Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2022, Third Prize - Soham Jindal

The Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2022

Third Prize 

(shared)

SOHAM JINDAL

‘Be the change you want to see’ is a paraphrase of what Gandhi said in 1913,

‘We but mirror the world... If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in

the world would also change... We need not wait to see what others do.’ In

which social and political context did Gandhi say those words and how would

you apply them today?

By the early 1900s, the ‘Jewel in the crown of the British Empire’ had been ruthlessly exploited for over a century. It’s culture in tatters, economy slaughtered, India was not more than a well of resources exclusively for the use of the British and denied to her own people. Indians had lost their standing in the world market and in their homes. The oppressive environment and the Indians’ poverty and misery would clearly be felt for decades to come.

However, during this time, there were also new winds of change. A new conscience was growing among the Indians, one of unity and self-belief and nationalism. The idea of Bharat Mata and free India was gaining strength in the minds of the people. With new realisations, the rise of new leaders and new ideals, the flattened spirit of the Indians was stirring and awaking; the sparks of revolts were turning into a raging revolution. For the first time in India's history, the downtrodden peasants and people of lower castes were becoming active in their struggles against the ruling power.

The idea of swaraj or self-rule was first given by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a radical nationalist freedom fighter. His famous slogan, ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.’ is remembered by us till date. Tilak was perhaps the first Indian freedom fighter to realise the importance of promoting Indian culture and values among the people. Through his efforts to infuse a sense of pride amongst Indians, and to make them aware of the happenings taking place all over the country, he was successful in bringing about a wave of patriotism. His aggressive approach towards attaining swaraj enervated several thousands of Indians who were incandescent at the British. Tilak also called for boycott of foreign goods and endorsed Indian producers.

At the time, social evils like sati, child marriage, dowry and stigma against widows were widespread, contributing towards European officials calling Indian traditions ‘barbaric’. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sayyid Ahmed Khan and Swami Vivekananda are some well-known social reformers of the 19th century. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known for his efforts to abolish the practices of sati and child marriage. Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan started the Aligarh Movement to reform the social, political and educational aspects of Islam in India. Swami Vivekananda’s unprecedented speech to 1893 World's Parliament of Religions introduced Hinduism to America and brought Indian values and history to the world stage.

Mahatma Gandhi’s arrival in India in 1915 changed the course of India’s struggle for independence. Gandhi was already well known for leading the Indians in their struggle against racism in South Africa. His non-violent satyagraha campaigns were successful there, so he was confident it would work for India too.

One of Mahatma Gandhi’s core beliefs was to practise his ideals not only in the public sphere of society and politics, but also in his personal life. Mahatma Gandhi is known for having said, ‘Be the change you want to see’ which is a paraphrase of ‘We but mirror the world... If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change... We need not wait to see what others do.’ This quote quite clearly depicts his belief in leading by example. Mahatma Gandhi led India through adversity and hardship, and that takes courage of unknown boundaries. 

We can find several instances throughout Mahatma Gandhi’s life, which prove that he led by example. Let us take for example the Civil Disobedience Movement, launched when Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law. Mahatma Gandhi walked 388 km to the coastal town of Dandi to break the salt law. On the way, he gathered thousands of supporters whom he encouraged to follow suit. Here, I find Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and his publicly long walk crucial to the success of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Had he not personally broken the salt law, the participation might not have been so tremendous.

In another lesser known story, Mahatma Gandhi was once approached by a mother. She begged him to convince her son to eat less sugar, for he would listen to no one. He asked her to return with her son in two weeks, because he needed time to prepare for their meeting. When the distraught mother brought her son to meet the Mahatma, he simply talked to him about eating less sugar, to make him understand. When asked why it took him two weeks to prepare for something so simple, Mahatma Gandhi said that when she had approached him the first time, he himself consumed a lot of sugar, and in order to preach to her son, he needed time to practise it himself.

Mahatma Gandhi was very dear to the Indians, who followed everything he said. When he returned to India, he set off on a tour of India, travelling third class via train, to stand in the peoples’ shoes and see the world through their eyes. He gave up wearing warm clothes, and wore only a bare khadi dhoti, like the common people. He also gave up wearing footwear in memory of his mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

Most Indians were found in villages. They were illiterate, poor and landless, and effectively cut-off from the world of the rich, educated middle class Congress leaders. They might not even have known who exactly the Mahatma was, but to them, he was heaven-sent to save them from their miseries. They knew that he was on their side and loyally followed everything he said. Sometimes, they even attributed their own success to Mahatma Gandhi.

Possibly, Mahatma Gandhi’s far-spread reach and influence was due to the peasants’ belief that Mahatma Gandhi knew their struggles. When they saw Mahatma Gandhi living modestly, wearing only the barest of clothes like them, they felt a kinship with him. Had Mahatma Gandhi given his speeches in polished English wearing a coat, well fed and warm, he would have never been able to connect to the masses the way he did. One could attribute a major part of his success to the peasants’ ability to relate with him. The peasants felt no hypocrisy as a man like them was representing them.

Mahatma Gandhi’s own personal involvement in the fight, how he himself suffered to end the sufferings of Indians, allowed him to enter into the hearts of the masses. He led them by example, encouraging them to voice their demands and obtain their freedom.

Much of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings are still relevant today. Today, we are bombarded by opinions from all around us. The news anchors don’t stop screaming about their views on the latest political incident. Teenagers don’t hear the end of unwanted advice from well-wishing parents and teachers. Advertisements, movies and books all influence our thoughts and decisions. In such a time, it is important to think and know for ourselves our ideals and beliefs. We must make our own choices. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘We need not wait to see what others do.’ We have the power to make our own decisions.

Mahatma Gandhi ardently stood by truth and non-violence for the entirety of his life. He believed that all religions, whether Hinduism, Islam or Sikhism, have the same base values. These values are being righteous and virtuous, kind and fair, and trusting in God. As long as we abide by our religion’s values and what is right, the world will mirror our decision upon seeing the truth in it.

Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings can be applied to our life today in a completely different manner also. We often find ourselves mimicking the masses, going with the flow, and accepting the world as it is, hoping that ‘someone’, ‘someday’ will solve all its problems in time. The problems faced by India now are not only those confined to previous colonies, but global issues that impact the whole world. Global warming, climate change, pandemics, cyber-crime, corruption, poverty and terrorism, the list goes on. While work towards solving these behemoth problems goes on, the results are, truthfully, slow to manifest. As a student, it is very common to hear remarks like ‘What is a simple poster going to solve?’ or ‘Ha! As if we are actually doing something useful, this is just time waste’. We often feel helpless in front of these giant issues. We look for someone to lead us, to guide us, to set an example. We are content to shut our eyes to the reality, that everyone is like us. Here, we apply Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. Mahatma Gandhi taught us that any change we wish to see in the world begins with bringing about the change in ourselves. We ourselves must take the initiative to solve the problem. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change...’ The change we want starts with us. We must channel our passion and our frustration into achieving our goal. Starting the work takes a lot of courage, but when we do so, there are so many in the world who will follow. Sooner or later, the world will see the truth in what we do.

SOHAM JINDAL

DPS, NOIDA