THOUGHTS FOR THE GANDHI CENTENARY YEAR
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COMMUNITY HEALTH CEU
THOUGHTS
FOR THE
GANDHI CENTENARY YEAR
AICUF SECRETARIAT
STERLING ROAD,
MADRAS - 34
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
The Spirit of Mahatma Gandhi
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3
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5
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7
Hard Work, Self-reliance and Social Service
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9
National Freedom and Political Involvement
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13
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Man of Religious Ideals and Moral Integrity
Apostle of Non-violence
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ABBREVIATIONS THAT APPEAR IN THE TEXT
A B P — The Amrit Bazar Patrika
G C — Gandhiji’s Correspondence with Government, 1942-44
H — The Harijan
NV — The Nation’s Voice
Y I — Young India
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THOUGHTS FOR
THE GANDHI CENTENARY YEAR
As we prepare ourselves for the opening of the Gandhi
Centenary year, AICUF invites its members to study, read and
discuss the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi. The memory
of this great socio-political leader of our country has been
dimmed, perhaps, by time ; and the principles that proved so
effective and dynamic in shaping the destiny of our country
during those historic years of our freedom struggle, have been
obscured, somewhat, by the practical problems that our young
nation has had to face in its growth and development along the
lines of modern scientific and industrial progress.
Yet we who are young, and belong to a completely different
age, cannot afford to forget Gandhiji. Rather, the ideals he stood
for are of value even today, and we would do well to return to
these well-springs of thought and of action as we visualise and
hammer out our own contribution towards the building up of
our country.
Below after an introductory paper on The Spirit of Gandhiji,
we offer you a selection of Gandhiji’s thoughts under four main
titles. We invite you to reflect on them, and to examine,
individually or in groups their relevance to our own lives today.
A. THE SPIRIT
OF MAHATMA GANDHI
Let us have the strength to follow the path of truth
and love which he would have had us follow .... May
God have mercy on us all and give us the strength to be
true to Bapu and thus build up the India of his dreams.
— Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.
4
. . . The light which led us to freedom, though not
yet to unity, still burns and will burn till it conquers. I
believe firmly that a great and united future is the destiny
of the nation and its people. The power that brought us
through so much struggle and suffering to freedom . . .
will bring us to unity.
— Sri Aurobindo.
In this hour of national dislocation let us try and pay
humble homage to his sacred memory by remembering and
practising his eternal gospel of Truth and non-violence,
and rededication to the service of India even as he has
served.
— Dr. Syud Hussain.
We have to behave like strong and determined people,
determined to face all perils that surround us, determined
to carry out the mandate that our great teacher and our
great leader has given us, remembering always that if, as
I believe, his spirit looks upon us and sees us, nothing
would displease his soul so much as to see we have
indulged in any small behaviour or any violence.
— Pandit Nehru.
Yet one should be permitted to indulge the hope and
utter the prayer that, through the supreme sacrifice,
Mr. Gandhi may have accelerated the achievements of
those ideals for which his whole life was dedicated.
— Sir M. Zafrullah Khan.
1.
2.
These quotations are all excerpts from messages of
respect and admiration that were written or spoken on
the occasion of Gandhiji’s death, 20 years ago. Which
of these would you say is particularly appropriate
today ?
If the Mahatma were to walk through your city today,
what do you think would strike him, favourably ? or
unfavourably ? and what of the whole country : would
he be happy in India today ? Why or why not ?
5
3.
What do you think would be his message to university
students were he to speak to them today ?
4.
Suppose you could put a question to him now.
would your question be ?
What
B. GANDHI : MAN OF RELIGIOUS IDEALS
AND MORAL INTEGRITY
I am but a poor struggling soul yearning to be wholly
good—wholly truthful and wholly non-violent in thought,
word and deed ; but ever failing to reach the ideal which
I know to be true. It is a painful climb but the pain of
it is a positive pleasure to me. Each step upward makes
me feel stronger and fit for the next. (YI, 9-4-25, 126)
I am impatient to realize the presence of my Maker,
who to me embodies Truth and in the early part of my
career I discovered that if I was to realize Truth, I must
obey, even at the cost of my life, the law of love.
(NV. 319)
We are born to serve our fellowmen, and we cannot
properly do so unless we are wide awake. There is an
eternal struggle raging in man’s breast between the
powers of darkness and of light, and he who has not the
sheet-anchor of prayer to rely upon will be a victim of
darkness. The man of prayer will be at peace with him
self and with the whole world, the man who goes about
the affairs of the world without a prayerful heart will be
miserable and will make the world also miserable. (YI,
23-1-30, 26)
1.
