Today is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. It is also the International Day of Nonviolence - a day to contemplate not just Gandhi's effect on world politics, but to actively think about how his concepts of peace, nonviolence and civil disobedience can be applied to redress the injustice that characterizes our world today.
Gandhi's contribution to the Indian freedom struggle was revolutionary because it brought the British government to its knees without resorting to violence. But more importantly, it gave the world a vision of alternative politics - that it was possible to counter violence with nonviolence. Additionally, Gandhi called upon those pitted against hegemony to draw upon their inner strength and courage of conviction more than logistics. The relevance of this thought is not lost in a world where the oppressed have very little to use in their fight against violent states and oppressor groups.
Gandhian thought looks hopelessly outdated in a world where violence is the preferred option rather than the last resort - irrefutable proof of which is emerging from Myanmar. But the politics Gandhi advocated offers no shortcuts to the world's problems. It begins with those who intend to bring reforms, encouraging them to undergo an intense process of moral contemplation before they are ready to fight injustice.
Another important Gandhian philosophy is the belief in the morality inherent in all individuals, including the oppressors. So, the oppressed are not to indulge in violence but embrace its opposite until the oppressor comes face-to-face with his own violence and its dehumanizing effect on himself and the oppressed.
While Gandhi did diverge from Karl Marx, who saw social structures of oppression as having a life of their own (unlike Gandhi, who privileged the individual), the apostle of peace did see the structural basis of the British Empire and what was feeding into it. He advocated an economic nationalism which, more than seeking to replace British goods with Indian ones, radically redefined consumerism that would strike at the roots of capitalism itself. He advocated that no person should have more than he or she needs, so people could live frugally without overburdening the Earth. Gandhi lived this thought, using not more than two pieces of loincloth to clad himself - a practice that earned him the epithet of the "half-naked Fakir" from Winston Churchill.
Interestingly, Gandhi's thoughts resonate today in most protests built around consumption. Protest groups target the brand image of corporations in an effort to force them give up environmentally unsound practices. As a final resort, consumers are encouraged to boycott products from unethical corporations. Though this strategy fulfills the short-term goal of getting the corporations back on track, it leaves the larger question of consumerism intact without targeting its excesses.
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Gandhi also made an important contribution to the notion of human rights and, by extension, civil rights. The civil rights movement of the 1960s strongly drew from Gandhian thought with Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledging Gandhi as his hero. Gandhi believed that human rights were inalienable, which also applied to the human rights of the oppressor. He held these rights sacred and believed they should not be violated under any exigency. This explains his abhorrence of violence. Gandhi called off the noncooperation movement after the Chauri Chaura incident in which nationalists torched a police station, killing 22 police officers. Gandhi believed that the nation was not yet ready for mass movements, as morality continued to be an issue.
Gandhi's uncompromising stand on violence and his propensity to see rightness more often on religion's terms sits uneasily in a postmodern world. Equally troubling is his idealism that refuses to adapt to the situation. The absolute morality that he practiced often brought him in conflict with many, including his son Harilal.
Gandhi inspires an alternative vision of politics and resistance at a time when oppression is not only getting more overt and physical but also more insidious. His ideology of nonviolence is a good point to start from when the temptation to answer violence with violence is overpowering. It may not succeed, but it opens a world of possibilities and encourages us to think outside of the box. More importantly, his life illustrates how radical ideas are first dismissed, only to be tested and embraced later.
But the greatest appeal about Gandhi for me is that he always knew he had feet of clay. He strived to achieve a state of moral impeccability by acknowledging his mortality. More importantly, he showed that it is ordinary people who make history.
