Gandhi!

One of my friends asked me that in the light of the current events – i.e the 26/11 Mumbai attack – would Gandhigiri work now?
I don't know – I don't know if Gandhigiri is the way to go in the age of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

When Mumbai was under attack I was enraged - it was impotent rage I think - I wanted action, I wanted to see some results - I was arguing with the Mister that it is not the age of Gandhi anymore and we have to fight back and kick ass.

What exactly is the Gandhian philosophy? I think it is the opposite of dadagiri in the sense that this philosophy also uses force - but the force that it uses is a moral one to assert its point of view. Also, I personally think that Gandhiji stood for action in the face of oppression and definitely not passive contemplation.

If someone slapped one cheek, would you turn in the other one? – Is that what Gandhiji really expected of India? Is this really what he preached? If hundreds of people get killed, should we just sit back and contemplate and wait for when and where would the next attack be? I am not saying we need to go to war – but surely there must be some pre-emptive action that could be taken?

Gandhiji must surely be turning in his grave today. There are a lot of people who are dead against this man – who got us our independence. Everytime the country faces a crisis, Gandhi's name is brought up – Is this how Gandhi envisioned independent India to be? And we don't even think twice before we start blaming our fore fathers to have left us with words like non-violence, satyagraha et al as a legacy. We Indians are very very adept at passing the buck. Who better qualified to blame than the father of the nation. A lot of people are of the opinion that we are shackled by the pre-independence philosophies and that is in some way hampering our growth.

Well, I don't think so. Actually now that I think about it – I think Gandhian philosophy would work – actually maybe that's the only recourse for India.
Because the corner stones of the Gandhian philosophy are life, truth and morality.

We Indians take only the principle of non-violence as being Gandhi's principle and we attribute our regressive philosophies to that man. Everybody of us forget that he preached life, truth and above all morality in addition to ahimsa. We forget that if every Indian would lead a truthful and moral life - we would have been better equipped to handle the Mumbai attack. Yes, every problem in India is inter-related. It all comes back to wide-spread corruption - which is in itself rampant because of a struggle for existence - well, I think it comes a full circle.

Though their interpretations will or rather should change with age and time, I think that Gandhian principles will always be relevant and applicable in any age. It all depends on how ones uses them. Perspective is important.

- Moi