What do these extracts tell you about Gandhiji’s reli
gious and moral aspirations ?
2.
To what extent do moral and spiritual ideals contribute
towards sustained and effective leadership ? Are they
essential ? Are they a hindrance ? What do we learn
from Gandhiji’s life in this connection ?
3.
What is the general opinion regarding the moral calibre
of our present leaders and administrators ? What basis
6
is there for the opinion you offer ? Could this have any
consequences for the progress and well-being of our
country ? What steps would you suggest for any
necessary improvement ? Be practical.
Man’s ultimate aim is the realization of God, and all
his activities, social, political, religious, have to be guided
by the ultimate aim of the vision of God. The immediate
service of all human beings becomes a necessary part of
the endeavour simply because the only way to find God
is to see Him in His creation and be one with it. This
can only be done by service of all. I am a part and parcel
of the whole, and I cannot find Him apart from the rest
of humanity. My countrymen are my nearest neighbours.
They have become so helpless, so resourceless, so inert
that I must concentrate myself on serving them. If I
could persuade myself that I should find Him in an Hima
layan cave I would proceed there immediately. But I
know that I cannot find Him apart from humanity. (H,
29-8-36, 226)
It is better to allow our lives to speak for us than
our words. God did not bear the Cross only 1,000 years
ago, but He bears it today, and he dies and is resurrected
from day to day. It would be poor comfort to the world
if it had to depend upon a historical God who died 2,000
years ago. Do not then preach the God of history, but
show Him as He lives today through you. (YI, 11-8-27,
251)
4.
What does a spiritual life mean to most of us students ?
To Christian students ? To Hindu students ? To others ?
5.
Do you think that a person who is deeply spiritual
should be concerned with the world around him ; to fight
for justice ? ... to improve living conditions ? ... to
restore and safeguard the dignity of the human person ?
to enter the fields of science and technology, politics
economics and sociology, and work for the common
good with a sense of mission ? . . . What about culture
and entertainment ?
7
As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be
religious. There is no such thing as religion overriding
morality. Man for instance cannot be untruthful, cruel
and incontinent, and claim to have God on his side. (YI,
24-11-21, 385)
True economics never militates against the highest
ethical standard, just as all true ethics to be worth its
name, must at the same time be also good economics. An
economics that inculcates Mammon worship, and enables
the strong to amass wealth at the expense of the weak
is a false and dismal science. It spells death. True
economics on the other hand, stands for social justice, it
promotes the good of all equally, including the weakest,
and is indispensable for decent life. (H. 19-10-37, 292)
6.
7.
8.
How are we to solve the dilemma that seems to arise
when we apply the principles of moral good to the
problem of the good of the masses ? What was
Gandhiji’s contribution ?
Do you think young people nowadays set a high value on a
moral and spiritual life ? Give reasons for your answer.
What, for instance, is their attitude towards examina
tions, public property or amenities, foreign goods,
leisure time, the world of fashion and entertainment,
the opposite sex . . . ?
What practical steps would you suggest to improve
matters ? How could an improved moral tone be condusive towards raising the living standards of our
people ?
C. THE APOSTLE
OF NON-VIOLENCE
It takes a fairly strenuous course of training to attain
to a mental state of non-violence. In daily life, it has to
8
be a course of discipline though one may not like it, like,
for instance, the life of a soldier. But I agree that, unless
there is a hearty co-operation of the mind, the mere out
ward observance will be simply a mask, harmful both to
the man himself and to others. The perfect stage is
reached only when mind and body and speech are in pro
per coordination. But it is always a case of intense mental
struggle. It is not that I am incapable of anger, for
instance. But I succeed almost on all occasions to keep
my feelings under control. (My Philosophy of Life, p. 25)
From this concrete discription of ‘ non-violence ’ we can
gain some insight into the reality of what it means to live by
this philosophy of life. It is not just a technique, a means of
redressing wrongs, a quiet way of getting what one wants. It is a
way of life. An aesceticism. A discipline. And from its practice
comes an inner strength to meet life’s testings, whether from
within or without.
1. What is your opinion about such a ‘ way of life ’ : do
you think it (a) a good idea ? (b) important ?
(c) indispensible ? (d) all right for those who like or
have the temperament for that sort of thing ? (e)
deserving of deep study and understanding ? Please give
reasons for the answer you choose.
