" Mahatma Gandhi "

Mahatma Gandhi. 'Father of the Nation' for a country with a billion people. The Mahatma was assassinated by religious zealots more than half a decade ago but his legacy continues in the concepts he pioneered and in the social reforms he initiated. The bespectacled, Khadi-clad image of Mahatma Ghandi is indelibly engraved on the conscience of every Indian and on October 2 every year, on the eve of his birth anniversary, a grateful nation pays homage to this frail-bodied man who had the vision and courage to take on the might of the British Empire.

Over the years, Mahatma's principles of Satyagraha and nonviolence have transcended geographical boundaries and they have been employed by activists elsewhere in the world fighting oppressive regimes. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used nonviolent civil disobedience while fighting the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans in the United States. The Nelson Mandela-led African National Congress overthrew the minority white South African government after decades of peaceful non cooperation movement.

While the Mahatma's ideology has inspired such epoch-making movements in different corners of the world, unfortunately Gandhi's tenets have been largely consigned to textbooks in his homeland. The younger generation by and large has been oblivious to Bapu's principles and the entire country is torn apart by violent separatist movements. Our politicians may have taken to wearing immaculate white khadi kurtas, but their inner souls are very much stained by blots of corruption. It is about time people embraced the principles of Gandhiji in letter and spirit so as to usher in a vibrant, peaceful world.