray of hope is Lal Bahadur Shashtri, the second Prime Minister of Independent India.
Lal Bahadur Shashtri was also born on 2nd October 1904 in Mughalsarai, Varanasi in the United Province of Agra and Oudh of the British India. He was a loyal friend and follower of Mahatma Gandhi and also of Nehru. Later on, he joined the Indian Independence struggle by becoming a member of the Indian National Congress. Following Independence, he worked for the country in Prime Minister Nehru’s cabinet first at Railways Minister and later even as Home Minister. After Nehru’s death, when the entire country was in terror of disintegration, he was the most favoured candidate who was believed to have the power to keep India united. He was elected to the office of the Prime Minister on 9th June 1964. During his tenure, he efficiently managed everything after the sudden death of the former Prime Minister. He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 and gave the famous slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan!’ The end of the war was possible only after signing the Tashkent Agreement on 10th January 1966. He died in Tashkent (then in USSR) the following day.
It is sad that on such a day when we should be proud of having been honoured by two such people who were born on our soil, we just remember one because he happens to be the Father of the Nation. The contributions of Mr Shashtri go unnoticed and unacknowledged. We as Indians should never forget the turmoil after Nehru’s death and how Mr Shashtri was able to get this country out of the shackles that held it down in the path of progress.
Image Credits: culturalindia.in
Ananya Bhardwaj
Though for some Indians, Mahatma was an embodiment of utopianism and idealism whose methods of resistance yielded results slowly and with a lot of suffering, despite all the delay he was a portrayal of tolerance and endurance which stand very much relevant in the contemporary times.
In one of my classroom discussions, one of my classmates commented coldly, “Gandhi is only an image in India today” and this was seconded by many of my other friends. One of my friends asked me about why I had been romanticising about Gandhian philosophy when his utopian ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha are far away from the jarring reality of the everyday life of Indians. This may be true, I thought. But the impact of his philosophy on many iconic leaders of the 20th century like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. etc. express the apocalyptic mode of political thinking that can be invoked as a Gandhian moment.
Gandhi became a part of the moral conscience of humanity and his universal message could be measured by his profound impact on all forms of dissent against unjust regimes. A genuine appreciation of Gandhi’s relevance can only be made against his civic philosophy of dissent. The Gandhian audacity of asking questions on modernity and Western hegemony expresses his critical thinking and this is what is lacking in our today’s generation. Such an attitude of mind exemplifies the Socratic aspect which is absent in many political leaders of today- courage. All political leaders are reduced to only being politicians and India still awaits another iconic leader in the true self who will lead all of us to freedom from orthodoxy, poverty, and disdain.
Gandhi always held that Satyagraha implied the willingness to accept not only suffering but also death for the sake of a true cause. When confronted by mobs or political authority, Gandhi had no fear of the state or a tyrannical crowd. For Gandhi, the process of dialogue and endless questioning is considered as the most productive and dissenting thinking in the public space. This is where Gandhi’s conception of democracy becomes relevant and important to us as students of University- be it BHU, JNU or DU. Democracy just cannot function with no sense of ethics and morality. An individual needs to fulfill one’s civic duty of participating in a community and as an end to attain political and moral resistance to all forms of tyranny. Let the shadows of Gandhi continue to teach us what is ‘self-realisation’, ‘protest’ and resistance because this may not be made a part of pragmatic public policy but can duly serve as an ethical force for citizens to stand up for the principles they represent.
Image Credits– The Huffington Post India
Oorja Tapan