2. Is this way of life ‘practical’ (a) in general — even in
Gandhiji’s day was it practical ? (b) Is it relevant
today — in the context of widespread demonstrations
and strikes ? especially in the student world where
those who lead are those who can gather a ‘ force ’ ?
Please explain how or how not.
Non-violence is a weapon of the strong. With the
weak, it might easily be hypocrisy. Fear and love are
contradictory terms. Love is reckless in giving away,
oblivious as to what it gets in return. Love wrestles with
the world as with itself, and ultimately gains a mastery
over all other feelings. My daily experience, as of those
who are working with me, is that every problem lends
itself to solution if we are determined to make the law of
truth and non-violence the law of life. (Ibid.)
3.
Would you agree with the first statement in this para ?
Kindly state your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing.
9
4.
5.
6.
What is the meaning of the second sentence : how could
it be hypocrisy ?
Can you give some instances, at least one, from your
own experience (people you have known, seen) or from
what you have heard or seen, that would exemplify the
ideas about love and its dynamism in this excerpt ?
Can you think of any passage from the New Testament
that you feel carries the same message ? Please quote,
at least context.
1 The movement he served with such eloquence and
zeal was beginning to pass him by, and non-violence to
many black militants had come to seem naive, outmoded,
even suicidal.’
This is a statement about Martin Luthei- King and his move
ment, from Time Magazine, the issue that reported his death.
7. What would you say of that statement ? Would it echo
in any way, do you think, the criticism of the Civil
Disobedience Movement in the 30’s by many of the
Mahatma’s adversaries in the Indian Liberation Move
ment ?
8. Does the Mahatma’s way seem relevant today in India,
to achieve the goals that require revolutionary changes ?
D. HARD WORK,
SELF-RELIANCE &
SOCIAL SERVICE
God created man to work for his food, and said that
those who ate without work were thieves. (YI, 15-10-21,
325)
Intellectual work is important and has an undoubt
ed place in the scheme of life. But what I insist on is
the necessity of physical labour. No man, I claim, ought
to be free from that obligation. It will serve to improve
10
even the quality of his intellectual output.
36)
(H, 25-2-47,
The education that you receive today is paid for by
the starving villagers who will never have the chance of
such an education. It is your duty to refuse to have an
education that is not within the reach of the poor ; but
I do not ask that of you today. I ask you to render- a
slight return to the poor by doing a little yajna for them.
For he who eats without doing his yajna steals his food,.
says the Gita. (YI, 20-1-27/22).
To a people famishing and idle, the only acceptable
form in which God can dare appear is work and promise
of food as wages. (YI, 13-10-21, 325).
1.
What percentage of students, do you think, really
merit a place in College ? Is it true to say that more
and more students just drift into school and college and,
hence, have hardly any sense of mission and responsibi
lity in the matter of their studies towards the economic
progress of their country and the betterment of the
uneducated masses ? Suggest three ways to improve
the situation. In the present state of affairs, would the
peasants and labourers who form the vast majority, be
justified in demanding that the public funds be directed
towards their own self-improvement ?
What are the civil resisters thus freed to do if they
are to be ready for the call whenever it comes ? They
must learn the art and the beauty of self-denial and
voluntary poverty. They must engage themselves in
nation-building activities, the spread of khaddar through
personal hand-spinning and hand-weaving, the spread of
communal unity of hearts by irreproachable personal con
duct towards one another in every walk of life, the banish
ing of untouchability in every shape or form in one’s own
person, the spread of total abstinence from intoxicating
drinks and drugs, by personal purity. These are services
which provide maintenance on the poor man’s scale. (ABP,
8-4-34.)
11
Self-government means continuous effort to be inde
pendent of Government control whether it is foreign
government or whether it is national. Swaraj govern
ment will be a sorry affair if people look up to it for the
regulation of every detail of life. (YI, 6-8-25, 276)
2.
The above quotations imply a very great spirit of selfreliance, both personal as well as national. Is this too
idealistic a picture ? Were people and leaders closer
to it in Gandhi’s time ? What are the causes for the
change ? How could the process be reversed ?
3.
How many young educated people, do you think, would
have the spirit that Gandhi expected of his civil resist
ers ? Do we still need such persons today ? Give
reasons. In this context what would you have to say
of the large number of our trained and skilled scholars,
scientists and technicians who migrate to other coun
tries ? Suggest some means to solve this problem.
