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Martyr’s Day: Oh! How grand is death too

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As the wholen nation pays its tribute to the martyrs, it is also important to gain an insight into the lives of the families of martyred soldiers and assess the various issues.  

 

Oh! How grand is death too

For the ones martyred

What pain they must have gone through,

when those vicious bullets rained.

Courage like this is showcased only by a few

Sacrificing all for the homeland. 

 

Every year, on the dark day of assassination of Mahatma Gandhi i.e. January 30, India observes the Martyr’s Day to pay her honest reverence to her brave freedom fighters and martyred soldiers. At exactly 11 o’clock, every citizen is supposed to observe a 2 – minute silence in remembrance of these heroes. This gesture appears very small in front of their great service. 

When a soldier is martyred, he is honored with medals and people mourn his death for a few days; but the real brunt is faced by his family. The permanent absence leads to social, economic and psychological problems for the family. Hundreds of children are forced to grow up without a father and many wives are left with the memories of the love they had, penned in numerous letters. The social and economic aspect can be solved through vigorous support and care and various educational and financial facilities. ‘Vasantharatna Foundation for Arts’ is a NGO that works to empower the families of martyred Jawaans.  But the psychological emptiness is often too deep to mend. 

Still the families of martyrs catapult themselves out of the abyss of grief and find pride in the sacrifice of their loved ones. In an interview to ‘Rediff.com’, the family of Captain Saurabh Kalia who was ‘captured, tortured and barbarically killed in the Kargil War, explains how they have coped with his death and are still fighting against the heinous war crime he had to go through.  

But the concern that arises is – How long will we keep losing these young souls? Will the fear in the heart of a soldier’s parents ever come to an end? We call ourselves ‘advanced’ and ‘civilized’, yet the decade began with the fear of outbreak of World War 3. It is without any doubt that our martyred soldiers deserve the highest honor and admiration but none should be made to take the bullet because of the pettiness of some politicians or the failures of our diplomats. 

Mahatma Gandhi quoted, “Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.” It is time that we rise above our perceived divisions and selflessly strive to build a better world for everyone.

EVE_OF_MARTYR_S_DAY

 

Image Caption – Children pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on Martyr’s Day in Patna 

Image Credit – Ranjeet Kumar for the Hindu 

 

Oh! How grand is death too

For the ones martyred

As towards the heights of glory we go,

Their selfless service will forever be remembered. 

Our respectful adieu 

As they leave to be cradled in the loving arms of motherland. 
Featured Image Credit – Press Trust India

Featured Image Caption – Daughter of Colonel MN Rai pays her last respects at his cremation

Ipshika Ghosh 

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Gandhi’s Godse and Godse’s Gandhi

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Gandhi continues to be regarded as one of the greatest visions in texts, facts and figures of history to all but few, Godse and Godse’s Children, here on Martyrs Day we trace back the underlying significance of it.

Is death often quoted for remembering the dead or the murderer is an equal participant in the remembrance? The Modern Indian Politics lends its current stature to many significant instances that shaped parliaments, identities and political heroes and villains of Indian discourse. I strongly believe and advocate that the entire political stigma since 1947 is therefore based on the three Gandhi(s) (Mahatma, Indira and Rajiv) and their assassination(s), which if not wholly has substantially formulated the most of it.

Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination is one of the most important markers of history, documented in numerous forms and writings. Perhaps, no non-literary Indian after Vishnu’s Dashaavtaara has contributed for the inspiration of Indian literature as much as Mahatma Gandhi; his murder escalated writers to preserve his teachings and ideas in whatever available form and the news of this murder spread like a plague, where Nathuram Godse became the point of rage.

On 30th of January 1948, Godse plotted for Gandhi’s life at Birla House with Narayan Apte and 6 others holding the latter guilty for appeasing the minorities especially the Muslims. In his justification of the act, Why I Killed Gandhi, Godse is seen as a devout of Gandhi who respected his thoughts on untouchability and Swaraj, but it was the overshadowing of Savarkar’s influence that clouded his ideology.

