Gandhiji and me

I do not want to claim any greatness by clubbing my name with the Mahatma. I see this piece of writing as introspection on the influence of writings (on and by Gandhiji) on me. I neither consider myself fit to comment on Gandhiji nor have any grand dreams become like him. But, I have so many simple things to learn from him.

Earlier, I used to feel shameful to tell that I am doing something because Gandhiji also used to do so. I thought that others would regard it silly. But, Gandhiji never restrained himself from expressing himself. He told, wrote and did what he believed in or what as GOD enjoined him to do regardless how others may take it.

Shall I also not take this virtue from him? I occasionally do things either to impress others or not to anger them. But, my actions shall be more guided by my conscience and the values that I regard as irrevocable. There is always intentional or unintentional urge to get others’ approval for my actions. Perhaps, I want to write on the blog to be read by others. Am I ready to bear criticism and not disregard others’ views?

Gandhiji preached love, caring for others, non-violence not in expectation of any return, but as non-negotiable values. Is there not so much to pick from them?. There is instantaneous hatred or ill will for anyone whom I do not like. I sometimes despise the rich, the businessmen or the less intelligent. Can I help others out of hatred for some other people?

I may not be able to reach a stage whereby I do not carry an inch of ill will for those whom disapprove. Bur, shall I not continuously pursue stage by keeping Gandhiji in mind? After all, love for others keeps me emotionally stable and helps to take more rational decisions. I shall never forget to distinguish between the evil and evildoer. I shall have the courage to oppose the wrong, but never hate the person. I am reminded by others that too much ideals do not hold relevance in the present day world. Do we need to be shrewd to survive in a world marked by violence, vengeance, corruption etc? I do not know the answer. But, at least, there is no need to deviate right at the beginning from the values that I value so such. Let me go ahead with the hypothesis and experiment as I move along.

The most difficult challenge that I face after reading about Gandhiji is what kind of life shall I live? What is luxury and what is a necessity? My heart is with Gandhiji when he says tat bread can be eaten only after physical toil. So, shall I wash my clothes, cook food for myself and clean the room and utensils? I read that Babu Rajendraprasadji used to wash his clothes even after he became the president. I do not dare to quote about Gandhiji because he had set such precedents of austerity and physical labour that I cannot do justice to him.

But, is Mahatma only an epitome of selflessness and modesty who can neither be emulated fully nor be followed practicably? Where I need draw the line? Sometimes, I feel that efficiency shall not be hampered by savings. Gunjan also tells me the same. It is rue that by spending little extra or even more, many things can be done better. I today’s world of filthy cities, I may even fall ill if I am too fussy about savings. Cleanliness and hygiene come with price. Even good health through nutritious food is not free of cost. But, I continue to suffer from the psychological disorder of spending little and limiting to necessities because others cannot afford it.

Whether I like or not, comfort gets redefined everyday in this fast moving world. Gandhiji was even opposed to railways. But, the truth remains that he could not have reached to so many millions in distant places without railways. At least I am clear that I do not want to become a fundamentalist opposed comfort and technology. There are no mutually contradictory propositions. The old and the new, the rich and the poor, the good and the evil will remain forever for mutual benefit.

What do I take from him about my food and physical stamina? Though my experimentation with food started little early, the real fuel was provided by his small booklets. I went to the extreme of hating normal food as utterly useless and used to tell the same to others. But, without scientific rigor, I reduced my diet to such an extent that I developed body pains. Later, only when amma forced me to eat properly during her stay, I recovered. Now, I realize that fitness is a primary necessity to my health and my desire to do fruitful work. The alternative items such as brown rice, jaggery, sprouts are definitely good. But they should not lead to repulsion of other food. Ultimate guide shall be my fitness. Gandhiji walked 241 miles during Dandi satyagraha when he was 61 years old. If public duty is my aim, I shall carefully nurture my body to support it.

Now I want to write about oaths that Gandhiji used to take. He used to publicly declare them and later disclose any deviations from them. I took cues from Gandhiji and took certain oaths not to repeat the mistakes. I realized that oaths help. I derive more and more strength by sticking to them like my oath not to eat non-veg. But, Gandhiji used to take oaths on the name of GOD. I am not so religious as him. I agree that I am slightly arrogant not to do even a bit of prayer everyday. I tell myself that I am modest, rational and awareful of mistakes through reflection. Somewhere, it strikes me inside that bind allegiance of GOD is also not inferior. Many a time, there is more comfort and peace of mind in following faith rather than logic and rationality.

