Hind Swaraj ~ Hundred years and still relevant -Soter D’souza

>The nation once again commemorates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, whose ideology of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) continues to influence mankind across the globe. Every year, Gandhi Jayanti offers us an opportunity to understand this great man. The act of fasting which was popularised by Gandhiji as a non-violent weapon is far from those undertaken by activists in modern day India to blackmail governments. Our nation recently witnessed how the fast undertaken by activists against corruption with a portrait of the Mahatma in the background became an occasion for character assassination of political leaders and abuses against Parliament. If the Mahatma was living what would his response have been to the leaders of such movements? And as the Indian nation grapples with its ever multiplying problems and conflicts, our State of Goa which was once acclaimed for its peace and hospitality has also sunk into being a dungeon of slums, crime and political sleaze which is marketed as 'modern progress and development'. While the agony of the Goan people may offer an excellent occasion for politicians and unscrupulous activists to exploit their emotions by promising a better tomorrow, a reading of Gandhiji's 'Hind Swaraj' (Home Rule) could only reveal the hollowness of such claims. The much hyped about political journey towards 'Parivartan' falls flat before the immensely inspired food for thought provided by Gandhiji. Life in Goa even under the Portuguese yoke was in many ways about 'Good Living'. There was an absence of greed and economic competition. It was about the popular term 'Susegad' that is mistaken by rest of India to mean laziness. Goan society by and large worked for as much would be required to live a decent life, each doing his part. The homes had no grills, no security cameras, no power inverters and the women and children were safe on the roads. The traditional 'Pao' baked by the 'Poder' with love and care was not caught in the race for profits at any cost. The dedication and commitment of teachers was visible, and even though corporal punishment was adopted, the pain inflicted on a student more than often had that feeling of love and concern. We had young man graduating with a much stronger physique, sense of values and mental strength to cope with the world outside when reports about suicides for scoring poorly in examinations were hardly heard of in those years. So whom should we really be blaming for our misfortune? The answer could only emerge from an honest, unbiased critical reading of one of the political masterpieces by Mahatma Gandhi titled 'Hind Swaraj' that was written in the Platonic dialogical style and in Gujarati. Gandhiji is known to have written it in ten days between November 13 and 22, 1909 during his voyage from London to Durban. Only later in 1910 did he write it in English which again is not a translation of the Gujarati text. It was also an original version. This book, written with such inspiration, has in it hidden treasures that India under colonial rule needed to be mindful about as it embarked upon its path towards an independent nation in 1947. In short, it not only exposes the hollowness of western culture and its political and economic models but also acknowledges the evils within Indian society and the way out. If Amir Khan’s TV episode ‘Satyameva Jayate’ that highlighted the exploitation in the medical industry could become the cause of so much debate, then Hind Swaraj could stir up a revolution when Gandhiji held that “railways, lawyers and doctors have impoverished the country so much so that, if we do not wake up in time, we shall be ruined.” Probably today he may have dedicated a chapter each on journalists and social activists. Gandhiji does not spare the western parliamentary system by stating that it is without a master. The prime Minister, he says, is more concerned about the welfare of his party than of parliament. Gandhiji said, “that which you consider to be the Mother of Parliaments is like a sterile woman and a prostitute.” Parliament according to him “is simply a costly toy of the nation.” The claim of what is called ‘modern civilisation’ gets slammed as irreligion. He hailed the fore-sightedness of our ancestors who opted for small villages knowing that “large cities were a snare and a useless encumbrance and that people would not be happy in them, that there would be gangs of thieves and robbers, prostitution and vice flourishing in them and that poor men would be robbed by rich men.” Is this not true of the flourishing towns in Goa of today? Some may out of ignorance dismiss Gandhiji as an agent of the British and the industrialists. But for those whom Gandhi Jayanti does have its significance, there could be no better prescription than to make time and read ‘Hind Swaraj’ written over 100 years ago. We will only realise the folly of what we comprehend as progress and how this nation is being reduced to slavery in a western driven economy. (Published in Herlad, Oct. 2, 2012) http://www.heraldgoa.in/newscategory/Opinions/14