By the end of his defence on 5th May 1949 at Punjab High Court, Peterhoff, Simia, Godse wrote, “To my mind, there could be only one reason for Gandhiji and his followers to give their consent to the creation of Pakistan and it is that these people were accustomed to make a show of hesitation and resistance in the beginning and ultimately to surrender to the Muslim demands.”

This whole expression captivates the premise of Godse’s utterance of defence akin to what Brutus did in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but a closer look at this does remind us of the similar fallacies on Brutus’ part as we might find in Godse; an undetectable but crucial assumption that Gandhi’s claims and testimonies regarding this issue needs to be dismissed as hypocritical, idiosyncratic or nonsensical- describing them as meticulous lies or ideas with no reality.
Asghar Wajahat’s ‘Godse @ Gandhi Dot Com’ reiterates an important question how crucial are Gandhi and Godse to each other and if survived what grandeur or downsize would have poured on their parts if the play’s conversation between Gandhi and Godse did actually give a chance to the political players in reality.

Where millions offer their condolences to the Father of the Nation on 30th of January, many celebrate Godse as a martyr and reject Gandhi as the Father of the India we know, they believe him to be Father of Pakistan, describing his assassination as vadh of a demon. In a meeting in Bombay in 1993, ‘Gandhi was even called a traitor’ by Nathuram’s younger brother, who was an RSS Kaaryakarta, although the RSS sides itself from accepting Godse as a Sangh Karyakarta opposed to Godse(s) claim.
The Gandhian vision seems incomplete without addressing the questions of many like Godse that Gandhi himself provides in his study, Godse’s entire identity and those of his followers are based as an antithesis of the Gandhian philosophy.

Image Credits: Youngisthan
Faizan Salik
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Echoes from the Past: An Ode to Lost Gandhian Ideas of Education

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The year 2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. His words are acknowledged far and wide for their deep-rooted wisdom which he presented in the most accessible language for all. Here is an intersectional piece on his ideas of social service and the education of children.

Since the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to interact with the children of the migrant labourers who were working in my college. Spending time with four of them made me realise and think deeply about a lot many things that are still happening, and are significantly pressing issues in India, which are sadly overlooked. Holding bricks in their little hands came more naturally to them than holding a book or a badminton racquet. This image, as simple as it might sound in its description, made me question the very living reality I am a part of.

In all of his seriousness, Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I would develop in the child his hands, his brains, his soul. Now the hands have almost atrophied and the soul has been ignored.” The words he spoke years ago ring a deathly cacophony in the face of modern India – an India built on hopes, dreams, and immense ambitions. Upon interacting with those children, I found how the very act of accessing good education is a dream too fancy to dream. They are a generation of unlettered Indians, much like their parents and grandparents. They will continue to be a part of the vicious labour cycle, because we have continued to sit quietly in our ignorance. In the actions on my part, I taught them to play badminton, how to read and write alphabets, and they taught me the value of privilege.

I hope that they all get an equal opportunity for a beautiful childhood because that is what every child deserves. That is a future our founding fathers longed for, and a future which they died for. It rattles me to the core, when we boast of the fact that India is developing and whatnot – is all of that true, or just a globalised facade while the local reality remains unnerving? There is a long way ahead of us with a long trail to tread. Are we mere paper tigers when it comes to implementation? It is here that Mahatma Gandhi’s words ring all the more true, in a dire need to be put into action, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” It surely is a battle, but one to be won with pen, patience, and systematic resistance, in going out and reaching to this parallel reality of India. It is at this powerful juncture the motto, “Each one, teach one” almost screams to me in all its naked truth. It screams how one person has the power to bring changes in their immediate ecosystems. It screams how we are just one action away from building our future and giving no individual effort in this pious task.

