October 2nd is the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi the champion of peace and non violence who led India’s freedom struggle till the dawn of freedom on August 15,1947. Below is a summary of his profile and contributions in public life
Life Sketch: Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi now known as Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation was born on 2nd October, 1869 in the state of Kathiawar ( Gujrat). He passed his matriculation examination in 1887 and went to England on September 4, 1887 for studying law. He passed his law examination and was called to the bar in June, 1891.
Political life: After his return from England, he set up practice in Rajkot. Then he went to South Africa to look after the legal matter of a rich Indian firm. It was there he evolved the ideals of truth and non-violence . From South Africa he came to India, and started taking part in the struggle of India’s freedom. His launching of non-cooperation Movei after Jallianwala massacre, his great Dandi March, his historic fast of 1932 and Quit India Movement are only a few events relating to this period of strife and storm. The Sabarmati Ashram and Sevagram Ashram which had been founded by Gandhi in 1915 and 1935 respectively acted as centres for most of his educational activities.
Major works:
Hind Swaraj: It is his first complete conception of the ideal Indian nation in all phases of life activity. My Experiments with Truth: This is an autobiography from his childhood to his active participation into the Indian struggle for freedom. It also includes his experiments in education at Tolstoy Farm in South Africa.
The general philosophy of Gandhi was mainly based on the principles like firm faith in God, truth, Ahimsa, Satyagraha, Spiritual nature of an individual, Love, Concept of spiritual society
Concept of education: For Mahatma Gandhi, education means an all round development of the child and man. In the words of Gandhi, “By education I mean all-round drawing out of the best in child and man- body, mind and spirit. Gandhi furthers says, True education is that which draws out and stimulates the spiritual, intellectual and physical faculties of the children”. Thus to him, education must not ignore any aspect of human development. According to him, literacy in itself is no education. Literacy is not the end of education nor even the beginning of it. It is not knowledge or even the medium of knowledge. It is one of the means whereby man and woman can be educated.
It is really great irony that Gandhiji, the apostle of truth and non- Violence was shot dead on 30 January, 1948 by Nathu Ram Godse.
The following quotes highlight Gandhi’s legacy of tolerance grounded in an expressed faith in human goodness:
On peace: “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.”
On tolerance: “My religion teaches me to love all equally.”
On progress: “To be dissatisfied with the slowness of progress betrays ignorance of the way in which reform works.”
On civil action: “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
On democracy: “True democracy is not inconsistent with a few persons representing the spirit, the hope and the aspirations of those whom they claim to represent. I hold that democracy cannot be evolved by forcible methods. The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.”
On global unity: “The logical conclusion of self-sacrifice is that the individual sacrifices himself for the community, the community sacrifices himself itself for the district, the district for the province, the province for the nation, and the nation for the world. A drop torn from the ocean perishes without doing any good. If it remains a part of the ocean, it shares the glory of carrying on its bosom a fleet of mighty ships.”
On looking forward: “The world of tomorrow will be, must be, a society based on Non- violence . That is the first law, out of it all other blessings will flow. It It may seem a distant goal, an impractical utopia. But it is not in the least unobtainable, since it can be worked for here and now”. It is really great irony that Gandhiji, the apostle of Truth and Non- Violence was shot dead on 30 January, 1948 by Nathu Ram Godse.
(The author is a freelancer. His views are personal)
