Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in 2020

Since I got admitted into school and acquired some proficiency in a language, many times wrote an essay on Mahatma Gandhi and the relevance of his teaching. But always found something left to tell. This is an attempt to revisit some of my earlier memories and show you all a Gandhi who can help in the atrocities we are fighting in 2020.

The question is why I am writing this when the world seems to moved on from what Gandhi taught, his values, and came to a point when youth openly mocking his ways and his teaching limited to books that are hardly read by the masses.

His admiration and popularity limited to currency notes and bust at the square is a very sad state to be in for a person who not only inspired a generation to fight for its right and transpired his teaching of truth, nonviolence, and disobedience throughout the world, which in turn inspired many to fight for social justice and freedom.

The answer lies in what made a common man into mahatma who fought an empire so big, on which the sun never sets, with the means of “Satyagraha- holding onto truth”.

But it’s not the fight, it’s the courage, inner strength, and hope which his methods gave to Indian masses which at the time were struggling for freedom, hungry and in despair within clutches of their Colonizers who never valued the culture, ways of living and history of this land.

Now it’s upon us that he, his persona and his teachings keep inspiring the generations to come, that is what inspired me to write this article.

Equality, justice, and peace were the ideas which we need to borrow from Gandhi’s teaching. 2020, which with the advent of it brought us the virus, pandemic, social distancing, and new normal, etc. The virus origins debate, man-made or not, ended up with two superpowers throwing the whole world into an economic cold war.

At the same time, our societies (in two of the biggest democracies of the world) with the fragile mix of caste, color, and creed are at a tipping point. The fall can be very disastrous to the construction of these countries.

Now how to resolve this, the problems are very old or you can say ever existing. Many including Gandhi tried to resolve it unsuccessfully. Then why to relook at their ways. Because Gandhi’s ways kept us at a balance, shown us a path on how to live in peace and harmony, by giving love and accepting others’ beliefs as well.

You can be a staunch believer and respect others at the same time, this can be the mantra which we need to follow.

I have taken a few key Gandhian item and moments to derive a theory which can help us to overcome the difference within oneself, societies, and even countries.

Thrown away but never let this humiliation change into anger or animosity.

Thrown away but never let this humiliation change into anger or animosity. This moment has given birth to “Satyagraha”- the movement which helped India to gain its freedom from the British Empire. And inspired the likes of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

Gandhi’s Charkha

Point 2: Charkha: a simple tool, yet means of big change