Every person has the right to lead a life of dignity, respect, and one where they are not exploited. Even spending as less as 15 minutes a day to teach something to an illiterate child can bring watershed changes in our society; one which have been lying dormant for the longest time. Brace up and buckle up, India. Every effort of every individual counts, and it is the time to contribute substantially to the cause of the leaders whose birth and death anniversaries we celebrate with pomp and show, while ironically rolling down our car windows to buy chai from young children who deserve an education.

Feature Image Credits: Amrashree Mishra for DU Beat

Amrashree Mishra

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Auburn Umbrella: Styling Khadi Garments

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All that is old is gold; this holds true in the case of khadi which is, the clothing material that played a massive role in the struggle for Independence.

“Swaraj cannot come through the machine. But if two hundred million people with full understanding produce khadi with their own labour and wear it, the face of India will be transformed,” Gandhi ji’s courageous confidence in khadi was one of his most articulated convictions, and when he said that wearing khadi can change the spirit of India, he was right. He proved himself by making khadi the synonym of swadeshi.

The humble khadi clothing has now transformed itself into a style quotient. To change is to live, and to adapt is to grow; which is absolutely true in the growth trend of the humble khadi. Khadi not only can be produced in variable counts and weights, making it suitable for all weathers, but it is also eco-friendly, and has a low carbon footprint as compared to other types of cloth. Here is how you can style it to make a statement:

Outdoorsy Kurtas

Outdoorsy kurtas can be sported with either a pair of denims, or pyjamas. For footwear, settle on a couple of Kolhapuri chappals that will loan you an ethnic yet contemporary look, which works everytime.

Image Credits: Jaypore
Image Credits: Jaypore

Pastel-coloured Khadi Shirts

Light coloured khadi shirt teamed up with linen bottoms, chinos, or simply denim will surely add to your personality. Furthermore, khadi shirts are moistureabsorbent and skin-friendly, ensuring allround comfort. A sleek look would be to style an oversized shirt, cinched with a statement belt at the waist, paired with comfortable leggings.

Image Credits: I Wear Khadi
Image Credits: I Wear Khadi

Nehru Jacket

The Nehru jacket, paired with a white kurta and pyjama, or with a shirt and trousers, is the go-to for a more casual but effective look. Printed versions add a unique flare to the outfit.

Image Credits:
Image Credits: India Mart

Khadi Sarees

For job interviews or professional settings, a khadi saree is the go-to for a look that is easy to carry yet makes an impact. A range of fabrics from pure khadi to silk khadi, offer a wide range of options.

Image Credits: The Loom
Image Credits: The Loom

One of the biggest khadi exclusive stores in Delhi is in Connaught Place’s Outer Circle, which offers a wide range of products. So, get out there and explore your options with the versatile, comfortable, homegrown and sustainable fabric of khadi!

Image Credits:
Image Credits: Magic Pin

Feature Image Credits: Aakarsh Mathur for DU Beat

Abhinandan Kaul

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Bhavya Pandey

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Spokes of the Mahatma’s Spinning Wheel: People Behind Gandhi

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History continues to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi as a figure of Indian resilience and struggle. Throughout the world, Indian history is seen as if synonymous to his name, and yet, in the shadows of that glory remain hidden the people who shaped the legacy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Every year on 2nd October, the world remembers Gandhi, the man who fought the British and did it so artfully that they had no resort except to accept the man with a frail frame and a frightfully forceful firmness to not fail. Yet, it was not just Gandhi who was behind the framing of his Gandhian fame. It was the collective efforts of many behind the curtain, his many supporters and mentors whose benefaction made Gandhi into theman who was able to bring the British Raj to its knees.