“GOD spoke to me through Chauri Chaura” – Gandhiji declared when he suspended the non-cooperation movement. He invoked GOD’s name whenever he fasted. Will I also derive more strength, resolve and determination if I put faith in GOD? I am only sure to the extent that GOD is a formless ‘being’ who exists in our perception. The notion of GOD can definitely help m to realize my mistakes and not be self-conceited. But, is it not a mistake to revere GOD in expectation of his blessings and some good fortune? The positives shall be seen as his blessings and negatives as an opportunity for introspection and reminder of my inadequacies.

Finally, I realize that I am still not compelled to go for any daily prayer reciting few mantras. I agree that there is orderliness, inner beauty in performing such rituals as amma does everyday. But, I am not motivated to do them. I am still hopeful that the absence of ituals does not reduce my faith in HIM and does not lead to vanity.

Gandhiji told that all our actions must be subordinated to the ultimate purpose of ublic duty. He preferred even Brahmacharya for this. I neither dismiss it as foolish not impractical through I do not want to follow it. I definitely realize the need to be less lustful so that the energies are more creatively used for public good. But, what after all is public good? Do only selfless actions qualify as public service? I do not know. Presently, I believe that even if I read good books to appreciate new thoughts to broaden my perspective, I am doing public service. It looks to be selfish to claim so, but I cannot lead to any definite understanding now.

Gandhiji went to the extreme extent of not allowing his children to study abroad what he studies even with the scholarships offered by his clients. But, is it not selfish to endeavor to look impartial to outsiders and gain sympathy from them? Finally his elder son Harilal became his staunch opponent and finally an alcoholic and destitute. May be even the Mahatma is not completely perfect. But, he never claimed to be perfect and great. It is we who set such standards for him and feel deceived when he could not meet them an despondent when we cannot match them at all.

He openly urges that consistency is not any great virtue and was more happy to find his own mistakes. So, I do not need to feel miserable when I cannot match him. I m not committing any sin if I am taking care and comfort to enhance efficiency to do more. Let me accept beforehand that I can only be self-less and not self-nil.

I feel embarrassed to call myself a Gandhian because I may not be even following one-millionth of what he did. What do I take from him? Five virtues that I take from him are truth – to myself and others, resolve – commitment to my beliefs and goals, tolerance – to opposing beliefs, compassion for the poor, humility. Are they lofty ideals that I may fail to do justice? I take them as simple values that can guide my actions.

Telangana

Telangana And Beyond

The issue of Telangana seems to have reached a point of no return. Public debate is now limited to emotional outburst. The emotional rift seems to have widened so much that no patchwork may be sufficient in future. Either one is termed as a traitor or a champion of Telangana and therefore looks to be no middle ground left in between.

At this juncture, many key developmental issues may not appeal to rationality of the political leaders, but still hold relevance for all the people. Unfortunately, things have come to such a stage that rational, logical debate is virtually rendered impossible. Even the Sri Krishna committee consisting of eminent personalities from respective fields looks only to be a time buying exercise. Political leaders may not be ready to accept the findings of any such intellectual exercise. The same findings will be praised and denounced by different sections in future.

River water sharing will be one contentious exercise. Looking at the Kaveri river dispute, it looks that respective political governments are never ready to accept independent tribunals’ awards. Even the final Kaveri award announced in 2007 after protracted wrangling for more than two decades is again challenged in Supreme Court. One realises that facts can never win over sentiments. People and leaders of Telangana always have a grudge that river water is disproportionately exploited by the coastal regions. But, what alternatives do they have? Most of the proposed major irrigation projects like Pranahita – Chevella, Devadula etc. are lift irrigation projects. Even after their completion, which looks unlikely in the next decade even, the running expenses of irrigation per acre are estimated to be around Rs. 20000. Can a small state like Telangana be able to construct such gigantic projects, when the unified state itself is precariously perched in terms of finances?

