On October 2, 2020, it was the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. India couldn’t celebrate it due to many reasons. The reasons which might upset the Father of the Nation, as India was not what he dreamed it to be.
Introduction
India used to be a very beautiful nation full of passion and vigour when it was born. The freedom of the country has been earned due to the efforts of many selfless freedom fighters. One of them is Mahatma Gandhi. He has been given the title of “Father of the Nation” by Subhash Chandra Bose and later the Parliament recognized the same. We call him the father of the nation as he is the maker of modern India. He is the one who liberated the country from British imperialism with the principles like non-violence and satyagraha. It is technically his country we are all living in, but he dreamed of more than this. Unfortunately, we are not able to live his dream. We did not inherit his legacy in its true sense. The world envied India due to its leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. But there is nothing left in the country. Only power-hungry and dissent grabbing politicians. Leaders are no more born in this country. The world did not see a leader like Gandhi ever since. We are proud to be his children but the question remains did we make him proud in the process of becoming the world’s largest democracy.
Gandhi’s Ideologies
Gandhi had plans for his modern and free nation. He wanted to make India a model country for the world with all his principles. He was always concerned about his country and the people. He wanted the best for his countrymen. He believed in many ideologies and tried to follow them to make his dream a reality. He believed in women empowerment, self-reliance, and rural development. The country is still facing issues to implement them even after seventy years of independence. He infused a revolutionary blend of politics and spiritualism. He brought in the factor of emotional unity to a vastly diverse country. He challenged his countrymen to question their biases and prejudices against caste and religion. All his principles guided the nation towards independence.
Gandhian Socialism and Economic Determinism
Gandhi’s impact on the country was indelible. Socialism and economic determinism were one of the most notable ideologies which are very relevant to the present state of the country. He gave ideal systems for every institution necessary to run a nation as diverse and as big as our nation. Gandhi’s idea of socialism and economics were completely different from western ideas. One of the notable differences is the inclusion of the human factor. The western world was all about materialistic ideas but Gandhi wanted people’s participation in every policy. At the end of the day, he believed that people are the ones who are benefited from any policy or system. His idea of socialism was completely beyond the equal distribution of wealth or selfishness. It was the prosperity of all irrespective of the caste, creed, religion. He found the principles of socialism in morality and true religion. He had a great hand in abolishing untouchability and the caste system. He was the pioneer of socialism. He believed socialism is a much-required pillar to run a democratic country.
Gandhian economics paved the path for the development of the nation. Like socialism, this also seems to be a similar concept to Marxian ideologies, but it is a different paradigm. Just like socialism Gandhian economics has many sociological factors included in it. He always saw every problem through the lens of equality and fair play. This is what makes his ideologies unique. He viewed economics through tradition and discipline. It was always about anti-materialism and the inclusion of society as a whole. He focussed on the prosperity of society as a whole and considered individuals as an integral part of society. He believed that this societal prosperity can be achieved through the development of villages and privatizing the village business. This is where economic determinism comes into play, where every socio-political development is based on economics.
Analysis
Gandhi’s ideologies are the basic principles upon which our nation is built. He was the driving force behind every public policy. He was the moral force of our nation. The force which gave us freedom from oppression. But the question lies where are we heading right now? We are going back to the same old days. Where government or monarchy oppressed everyone, looted every household, and left us in chaos. That is where the present political situation is heading. Many freedom fighters and many more civilians gave up their lives to free us from that chaos. But it is like we have voted for it. Democracy looks like a threat, dissent is fading away. Farmers are on the roads fighting for protecting their livelihood, workers, employers everyone is at loss. There is no basis for any laws made. Gandhi showed us the path but it has been so hard to follow for future generations. We could not inherit his legacy. Many of his principles like socialism and others are the building blocks of the Constitution. But who is following the constitution? Some institution has gone corrupt and in some, there is no sense of integrity and belongingness in people. There is still a caste system and untouchability prevalent in some places. The worst part people are no more concerned about or condemning such traditions or behaviour. This all truly reminds us of the Father of the Nation. He would have never imagined his country to be in such a poor state, be it social or political or economical. It would truly hurt him to see where the country stands now. It would be hurtful to see that the eternal fabric he built this country has been torn. The people are lost, so looks the country.
Conclusion
The Gandhian principles and ideologies were the basis for a developing country like India. He gave those principles thinking that one day our country would not be still developing, but that is exactly where we stand even after 70 years of Independence. Although leaders like Gandhi lead us to development, future politicians rejected this. They resented the ideas and worked for their benefit. They are no leaders, they were only using Gandhian principles for vote bank politics.
We reduced such a great leader to a face on a monetary note. Just to give him value and respect. But we did the opposite by doing so, true respect is in following in his footsteps and making the country great again. A notable country in world history and return to its past glory which was during his time, that would be the best honour to him. Some rue the fact that he has become irrelevant to the country. But no, the present generation and people have become irresponsible. Gandhi didn’t live in his dream of India becoming a reality. Pity on us we didn’t do a good job either.
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