The man who perhaps influenced Gandhi’s life the most was Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale was a great reformist and nationalist leader who influenced economic and developmental thinking. He was an influential and respected member of the Indian National Congress. He wrote recommendation letters for Gandhi to several lawyers in Bombay, in order to secure a juniorship in the latter’s name. He proposed the Natal Indentured Labour Bill to help Gandhi gain a legal framework and to assist him in his struggle in South Africa. In Gandhi’s own words, “If Gokhale had not played this stellar role, the South African problem would never have resolved.” It was he who convinced Gandhi to return to India from South Africa to serve his people, and to spend a year visiting every part of the country – every city, district and village, so that he may get to know the people he had come to serve. He sought a promise from Gandhi to not utter a word on Indian issues for one year till his discovery of India was complete. Gandhi wrote in his book, Satyagraha in South Africa, “Every word of Gokhale glowed with his tender feeling, truthfulness and patriotism. Gokhale prepared me for India.”

Though Gandhi’s views on women’s rights were closer to Puritan-Victorian expectations of women, the women who accompanied him shaped his ideologies, and helped propagate them. Perhaps the most relevant woman encircling the glory of the Mahatma was his wife, Kasturbai “Kasturba” Mohandas Gandhi. She helped her husband in South Africa by establishing the Phoenix Settlement. She participated actively in protests and civil movements, and spent most of her time serving in ashrams. Despite being of ill health, she joined many of Gandhi’s protests, and was jailed on several occasions, with the most famous one being her imprisonment at Aga Khan Palace. She later died at a detention camp.

Another important woman beside Gandhi was Sushila Nayyar, an Indian physician, veteran Gandhian, and a politician. Sister to Gandhi’s personal secretary, she played a leading role in several programmes for public health, medical education, and social and rural reconstruction in India. She was Gandhi’s physician, a part of his trusted inner circle, and she worked for the empowerment of women, while also advocating for family planning.

One more man behind Gandhi’s success was J.C. Kumarappa, the pioneer of rural economic development theories, who has been credited with developing economic theories based on Gandhism. When Kumarappa started working with Gandhi, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya complimented Gandhi for the wonderful training he had given to Kumarappa. In response to the compliments, Gandhi had said, “I haven’t trained him, he came to me readymade.”

These people were some of the many spokes of the Mahatma’s wheel that spun a revolutionary movement. If Gandhi was the light of the candle, these people were his wax. However, history casts them in the shadows. The wheel would never have turned to drive a successful cause, in the absence of its spokes.

 

Feature Image Credits: Time Magazine

Shreya Juyal

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A Five-Year Check: Progress of Swachh Bharat Mission

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It has been five years since the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was first launched on 2nd October 2014. Let us look at the progress this expedition has made so far.

According to the “Broken Windows Theory”, each problem that goes unattended in a given environment, affects people’s attitudes towards that environment and leads to additional complex problems. Our country has proven to be the perfect example of this theory, considering the condition of cleanliness in India, as Indians carry this psychological element in their blood. A website called Top Tens rated India as the second dirtiest country on the planet. According to reports, 29 out of the world’s 100 most polluted cities are Indian cities. It was concluded that the best time for change passed 20 years ago. The question that prevailed was, can India transform into a clean country?

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched to answer this question with the help of the following steps:

1. To eradicate the system of open defecation in India.

2. To convert the insanitary toilets into pour flush toilets.

3. To remove the system of manual scavenging.

4. To make people aware of healthy sanitation practices.

5. To link people with the programmes of sanitation and public health to generate public awareness.

The objectives that this mission planned to achieve are certain basic facilities that a significant number of people are deprived of. How unfortunate it is that to achieve these fundamental benefits, there arises a need for a campaign at such a large scale in the 21st century! Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is one of the largest cleanliness drives in the world, and it has brought in transformation and traceable health benefits for many. It has helped reduce diarrhoea and malaria among children below five years, stillbirth, and lower birth weight (new-born with weight less than 2.5 kilograms). The priority under this mission has not just been the construction of toilets, but also the induction of a behavioural change in the communities. . The result has been a considerable growth in health parameters, as revealed by various researches. The gains from the cleaner India are important inputs, directly as well as indirectly, for achieving broader economic development objectives. While Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has exhibited great results, and has made remarkable progress, it has also received a fair amount of criticism.

