{"id":47677,"date":"2025-09-28T16:11:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T10:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/?p=47677"},"modified":"2025-09-28T16:59:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T11:29:38","slug":"gandhi-at-156-by-major-general-rajiv-edwards-vsmretd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/?p=47677","title":{"rendered":"GANDHI AT 156! – by Major General Rajiv Edwards, VSM(Retd)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GANDHI AT 156!<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Albert Einstein had never met Mahatma Gandhi, but on the latter\u2019s 70th<\/sup> birthday in 1939, he had remarked, \u2018<\/em>generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth<\/em>\u2019. <\/em>History is essentially a political tool, and when complemented with \u2018creeping determinism\u2019 or hindsight bias, people of any given era may look back in time and wonder how their predecessors could have been so dimwitted. \u00a0Whatever be the reason, past events and personalities have over the years increasingly and almost persistently found space in collective memory and inter group relations. Gandhiji\u2019s legacy for one seems to be stuck in no man\u2019s land.<\/p>\n

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It is a paradox that the Father of the Nation, the title bestowed on him by Subhash Chandra Bose, is most called into question in his own nation; a truism which is perhaps reflective of an ideological divide and the tendency to judge his actions and teachings through the lens of contemporary values and sensibilities. Gandhi was as much an \u2018Indian public personage\u2019 as he was a \u2018global luminary\u2019, which makes him a subject of intense scrutiny. Even so, perhaps in his case, it could be argued that there seems to be a \u2018magnification and minimization\u2019 distortion<\/strong>\u2026..the exaggeration of some not so key facets, while down playing more deeply significant contributions. \u00a0The fact is that no serious historian refutes Gandhi\u2019s leadership of Indian independence movement, his enduring legacy of non violent resistance and his foundational work on economic and social justice. There are many other stalwarts of the freedom struggle, who merit tribute. However, there is no denying the fact that Gandhi\u2019s transformational leadership and in particular his novel and unrelenting non violent tactics, were clearly unnerving to the British, in what may be otherwise considered the most violent century in history.<\/p>\n

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Every human being has his frailties and in the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi \u2018was much too human\u2019. As a matter of fact, he was hesitant to accept the title of Mahatma (\u2018great soul\u2019) bestowed on him by Rabindranath Tagore, and had \u00a0made known that, \u2018he was not a saint trying to be a politician\u2019, but, it was the other way round. And, it is not without significance that Gandhi chose to title his autobiography, \u2018The Story of My Experiments with Truth\u2019. It was not meant to be a narrative of his political life or personal accomplishments. Rather, he clearly affirmed that \u2018my life consists of nothing but experiments, and I want to tell the story of my experiments with truth\u2019\u2026. including his mistakes and moral failures, which he viewed as learning opportunities and a crucial part of his journey towards self realization. Even if one accepts that, his \u2018compulsive self test\u2019 methods did not meet public endorsement, however, he could not be faulted for his intentions. Not only that, his honest public confessions about some unsavoury experimentations in his life, make him a man of distinctive moral integrity.<\/p>\n

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India has the largest young working age population in the world, which is expected to see us through at least for the next 25 years. To leverage the full potential of this segment of population, it needs to be productively shaped. At any rate, a high quality population is not only characterized by enhanced literacy rates, good health and relevant skills, but importantly by good values and virtues, attitudes and behavior.\u00a0 Without the right basics, a large young population could well become an encumbrance rather than a dividend, undermining the entire society.\u00a0 Today, most of our societal ills are the direct result of this lamentable deficit. Not a surprise therefore,\u00a0 that the best intentioned schemes of the government like Swachh Bharat, in which Gandhi is the inspiration and icon, just don\u2019t seem to fulfill their purpose. So, while the country is likely to economically reach the target level in 2047, however, building up collective character may well take many more amrit kaal\u2019s<\/strong>\u2026..till then, India may have made it to the destination, but will continue to fall short of the goal!<\/p>\n

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A role model could be a beacon with a shadow. Pablo Picasso had stated\u00a0 that, \u2018good artists copy; great artists steal\u2019, implying true creativity involves taking inspiration and transforming it into something new and unique, not just copying. \u00a0\u00a0In consequence, it would be imprudent to discard the \u2018Bapu\u2019 along with the bathwater, succumbing to the social media\u2019s disapproving narrative through misinterpretation and cherry picking \u00a0of facts.\u00a0 Worst still the ad hominem attacks which seek to undermine his nonpareil contributions\u2026.a vice which regretfully is actively trending in the body politic. The problem is that when we don\u2019t read and reflect on our own, we tend to make judgment based on the information that is being fed to us. It is this perhaps, \u00a0that differentiates a \u2018blinkered\u2019 from a \u2018constructive patriot\u2019! Somewhere in attempts to destroy brand Gandhi, we may well be damaging brand India! It would do the youth a world of good if they could imbibe at least the \u2018big five\u2019 core values of the Mahatma, truthfulness, non violence, compassion, self discipline and selflessness. That would be the biggest homage to Gandhi on his 156th<\/sup> birthday and an invaluable contribution to Viksit Bharat @2047.<\/p>\n

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There are three aspects of any event or action on which perception is made \u2013 what, when and why. The life of Gandhi taught to us, answers the first two, but doesn\u2019t do justice to the third. This is critical to internalize his lessons for self improvement and apply his principles to contemporary challenges, making his enduring legacy relevant for ushering positive societal change. In the existing atmospherics of \u2018TACO\u2019 (Trump Always Chickens Out), a tongue-in-cheek reference to the volatility caused by abrupt tariff policy changes, self reliance speaks for itself. Perhaps, the youth too would be better off following in the \u2018ahimsak\u2019 footsteps of a home grown lodestar like Gandhi\u2026.vocal for local!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the turbulent and complex geopolitical landscape of today, Gandhi remains relevant not as a source of dogmatic solutions, but as a powerful counter narrative\u2026the \u00a0adaption of \u00a0his core principles to modern contexts, rather than a rigid adaptation of his every teaching.<\/p>\n

There is a reason why Gandhi\u2019s is mentioned as the \u2018missing laureate\u2019 on the website of the Nobel Peace Prize, there is a reason why his statue is installed in more than 100 cities globally, there is a reason why he is the most filmed historical figure, there is a reason why over 150 countries have printed stamps featuring him, there is a reason why his picture is printed on every note of Indian currency, there is a reason why he is known as the Father of our Nation\u2026.an unparalleled gesture of respect, demonstrating the global impact and inspiration from his life and teachings.\u00a0 Sometimes hindsight bias can become a decision trap, leading to a flawed assessment of the past. In the Mahatma\u2019s case, it prevents one from seeing his strengths, ultimately limiting one\u2019s own development and perspective. As Jesus Christ said, \u2018a prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and in his\u00a0 own household\u2019. Hey Ram!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Major General Rajiv Edwards, VSM** (retd) is a historical researcher and commentator on societal issues.\u00a0 He is apolitical. Views expressed are personal)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GANDHI AT 156!   Albert Einstein had never met Mahatma Gandhi, but on the latter\u2019s 70th birthday in 1939, he had remarked, \u2018generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth\u2019. History is essentially a political tool, and when …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47677"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47681,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47677\/revisions\/47681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ferozepuronline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}