The iniquitous feudal order in Telangana does not hog headlines everyday. There may not be any ‘newsworthy’ atrocities visible in the present movement, but the everyday deprivation and disabilities suffered by the dalit and tribal sections is mostly unnoticed. In fact, the old feudalistic setup gave birth to naxalism and communist movements in Telangana immediately after independence. Presently, the political elite in Telangana are questioning the domination of the political elite from coastal and Rayalseema. But the challenge of reversing the age long suppression of other marginalized sections may need to wait for more decades.

The issue of protectionism resorted to by the leaders of Telangana merits discussion. Telangana people deserve sympathy for the fact that their rightful share of jobs was taken over by people from other regions. Now the political leaders want to assure all the jobs, seats in educational institutions for Telangana residents. But where will this ‘anathema for outsiders’ lead Telangana to? It is easy to drive away outsiders and then claim to have championed the cause of Telangana. But don’t we want Telangana people to go to other states and work as competent people? The real issue is developing the competencies of people so that talented Telangana students can get seats in IITs and IIMs and professionals get employed outside on remunerative terms.

We are witnessing the idea of ‘flat world’ or ‘one global village’. Because of the fears of the local population, we now can see demands for rigidification of state boundaries and opportunities in Telangana, Assam, Maharastra. But the real issue of iniquity will not be solved by the creation of Telangana and limiting Singareni coal to Telangana. In our quest for seamless borders, it is natural that fears are expressed. But is it not better to take on the challenge systematically rather than getting into the ‘shell’ for cover?

One more contention is with respect to Hyderabad. Cities are places where the village level rigid compartments such as caste, class gives way to one cosmopolitan culture which speaks one language. It is not reasonable now to start attributing the growth of Hyderabad to people from a particular region. Even people from outside A.P. contributed. Our developmental model seems to result in islands of prosperity such as Hyderabad whereas none of the other cities come close to even half the size of it. There are no industrial clusters in A.P. except in Hyderabad and Vizag. Why do we allow other district headquarters to suffer silently when all the talented youth, industry flock to few cities? The future development paradigm must aim at dispersal of prosperity and opportunities rather than concentration of it.

The concerns of underdeveloped regions such as Rayalseema and north coastal A.P. also merit attention. If Telangana people resent the so called tyrannical rule of others now, will people from other backward regions remain silent later on? The future possibility of demand for even smaller states on the basis of self respect and backwardness cannot be denied. The extent of backwardness and alienation in places such as Vidarbha and Bundelkhand is already palpable. If separated, will they be able to compete and attract the private enterprise that is needed to generate employment? All such small poor states will be branded as bastions of localism hostile to entrepreneurship and free enterprise from outside.

Economic viability will remain a big issue. Political leaders may be competing to announce populist schemes and resort to rhetoric more often. What kind of investment climate can these states project when they repeatedly knock the doors of the centre for more grants? If political uncertainty engineered through defections becomes a reality as in Jharkhand, the regions may well be worse off than before.

Phisiography (in terms of climate, rainfall, soil quality, gravity needed for irrigation) provides the basic setting and background for any region for its growth. Culture and history are also a product of it. When different regions are endowed with different resources, inequalities tend to grow. But human endeavor and perseverance has the potential to correct the deviations. Extra effort is needed to drive growth in the disadvantaged regions. The political and social processes which have done injustice to Telangana must be introspected upon and the people from other regions must be ready to walk the extra mile to undo the past inaction and unfulfilled promise. At the same time, Telangana people will not gain anything by recrimination and protectionism.

Why do we allow the discontent to simmer for long? For example, the dialect of Telangana is not given adequate space in mainstream media, text books, cinema and official communication. Why shall we allow denigration of certain aspects of our culture? The folk songs and rich art forms of Telangana should be made part of early school curriculum. Then everybody in all the districts will appreciate the historical and cultural context of the other districts. Knowingly or unknowingly, we have a dealt a blow to our diversity and aimed at uniformity which led to alienation of others. Within A.P. or in India, there are endless diversities as well as common traits. Mutual tolerance and respect were the hallmark of Indian culture which assimilated people and customs from so many distant countries. Reconciliation is definitely possible even under present stalemate.