Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thank God you are not alive Mr. Gandhi














January 30th 1948 is a day which no Indian can overlook in the calendar. A day when in actual terms the earth stood still, a day when mankind took its last breath and a day when the whole country wailed because the father took an eternal depart from his children. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi a great barrister and the saviour of our country who saved us from the ruthless Britishers took an eternal depart to the other world on this gloomy day.


He always fought for justice, truth and furtherance of mankind with his lethal weapon of non-violence and truthfulness. He was one of the bravest people the world has ever seen and he always taught the mankind to live a peaceful life by maintaining peace in this world and yes, that man gave us freedom. After 66 years of his death Mahatma Gandhi is still remembered in our country but is this remembrance of any importance?


                 

His birth anniversary is celebrated throughout the country, national flag is unfurled on government buildings, schools and colleges are given a day off and most importantly 2nd October is observed as a ‘dry day’…. A nice initiative by the government to give respect to the Father of the Nation but wait a second! A beer shop opens furtively and at a double price supply the need of a customer. He abuses the shopkeeper for the hiked price, then abuses the government for such rule and then abuses the ‘birthday boy’ for being born on that day! In a survey conducted by The Tribune, Chandigarh in year 2006 the team found that many vendors sold liquor in Durgi, Sarbha Nagar, BRS Nagar, Kochar Market and many other parts of the city. The worst part was that the shops were illuminated more on the eve of 2nd October to increase the sales and the banner of one of the shops displayed a notice which read, “Vend would remain closed on October 2 in view of Dassehra”. No one objected on such a notice, not even the Excise Department. The shopkeepers were happy that the last minute sale was high. This maddening scene can also be seen in other parts of the country. A student wakes late in the morning and enjoy the day out with friends in an expensive restaurant, but he doesn’t know the reason for the day off. He heard the teacher saying last day that due to Gandhi Jayanti, school will be closed tomorrow but he didn’t bother to know who is Gandhi, the first reaction was, “phew! A holiday…”
                   

Once Mahatma Gandhi said, "I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man or woman whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him or her. Will he or she gain anything by it? Will it restore him or her to a control over his or her own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj freedom for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and yourself melt away."- (One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought). These words are worth thinking but does this practice apply in the present scenario when about 27 crore people live below poverty line in our country. When such a huge population is poor will it be feasible for us to recall a particular face. Everyday many underprivileged people are dying and a new line of underprivileged are being born in this country, rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer so my point is that in a country where millions of people die in earthquakes, tsunamis or epidemics and no billionaire help them with a penny so merely recalling their faces is not enough. If you were present today Mr Gandhi, even you would have got confused with their faces because every person you will meet today is dying of hunger and suffering from this disease called ‘poverty’!
                   

We do not leave any chance to remember and praise this great person. He is still loved by all and I think the robbers love him the most because they are so obsessed with collecting his photographs on the currency notes that no one else. Sanjay Dutt was seen doing Gandhigiri in his successful flick. He spread the fever of Gandhism among the youth. He was seen following the path of truthfulness in the movie but later Dutt was sent behind the bars for illegal possession of weapons….. where was the Gandhi follower gone! And the Gandhigiri was then nowhere to be seen….

Mahatma Gandhi was shot to death by Nathu Ram Godse on this January day 66 years back. He became the biggest enemy of the country. Before him about 6 attempts were made till 1934 to kill Gandhi but Gandhi’s name was written on Godse’s bullet. Nand Lal Mehta filled the FIR againt Godse for murdering his hero. With ‘Hey Ram’ as his last word, Mahatma left this world. Godse was a murderer but think the other way…. He freed the most honest person of the world from the country of cheats yet to come.

                        

Thanks to Godse he saved Gandhi from a severe heart attack which he would have experienced after seeing the Godhra riots. Thanks to Godse for saving the Mahatma from getting a nervous breakdown which would have got after seeing the ‘dirty politics’ of this country. Just think for a while, what would have happened to the person who always taught ‘Satya’ as the road to success when he would have seen the CWG or 2G graft in the country. He could not have made eye contact with Kalmadi or Raja….
The present condition of the country doesn’t allow much to say about it….. I would only say, Thank God you are not alive Mr Gandhi!   


Ashutosh Asthana
Student
B.A In Media Studies
University Of Allahabad







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