In 1901, Gandhi was a young lawyer with 10 years of
experience in India and South Africa, after being ‘ called to the
Bar’ in 1891, following his law studies in London. He had made
his non-violent stand for justice and served in the medical corps
during the Boer War in South Africa, and had established him
self as a courageous civilian and a perfectly honest and meti
culous lawyer. He describes an incident that took place at this
time.
There were yet two days for the Congress Session (of
1901 in Calcutta) to begin. I had made up my mind to
offer my services to the Congress Office in order to gain
some experience. So as soon as I had finished the daily
ablutions on arrival at Calcutta, I proceeded to the Con
gress Office.
Babu Bhupendranath Basu and Sjt. Ghosal were the
Secretaries. I went to Bhupenbabu and offered my ser
vices. He looked at me, and said : ‘ I have no work, but
possibly Ghosalbabu might have something to give you.
Please go to him ’.
So, I went to him ! He scanned me and said with a
smile : ‘ I can give you only clerical work. Will you do
it ? ’
. '
' '
12
‘ Cei’tainly,’ I said, ‘ I am here to do anything that is
not beyond my capacity.’
‘ That is the right spirit, young man,’ he said. Address
ing the volunteers who surrounded him, he added, ‘ Do
you hear’ what this young man says ? ’
Then turning to me he proceeded : 1 Well, then, here
is a heap of letters for disposal. Take that chair and
begin.... Most of these letters have nothing in them, but
you will please look through them. Acknowledge those
that are worth it, and refer to me those that need a con
sidered reply.’
I was delighted at the confidence reposed in me.
Sjt. Ghosal did not know me when he gave me the
work. Only later did he enquire about my credentials.
I found my work very easy — the disposal of that
heap of correspondence. I had done with it in no time,
and Sjt. Ghosal was very glad. . . . When he learnt some
thing from me about my history, he felt rather sorry to
have given me clerical work. But I reassured him:
1 Please don’t worry. What am I before you ? You have
grown grey in the service of the Congress, — and are an
elder to me. I am but an inexperienced youth. You have
put me under a debt of obligation by entrusting me with
this work. For I want to do Congress work, and you
have given me the rare opportunity of understanding the
details.’
‘ To tell you the truth,’ said Sjt. Ghosal, 1 that is the
proper spirit. But young men of today do not realize it.
Of course I have known the Congress since its birth.... ’
(Autobiography, Ch. XIV, Pt. III.)
4.
Would Gandhi’s reaction be a common one among
present day graduates ? or students ? Do you think his
example worth following ? Do you find similar opportu
nities for service in everyday college life ? Name a few.
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
5.
6.
326, V Main. I Block
Koramongala
Bangalore-560034
Are social service projects an8Cwork-camps popular with
the students of your college ? How many show interest ?
What other activities could you suggest to involve stu
dents with the poor and the needy ?
Merit prizes and scholarships are annually awarded on
the basis of hard work, competence and proficiency in
examinations. Would we be justified particularly in
the context of a developing country like ours, in expect
ing such students to fulfil a further requirement :
participation in some form of social work or service
towards those less fortunate than themselves so that
intelligence could be seen as a human ability meant
■for service 1
E. NATIONAL FREEDOM
AND POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
We must be content to die if we cannot live as free
men and women. (YI, 5-1-22, 5)
There is no such thing as slow freedom. Freedom
is like a birth. Till we are fully free, we are slaves. All
birth takes place in a moment. (YI, 9-3-22, 149)
The true building up of Swaraj consists in the mil
lions of India, wholeheartedly working the constructive
programme. Without it, the whole nation cannot rise
from its age-long torpor. Whether the British remain or
not, it is our duty always to wipe out unemployment, to
bridge the gulf between the rich and the poor, to banish
communal strife, to exorcise the demon of untouchability,
to reform deceits and save the people from them. If crores
of people do not take a living interest in this nation-build
ing work, freedom must remain a dream and unattainable
by either non-violence or violence. (GC. 354)
14
I am not interested in freeing India merely from the
English yoke. I am bent upon freeing India from any
yoke whatsoever. I have no desire to exchange 1 king log
for king stork ’. Hence for me the movement of Swaraj
is a movement of self-purification. (YI, 12-6-24, 195)
The reforms required are more from within than from
without. A perfect constitution super-imposed upon a
rotten internal condition will be like a whited sepulchre.
(YI, 24-6-26, 226)
1.
Were Gandhi living today, would he be satisfied at the
kind of freedom we have achieved and now enjoy ?
Would he look for something more ? Could you
enumerate these further aims, and suggest how he
would have set about pursuing them ?
