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Reclaiming
9/11 through Satyagraha
--Gita
Dharampal-Frick
This
short essay foregrounds the great symbolic portent of the
fact that 100 years ago the historic date of September 11,
1906 marked the day of the birth of the modern satyagraha,
with Gandhi as its prime instigator. In tracing the historical-cultural
genealogy of this concept, the impact that Gandhi exercised
on the global media from 1906 until 1948 is highlighted.
Thereby an attempt is also made to underscore his continued
relevance in grappling with contemporary problems, with
a view to provide viable solutions for the future.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Gandhi
on Nonviolence in the Context of Enlightenment, Rationality
and Globalization
--R
P Singh
An
attempt has been made in this paper to trace Gandhi's principle
of `nonviolence' in the context of `Enlightenment Rationality'
on the one hand and `Globalization' on the other. The ideas
of freedom/independence, autonomy, sovereignty, property
(in Gandhi's case Trusteeship), maturity/adulthood, public
and private, tolerance, scientific rationality, secularism,
humanism, democracy, nation/state, universality of moral
actions, humanity as an end in itself, critique of religion,
etc., are the most operative terms of European Enlightenment
of the 19th century. Though these ideas evolved
and developed in Europe, yet they proliferated beyond Europe
to other continents and subcontinents. Gandhi appreciated
these ideas and like a genius, he interpreted them into
indigenous concepts and principles such as truth, simplicity,
faith, brahmacharya, purushartha, satyagraha, swaraj, karma,
compassion, trusteeship, vegetarianism/fruitarianism and
above all nonviolence with the aim of attaining swaraj—victory
over one's passions, lusts, greed, etc., and independence
and sovereignty of the country. I may point out, though
I shall not be in a position to develop it here, that the
basic concepts of the Enlightenment were questioned and
repudiated by Marx, Engels and Lenin on the one hand and
the critical theorists like Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse
and Habermas on the other. In the era of globalization,
the Enlightenment concepts have become almost obsolete.
But Gandhi's principles are still valid. These are the only
viable principles to resolve moral dilemmas that everybody
faces, being constantly confronted by equally valid alternatives
in globalization. Hence I'll propose a modest critique of
the Enlightenment and the globalization from Gandhi's perspective
of nonviolence.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Bengal's
Response to Mahatma Gandhi's Constructive Movement
--Mario Prayer
An
educator to national unity, Gandhi aimed at providing contemporary
India with a new common platform of work and thought. While
certain points in his program sounded familiar to all Indians,
some others did create problems of understanding specially
in certain provinces and among the westernized educated
élite. Although the wide and quick diffusion of Gandhi's
campaigns made it imperative for regional leaderships to
get in tune with the all-India dimension of the movement,
leaders and activists in different regions maintained a
varied approach on account of their respective cultural
and social background. This paper illustrates the experiences
of prominent Gandhians in Bengal, and focuses both on the
educated Bengalis' perception of the Mahatma, and on the
most important institutions of rural reconstruction in the
province.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Ahimsa
and Its Role in Overcoming the `Ego': From Ancient Indic
Traditions to the Thought and Practice of Mahatma Gandhi
--Hope
K Fitz
Ahimsa
is an ancient concept that began in India about 3600 years
ago.1 The roots of ahimsa are found in the Vedas,
i.e., the sacred scriptures of the Hindu tradition.2
However, the concept spread to Jainism3 and then
to Buddhism. It culminated in the thought and practice of
Mahatma Gandhi. For Gandhi, the basic meaning of ahimsa
was no harm to any living being by thought, word or deed
and the greatest love (compassion) for all creatures.4
Given Gandhi's belief in and practice of ahimsa, one is
able to achieve the `softening the boundaries of the self'.