Apart from the primary objectives of the campaign, it also aimed at instigating behavioural change within the people. Reports have shown that the campaign has not exhibited impressive results in that sphere. India has spent about INR 530 crores on the publicity of the campaign itself. Further, even after the Indian Government spending three times more money in making free toilets in comparison to the amount spent by an average Bangladeshi or Nigerian Government, people are reluctant to use them. Though there are many issues a democratic government needs to be criticised for, the reason why India is not becoming clean fast enough has to do with the citizens as with Government’s executive shortcomings. Unless the elephant in the room is not addressed, we are never going to succeed in making India clean. The citizens are reluctant about the steps taken by the Government as it pushes them out of their comfort zone. They still wish to stick to their old lifestyle and not contribute to this revolutionary cause, making the Government’s efforts futile.

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

Avni Dhawan

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The Glorification of Gandhi and the Rising Sympathy for Godse

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A look at how Gandhi shaped our nation, along with the parts of his character not discussed popularly.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi is popularly remembered as the Father of the Nation. He was one of the leaders at the forefront of the Indian freedom struggle, and has a significant role in the attainment of Indian Independence. These are few of the lines we have been told throughout our lives as children – on the 2nd
October every year, on Independence days, and through our History and Political Science textbooks. This is true for the most part and Gandhi’s return from South Africa did
provide a much-needed boost to the freedom struggle. His work with the downtrodden, and his ideas of non-violence still hold a prominent place in the society today.
However, due to the nature of his death, many of Gandhi’s idiosyncrasies and frailties are ignored when it comes to mainstream dialogue. He is considered to be a man beyond wrongdoing, to be the definition of moral standards, and everything we have been taught all our lives just adds to that line of the narrative. The book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India by Joseph Lelyveld was banned in his home-state of Gujarat when it came out in 2011.

This is interesting because the book does not break any new ground as such, and still speaks glowingly of Gandhi. Although, it does contain the description of some negative aspects and flaws in the great man’s character.
The banning of this book simply shows how the Indian population cannot withstand any attack in any form on those who they deify as gods.

There are many aspects to Gandhi’s character that should be questioned, because it is through the crevices in popularised and validated ideologies that people find the scope to improve society and, by extrapolation, the world.

One of these aspects showcases that Gandhi was a racist for most of his adult life, especially while working on civil rights in South Africa. His work centered on giving Indians more power and rights, as compared to the local natives who he felt were “inferior”. Gandhi wrote to Adolf Hitler twice in 1939 and 1940,and while it was to call for peace, he did write the following- “…nor do we believe you are the monster described by your opponents”.
Sexually, Gandhi had maintained a vow of celibacy; however, according to Lelyveld’s and Jad Adams’ Gandhi: Naked Ambition, it was said that he maintained close and intimate contact with females, making teenagers, women, and allegedly even his own grandniece sleep naked with him
to test his vow of celibacy. He was incredibly sexist and homophobic, propagating the belief that women should be responsible for the sexual assaults they face. He justified honour killings, labelled women who used
contraceptives as “whores”, and once chopped off the hair of two female followers who were being harassed so that the perpetrators would stop. He also led a campaign to have all traces of homoerotic tradition removed from Hindu temples as part of a “sexual cleansing” initiative.
Gandhi might have been the reason that India is still an ideologically backward, and sexually repressed nation. However, it is no justification for the current narrative propagated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the extremist right-wing labelling Nathuram Godse, Gandhi’s killer, as a hero. The incident involving Pragya Thakur serves as a recent example to this belief. The rise of Hindutva under the extreme right has led to many such people being given a status that
they do not deserve.
To conclude, here is the statement by a student from the University
of Delhi, who does not wish to be named, “I know Gandhi did a lot of messed up things, but how can anyone even think (that) celebrating his killer is good? He still helped our freedom struggle; the celebration of his death because he worked to help the Muslim minority just shows the rising intolerance in our country.”

