Relevance of Gandhi in Modern Era - 1625 Words

Relevance of Gandhi in Modern Times | | by Rajen Barua | | | Looking at the present state of affairs in India, the birthplace of Gandhi, one would probably surmise that Gandhism, whatever the term may mean, cannot have any relevance in modern times. Gandhi is called the Father of the Nation who, single handedly stood up against the mighty British Empire, without any arms, and brought her independence. However, today, just after 60 years of his assassination, Gandhi is remembered in India mostly on his birthday which is celebrated as a national holiday rather as a ritual.India is not following any of Gandhis teachings which are mostly confined to text books. As a military super power in Asia, India is definitely not following the†¦show more content†¦Gandhis extra ordinary communion with the masses of ordinary people was another of his secrets. In contrast to many of our present day leaders of this highly democratic world, Gandhi was a true leader and friend of the people.Di saku Ikeda, the Japanese Buddhist leader who takes great inspiration from Gandhi has this to say about him. His activism is not mere action but contains many aspects of a spiritual practice that is inspired by the inner urging of the conscience. The phenomenal success Gandhi registered in far away South Africa fighting for human rights and civil liberties has great significance when we find that later his teachings were adopted not only by Nelson Mandela, the South African freedom fighter, but it was also subsequently revealed that the former South African president De Klerk was greatly influenced by Gandhis principles.From Dalai Lama to Desmond Tutu and from Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela, all were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, all in their own different ways.Dr. Martin Luther King was very much inspired by Gandhi. Like Gandhi, King liked Thoreaus idea - that men should not obey evil or unjust laws; and he found that Gandhi had won freedom for his country from British rule acting on that principle. Like Thoreau, Gandhi believed that men should gladly go to jail when they break such laws. He told the people of India to resist the British by peaceful means only. They would march, they would sitShow MoreRelatedGandhi Saty agraha1402 Words   |  6 Pagesfigures in the history of India, Mohandas K. Gandhi, also known as the Mahatma, or The Great Soul, was the spiritual and practical founder of active non-violent resistance, a concept called Satyagraha. Also known as  ¡Ã‚ °soul-force ¡Ã‚ ± or  ¡Ã‚ °truth-force ¡Ã‚ ±, Gandhi developed this revolutionary technique as a method of gaining political and social reforms against the injustices experienced by Indians under British Colonial rule. 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