Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is no exception to debates and controversies in the world of luminaries, who have changed the course of history. Though mostly confined to text books in his native India, and reduced to a ritualistic commemoration on October 2nd, observed as International Day of Non-Violence globally, the relevance of his philosophies and doctrines consummated through his life as a living witness to one’s ideals, represents a missed opportunity for a world in turmoil. In stark contradiction to his universal call of non-violence as a socio-political weapon to fight against injustices, oppression and occupation, the world has been experimenting with base human instincts of anarchy and violence, with no resolution with the passage of time. With countless wars, genocide and bloodshed- the overlords who ordered genocides in Rwanda, Armenia, Yugoslavia; crafty politicians who had masterminded invasions of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, overzealous despots murdering millions in Syria, and many more rendered homeless and ended up in refugee camps in Germany and Canada- have categorically demonstrated the futility of reciprocating violence with violence. The world wishes if only it had followed the Gandhian precepts of non-violence to achieve revolutionary ends. Perhaps there would never have been the rise of ISIS, Boko Harem, Hamas, Maoists, Taliban or Hezbollah, terrorizing civil societies under the pretext of fighting for their Intifadas. His dictum “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” is never truer in contemporary geo-political affairs.

If the current generation has a mischaracterization of Gandhi with his sober image as a bespectacled old man with a walking cane, scantily clad like a solemn monk adorning a soft demeanor, they are grossly mistaken for they are seeing one of the greatest revolutionaries in history, a shrewd politician, an intrepid fighter for human dignity and a tireless crusader for civil rights in an oppressed world. Only his weapons were non-violent, peaceful protests and hunger-strikes. His non-violent ideals were exemplified in the Civil Disobedience Movement he spearheaded that kick-started with the Salt Satyagraha. True to his non-violent worldview and as its staunch practitioner, he dismissed Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922, when demonstrators torched a police station killing 22 in retaliation to police firing against peaceful protestors. He could garner support from vulnerable sections of the population like women, senior citizens and even children for India’s Independence struggle due to this pacifist ideology.

His critics during his lifetime and aftermath drubbed him as “British agent”, “agent of capitalism and imperialism”, “Hindu communalist” etc. But little did his detractors and traducers know that his ideals and worldview were farsighted, rooted in moral principles that was aimed at inclusive growth. One of his famous quotes, “there is enough in the world to satisfy one’s need but not greed”, later resonated in a slew of initiatives and programs to usher in sustainable development in the world. Gandhi could be acknowledged as the precursor of the Circular Economy program, that had gathered momentum globally, in the early 21st century, to eschew an economy of wastage for preservation of the planet. Many denounced his ideals as hackneyed and outdated, but oblivious of the fact that they were indeed progressive to the fortunes of India. To cite a case, he outlined a new educational system - marking a sharp point of departure from the British conformist model of “rot learning” to mold subservient clerks - to a reformist model, he named “Nayi Taleem” in his newspaper, ‘Harijan’. Nayi Taleem was an eclectic model, drawing its framework from his experiences in South Africa, Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat and Sevagram in Maharashtra. The novel model introduced holistic learning, encompassing the mind, body and soul composite and emphasized that learning should be linked to vocational work. This is the central tenet of the Skill India Mission envisaged by the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to empower and train 40 million of India’s youth by 2022. The government’s initiative of “Make in India”, is a spin-off from Gandhian vision of “Swabalambi”, meaning self-sufficiency, which, he demonstrated with a home-spun Khadi cloth. “Sarvodaya”, another lofty ideal of Gandhi, calls for inclusive growth and development for all sections of the society, and by contrast, India’s development history since Independence has been more elitist, that accounts for abysmally low GDP per capita, still grappling with first generation issues in healthcare, education and infrastructure. While India celebrates a business tycoon, moving up to 2nd in Forbes list of global billionaires, more than 22% of the population lives in abject poverty for less than $1.25 a day.

Pseudo-nationalists and right-wing conservatives clamoring for Swadesi sentiments, and abhorring everything western, as an anathema, often forget the intellectual debts of Gandhi in shaping his worldview. From his barrister career in South Africa to his educational stint in London, Gandhi was an amalgam of Russian Populism propagated by Leo Tolstoy, American radicalism proposed by Henri David Thoreau and English anti-industrialism of John Ruskin. While nationalists are quick to denounce anything western, Gandhi inspired people to have an eclectic worldview and therefore at the latter part of his life, he was willing to borrow and adopt the best practices from robust and vibrant western civilizations. He realized that to recreate a multicultural, secular and plural nation that exists in peace and harmony as in pre-colonial times, the judiciary should be delineated from the executive so that judges cannot be bought, a system that gives access to universal healthcare and quality primary to tertiary education, a base infrastructure that facilitates economic growth and above all a system where every citizen regardless of caste, religion, sect and community are treated with respect and dignity, which are hallmark of western societies that were re-modeled on the ideals of the Enlightenment.

His idea of non-violence should be viewed in a broader philosophical perspective rather than through the narrow prism of physical violence. To him, harboring evil thoughts and motives, consuming with avarice and greed were tantamount to being violent. Such loftier vision has striking parallels with Biblical teachings, especially pertinent to purity of thoughts in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Gandhi was inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially the one delivered at the Sermon on the Mount. When Louis Fischer, his biographer visited Sevagram Ashram in May 1942 for a short stay, he noticed a single decoration on the rustic mud walls; a black and white picture of Jesus Christ with an inscription, “He is our peace”. Before every prayer meeting held in his ashram, it was customary to recite verses from most holy books of world religions as he was naturally oriented towards inter-religious harmony and a firm believer that such secular perspective was a pre-requisite to universal brotherhood and peace. Rabindranath Tagore, one of the revered sons of India was the first to assign the title of “Mahatma” in recognition of the “simple living and high thinking”, a walking politician-saint in pursuit of truth through love.

Gandhi inspired troves of world leaders, revolutionaries, social activists, scientists and statesmen around the world and many imbibed his path of non-violence in their causes. Prominent among them are Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Ang San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu, Frederick De Klerk etc. Marin Luther King Jr, the champion of civil rights movement against Jim Crow laws of racial segregation and apartheid, said of Gandhi, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable.” If history is any guide, a world obsessed with land, resources, wealth, markets, power and influence inevitably ends up in wars and economic interventions in the guise of military engagements. Dalai Lama summarizes the deplorable state succinctly and powerfully, “We have a big war going on today between world peace and world war, between force of mind and force of materialism, between democracy and totalitarianism”. In the middle of the 20th century - touted as one of the most gory and brutal in the history of humanity with two World Wars, countless regional wars, genocides and ethnic cleansing, spilling rivers of blood and causing widespread devastation and misery in an insignificant “pale blue dot”, which, humans call it home - one man defied all primordial impulses and proved that the most potent weapons to take on the mighty and powerful are love and non-violence. Perhaps the greatest tribute to this apostle of peace came from one of the greatest scientists of all times, Albert Einstein, “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.”