2.
If today we experience various curbs and limitations
on our freedom, do these arise from the selfishness and
ill-will of our leaders and administrators or from our
own misunderstanding of the meaning of freedom ? Are
there any circumstances beyond our control ? What are
they ? How are we to inculcate in ourselves and others
true ideas and correct notions about freedom, and the
proper and effective means to achieve it ?
Swaraj can never be a free gift by one nation to
another. It is a treasure to be purchased with a nation’s
best blood. Swaraj will be the fruit of incessant labour,
suffering beyond measure. (YI, 5-1-22, 4)
Surely Swaraj will not drop from the clouds. It will
be the fruit of patience, perserverance, ceaseless toil,
courage and an intelligent appreciation of the environ
ment. (YI, 27-8-25, 297)
I do not believe in armed risings. They are a remedy
worse than the disease sought to be cured. They are a
token of the spirit of revenge and impatience and anger.
The method of violence cannot be good in the long run....
We have a better method. Unlike that of violence it cer
tainly involves the exercise of restraint and patience : but
15
it requires also resoluteness of will. This method is to
refuse to be party to the wrong. (YI, 9-6-20)... .Our non
cooperation refers not so much to the paralysis of a wicked
government as to our being proof against wickedness. It
aims therefore not at destruction but at construction. It
deals with causes rather than with symptoms. (YI,
19-1-21, 19)
The passages we have just read clearly indicate
Gandhi’s mind on the means he advocates for the
achievement and maintenance of true freedom. Are
these means popular with present day students ? How
effective and practical would they be ? What steps
could we take to inculcate these ideas in the minds of
our fellow students ?
4. In resorting more frequently to a method of redressing
grievances, real or imagined, that is alien to Gandhiji
and our national character, would we perhaps be gradually
playing ourselves into the hands of evil forces and find
ourselves in the shackles of another, and newer form of
slavery ? Is it true to say that the better educated and
more enlightened student population is being gradually
mesmerised, misled and misguided by the clever and
loud-mouthed, yet false, leaders of a mass more blind
and ignorant than themselves ? What are we to do
about this ? Outline the steps we should take to protect
our true freedom.
5. Were we students to devote the next five minutes to
‘ an intelligent appreciation of the environment : what
problems could we uncover that would be a challenge
to our patient, persevering and ceaseless toil ’ in a con
structive way ? Is it possible to select one or other' of
these for immediate attention ?
3.
I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides
and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all
lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.
But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. I would
have our young men and women with literary tastes to
learn as much of English and other world languages as
they like, and then expect them to give the benefits of
their learning to India and to the world like a Bose, a
Roy, or the Poet (Tagore) himself. But I would not have
Suplement to 'The Rally' - Regd. No. M-9190 Dated
Vol : 51 - No. 3 & 4
Sept-Oct 1974
______
_____
16
a single Indian to forget, neglect or be ashamed of his
mother tongue, or to feel that he or she cannot think or
express the best thoughts in his or her own vernacular.
Mine is not a religion of the prison-house. (YI, 1-6-21,
170)
If that provincial spirit fired every province, to whom
could India belong ? He held that the people of all the
provinces belonged to India and India belonged to all.
The only condition was that no one could go and settle in
another province to exploit it or rule it or to injure its
interest in any way. All were servants of India, and they
lived only in the spirit of service. (H, 7-9-47, 311)
6.
Name three problems that India has to face in main
taining her internal unity and progress ? Take them
one by one, and suggest practical measures that would
enable us to solve them.
7.
Do you think regionalism could prove dangerous to our
national unity ? To what extent is it good ; to what,
harmful ? How and by whom are certain narrow and
derisive attitude created and sustained ? Could the
youth of our country keep themselves clear of these
attitudes ? Suggest some practical means by which we
of the younger generation could counteract these harm
ful forces, and contribute positively towards national
integration and harmony.
8.
There are some who feel that the political field is now
left clear to the action of the worldly-wise and experienced, but in fact selfish, ignorant and blundering
section of the older- generation. Ages ago, the Greek
tyrant Pericles wrote ‘ When a man takes no part in
public affairs, we think of him not as a man who minds
his own business, but as one who is good for nothing.’
Could it be that we students rather selfishly seek our
own financial security in administrative, teaching or
business professions, to the detriment of the kind of
politics and government that would ensure the happi
ness of our people ? What are the principles we draw
from Gandhiji’s life on this point ? To what extent
should students engage in active politics right now ?
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