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives.

Prabhanu Kumar Das
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Looking Through the Round Eye Spectacle

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It is important to differentiate a celebration of Gandhian philosophy from a celebration of his life.
India observed its 70th government-mandated holiday, and thank God it was on a weekday this time. Jokes aside, the fact that posthumous birthday celebrations of the Father of the Nation are reduced to a day of rest, and not mindfulness and reconsideration of the Gandhian values is abominable. However, being an Indian and having a skewed understanding of Gandhi’s legacy and internationally revered ideology is even more deplorable.
It is no coincidence that the United Nations Organisation observes the International Day of Non-Violence on the same day as Gandhi Jayanti.
Dhoti-clad and humble in demeanour, Gandhi’s personality has been described as exemplary and even sublime by the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi was an ideal leader, he bore no hatred for his oppressors and propagated resistance through what he called Satyagraha, or soul force. He never held any office in the Government of India. His influence over those in office was implied, just not formally recognised. Clashes faced by him due to political and religious influence eventually led to his downfall. On Gandhi Jayanti, here is a look at some complicated aspects of Gandhi’s life.
Political Elitism
The politics of the Indian independence struggle was elitist in nature; the masses had only instrumental value, while the English-educated and predominantly Hindu elitists, who advocated self- governance, accounted for a bulk of the Indian administrations. Never having faced gross violations themselves, their struggle for freedom was an intellectual pursuit and not an existentialist one. Gandhi, despite his deep concern for the poor, was unsuccessful in comprehending the crisis of the poor, especially when it came to the lower-caste community. His role was thus reduced to mass mobilisation, he ensured the peasantry freedom from the British Raj, but not from privileged India.
There are plenty of instances where Gandhi had displayed intolerance for different ideas. First, when Subhash Chandra Bose was forced out of his

elected position a President of the Indian National Congress because Gandhi found him to be insufficiently pliable and too
radical for his taste. And second, when Gandhi’s hunger strike (in 1932) forced B.R. Ambedkar, the voice of Dalits, to drop his demand for separate electorates. Since then, Ambedkar had disparaged Gandhi for his unwavering commitment to the caste system, implying that his concern for
the untouchables was a sham. Gandhi’s abandonment of the cause and interest of peasantry haunts them even today. The Dalits and Bahujans continue to struggle and experience a disconnect from true “freedom” seven decades after the independence.
Religion
Gandhi professed that above all, his mission was to bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims. However, his equation of “Hindu nationalist tradition” to “Indianness” by his dress, vocabulary, demeanour, and his obsession with the protection of cows threatened the identity of other religious minorities. The use of the term Mahatma (great soul) by Gandhi’s acolytes as his title introduced Hindu spiritual terminology into the political arena. His ideas alluded to a mythical Hindu golden age that is assumed to have existed before the advent of Islam in India, which created a drawbridge and increased Muslim alienation in the country.
Fame
Gandhi’s ascension into a celebrity created disillusionment within people, and instances such as Jinnah being publicly booed-off a stage because of
his reluctance to refer to Gandhi as “Mahatma” became commonplace. He might identify as a peasant, but always in his essence, Gandhi was infinitely more than a peasant. He had intellect, vision, an ability to attract, the obvious privilege and pride of being an upper caste Hindu, and his asceticism. On the topic of Gandhi, school history textbooks are skewed to the point of blatant glorification, and the failure of the Indian National Congress post-independence shows how national identity was used as propaganda, devoid of any values.
The spirit of his ideas is more important than his human existence. The ideology of Gandhianism is more important to our nation than perhaps his legacy, and it faces the challenge of neglect and obfuscation.  Three bullets to the torso can only take a life, and not erase thought.
Feature Image Credits: Path Decorations Pictures
Nikita Bhatia
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The Shadows Of Gandhi

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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

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