This softening is necessary if one is to overcome the ego
which is formed by the tight boundaries.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Educating
the Nation: A Discussion of Mahatma Gandhi's Ideas
--Sanjukta Dasgupta
This
paper analyzes the aspects of Gandhi's notions of education
for a modern and free India and traces the evolution of
such ideas over time. A nation's system of education plays
a significant role in the ordering of society and in imparting
a particular identity to it. In India, modern Western education
had been introduced by the colonial government which, though
liberal, nonetheless, could be utilized as an instrument
of control and indoctrination over the colonized people.
Demonstrating as it did the racial and cultural superiority
of the British, the new colonial education also served to
instill a sense of inferiority among the Indian `subjects'
vis-à-vis their white masters.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Mahatma
Gandhi and Satinath Bhaduri: Probings
into Gandhian Ideology Through the Vision of a Novelist
--Anindita
Banerjee
This
paper explores the aspects of Gandhian movements, particularly
the Civil Disobedience and the Quit India Movement and their
impact on the society and individuals, as viewed and understood
by a Bengali litterateur Satinath Bhaduri. Being a member
of the Indian National Congress and having taken part in
the Gandhian movements, Satinath had personal experiences
which he drew upon while writing novels like Jagari and
Dhonrai Charit Manas. Jagari concentrates on the urban response
to the Quit India Movement whereas Dhonrai Charit Manas
portrays the rise of a subaltern rural leader and how he
interprets Gandhian ideology in his own fashion, assimilates
them within his self and finally implements them in his
outer life—thereby rising from a mere subaltern level
of subconscious existence to an important, exalted position
of a leader in the society. In Dhonrai Charit Manas, the
author equates the rise of the subaltern Gandhian leader
Dhorai Ram with Tulsi Ram, the immortal king of Ayodhya.
The Gandhian concept of Ram Rajya takes a new form in Dhonrai's
mental world where Tulsidas' Ram rajya finds a variable
expression. Thus in Satinath's novel, the Gandhian age is
the context, Gandhian ideology is the driving force and
the rise of a subaltern Gandhian leader is the phenomenon.
These novel adaptations thus represent Gandhi at an altogether
different level.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Rajghat:
In Memory of the Mahatma
--Dietmar
Rothermund
The
Rajghat Samadhi where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated has become
the most important national place of memory in India. The
Hindu custom of cremating the dead and immersing their ashes
in a river actually precludes the transformation of the
place of burning the dead into a place of memory. This custom
highlights the transient nature of human life and stresses
that memory cannot be attached to time and space. There
is an exception, however, as far as the samadhi of any saint
is concerned. Samadhi means a concentration of the mind.
It is believed that holy men at the end of their days can
leave their mortal body in full consciousness. Although
samadhi refers to this process, the term is also used for
designating the locality where it has taken place. Small
monuments mark such places and they attract worshippers.
Calling Gandhi's place of cremation a `samadhi' makes him
a saint which he never claimed to be. But it is only by
presuming that he was a saint that this particular place
of memory can be justified. It is also treated as a place
of worship. Visitors must remove their shoes when approaching
the Rajghat Samadhi as they have to do when entering a temple.
Most of them also perform a pradakshina, a clockwise circumambulation
of the monument. This is an ancient ceremony otherwise only
performed when visiting a temple. In doing this pradakshina
the worshipper personally reaffirms the sacred territorial
claim of the temple. Many visitors of the Rajghat Samadhi
who have followed the ritual observed that they may not
be aware of its meaning.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
BOOK
REVIEW
Gandhi,
Gandhism and the Gandhians
--Author:
Thomas Weber Reviewed
by Suparna Gooptu
Thomas
Weber is an established name in the field of Gandhian Scholarship.
Well-known for his book, On the Salt March, Weber
in this latest collection, Gandhi, Gandhism and the Gandhians,
writes about a range of themes to explore Gandhi's links
with some of the major contemporary issues of our times
and provides us with important insights into the historical
times in which Gandhi lived. These essays—written between
1984 and 1999—have been carefully chosen to impart
a thematic focus to the book, which is divided into three
sections in tune with its title.
©
2006 Lotus Collection, Roli Books. All Rights Reserved.
IUP holds the copyright for the review.
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