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Mahatma Gandhi, the sequel
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Bapu has returned, and not just because of one film, or because of commemorations of the satyagraha centenary. We are searching for a centre in a period of great transition and conflict Gandhis appeal in these times is two-fold. He embodies a political culture that appears almost pristine in its purity, a political culture that had, above all, the ability to correct itself. There are very few public figures today who have displayed the moral courage to be self-critical like Gandhi was
WE have, over the past few weeks, witnessed an extraordinary resur- gence of what can only be termed as Gandhiana. The dust on the shelves of innumerable Khadi ban- dars, and Gandhi ashrams is flying. To attribute this development to one film, delightful although it is, or to the innumerable commemo- rations of the satyagraha centenary, wherever they were held, would be to misinterpret its significance. It is as if the country, by invoking a unifying, pan-In- dian icon of a sandal-shod, old man with a walking stick, is searching for a centre in a period of great transition and conflict, and one that has seen a signif- icant dissipation of earlier certitudes.
There are, it seems, three emerging concerns that people everywhere increasingly voice, but which the urban middle class being more articulate expresses most forcefully. The first is the failure of Indian democracy to provide credible political leaders who are, in the old-fashioned sense of the term, servants of the people. Public cynicism of the politicians abil- ity/willingness to work for the greater common good is at its height today. The Gandhi topi-wearing fig- ure in immaculate white kurta, who has long been a focus of ridicule and satire, has metamorphosed into faceless collectivities of cash and-carry interests. The second concern is the failure of justice. The public conception of justice may be a untutored one, but the general feeling that the criminal-justice system has not delivered – manifest recently in the widespread outrage that greeted the acquittal of Manu Sharma in the Jessica Lal case runs very deep. Finally, there is a realisation that an India-ona-10-per cent-growth-path has, and will continue to have, multiple fissures and irredeemable disparities. Taken together there is a widespread realisation that the system created after nearly 60 years of independence has not delivered to the majority. While watching Lage Raho Munnabhai, some of the loudest claps and whistles were reserved for the strip tease. Here, as is usually the case, it was not a nubile young thing who was divesting herself of clothing, but an old man seeking his dues from an indifferent administration. As he removes the contents of his shirt pocket, his shirt, his banian, and as he proceeds to unbutton his pants in a bid to pay for what is really his entitlement, the audience guffaws in the dark of the auditorium. An instant political community is created out of the shared experiences of having wrestled with an adamantine and corrupt bureaucracy. Gandhis appeal in these times then is two-fold. He embodies a political culture that appears almost pristine in its purity, a political culture that had, above all, the ability to correct itself. In a chapter entitled, A Himalayan Miscalculation, in his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Gandhi revealed how he confessed at a public meeting about how he had gone wrong in launching the civil disobedience prematurely: My confession brought down upon me no small amount of ridicule. But I have never regretted having made that confession. For I had always held that it is only when one sees ones own mistakes with a convex lens, and does just the reverse in the case of others, that one is able to arrive at a just relative estimate of the two. This talent at spotting his own flaws was one Gandhi displayed time and again in the course of his public life, much to the fury and despair of many of his political colleagues. On February 24, 1922, when the All Indian Congress Committee passed a resolution, at Gandhis instance, deploring the Chauri Chaura incident and suspending the partys mass civil disobedience campaign, there were many who were extremely disturbed by the move. In 1997, I happened to interview an old freedom fighter in Chauri Chaura, Raghavendra Rai. He believed that this decision of Gandhis has set the freedom struggle back by 20 years: In 1942, Gandhi gave his Quit India call. What the nation did in 1942, Chauri Chaura had done in 1922. The point, however, is that there are very few public figures today who have displayed the moral courage to be self-critical like Gandhi was. Even Pope Benedictus XVI could not summon the ability to begin with the fallibilities of his own faith before launching into that of other faiths. Incidentally, of all the commentaries on the popes Regensberg address that I had read from within the Christian community in India, only the Mumbai-based historian, Rudolf C. Heredia got it right when he observed in a recent article, a critique of re ligion and violence is best begun with ones own tradition…A basic premise of an authentic inter-religious dialogue is that it must begin with an intra-religious one… The pope could have learnt from Gandhi. The second significant Gandhian attribute was the ability to recognise and speak for the last person – the landless peasant, the communal refugee, the untouchable. Problematic may have been his definitions and agendas with regard to these categories, but Gandhi remained a rare practitioner of inclusive politics. Two of the worlds most evocative struggles for social inclusion in the 20th century drew their inspiration from him: Martin Luther Kings great march for civil rights for Americas Blacks, and Nelson Mandela and the ANCs fight against apartheid. In the non-violent lunch sit-ins in Mont gomery, Alabama, or in the Truth and Reconcilia tion Commission process in post-apartheid South Africa, which deliberately opened wounds of guilt, the Gandhian resonance was clear. His own country, ironically, saw nothing half as dynamic although it could have immeasurably ben efitted from such action. Once independence was won, Gandhianism became – in Munnabhais im mortal words – a picture on the wall, a statue, a book in a library, a dry day/holiday, a platitude, a piety, a face on a currency note, someone called the Ma hatma. Visit the famous ashram at Bhitiharwar in West Champaran for a view of that desolation: bro ken charkhas in padlocked rooms, even as the local mafia holds complete sway just outside. It is unlikely that the current resurgence of interest in Gandhi within the country will over-turn this real ity, but it could be a first step towards reclaiming an important and very Indian legacy. |