What did Gandhi achieve

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/133260/
22-Jun-2020

What really is Gandhi's contribution; Is Gandhism merely just a belief like that of religion? This conversation has been going on among friends for the past few days.

In fact, this discussion had been going on from Gandhi's living days. Occasionally, a notable person from another domain would mount a vicious denunciation. Osho or V.S.Naipaul or Sudhir Kakar. Marxists and Hindutvas had similar - mostly in similar wordings - antagonism on Gandhi. It would just keep coming.

Marxists have conversed with me like that. I would retort, "Aside Gandhi, who has had real influence on the world? Whose words does the world follow sincerely?".

They would hesitate a little and would say "Marx". "Apart from being a pioneer of an intelligentsia, where is Marxism existing now? It is just a political action plan. In the past century, where has this plan succeeded?", I would ask. With some difficulty, they would say "Cuba".

"Well comrade, let us assume that it is indeed Communism that's present in Cuba. So then, the accomplishment of Marxism is that by sacrificing 30 million people world over in various mutinies, revolutions etc, enabling a communist autocratic regime for 12,5 million?", I would retort.

"You must consider the overall impact of Marxism on the ideologies and thought processes", they would say. "Ok. Shouldn't we then view Gandhi's influence as such? In fact, Gandhi didn't even put forward any political action plan", I would ask.

He would reply, "Marxism doesn't mean Marx alone. There are others". I would say, "Same with Gandhism. It has multitudinous paths". He would say "You must still read more comrade", thereby circling back to the starting point of argument.

Not just those of Gandhi and Marx, none of the ideologies of Hegel, Schopenhauer, Sankarar, Aristotle, Plato, Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna have been followed as it is nor was it practiced as was given. The reality that it cannot happen is called as ideological dialectics.

Because, no ideology is free of opposing forces, without which it cannot be made practical as well.

The way an ideology evolves is by conflicting with opposing ideologies and conversing with them. Secondly, with the will to survive, it takes on its contemporary environment and then progresses gradually while also losing its form a little in the process. There is no ideology without this dialectics.

There were 2 ideologies that were defined as opposing Gandhism. 1. The contemporary capitalistic, consumerism that was upcoming. 2. Marxist ideology, which having accepted the consumerism, tried to establish human dominance in the world. Gandhian ideology will always be conflicting and conversing with these two ideologies. The ideological transformation can be a consequence only due to this conversation.

No ideology can defeat all its opposing voices and establish itself. If authority is used to establish such ideology, it would lead to catastrophe.

Secondly, up until Gandhi's times, the socio-economics had evolved to its contemporary state and had attained a stasis. It would try to be in that same state. It had many foundations that plundered nature like economy, consumerism and human-centric world view etc. Gandhism tries to advance through that stasis. Institution offers opposition. Transformation would happen on both sides. Any ideologist's influence can be evaluated only this way and this is not exclusive to Gandhi.

What is Gandhi's most visible influence on the world stage? 99% of political movements happen via 'civil disobedience' nowadays world-over. This concept has its roots in the Jainism and modern Europe. But it was Gandhi who established it globally as a political process in modern democracy.

Post Gandhi's times, 90% of political struggles are via Gandhian ways. Rest of them are armed movements and most of them have been defeated and have led only to destruction. If one considers the history of political movements for half century from Nelson Mandela times, he/she can see the Himalayan influence of Gandhi's ideologies and processes - You can't see it if you close your eyes.

Can civil disobedience guarantee success always? No. Its not a magic. Its a process where people gather their potential and battle against history. Nobody or nothing can control the rules of history completely. Movements can succeed only if they have a winning chance. But if people's urge needs to transform history, then civil disobedience is the only path.

Secondly, Gandhi's influence is most visible in decentralization of authority, citizen's freedom for individual non-governance, perspectives against centralization. It was the direct opposite of Neo-European political perspective which saw the citizen as just a subject of a government. Therefore, it is the largest weapon against Fascism. It will remain this way for a long time still.

Lastly, Gandhi's influence on environmental oriented thinking, ideologies for alternate-economic views. One can see this influence from Schumacher to Fukuoka. Today's central global ideologies are non human-centric world-view, sustainable development that doesn't destroy nature and a stand against consumerism. These are opposing ideologies. These are standpoints against today's global consumeristic capitalism. Gandhism is one of the foundational ideology that created these opposing views.

Gandhi is being discussed about in detail in order to derive today's ideologies from his thought processes and methods. All ideologies develop that way. Explanation, Re-definition, Description - this is the path that ideas like Marxism, Gandhism transform into ideologies.

If we deem it mandatory that the world must accept an ideologist's views and then must transform itself completely based on his views for him to be a true ideologist, then it means the world has not produced any ideologist till date.

Gandhi's morality is based on ancient Jain-Vaishnavite traditions. In the same way that his views on civil society, views on an individual's politics, perspectives on nature are being accepted, his morality is also being rejected. Accepting Gandhi doesn't mean worshiping him or hoisting him as the leader.

It depends on an individual's thought processes as to what he accepts in Gandhi. One can accept only the concept of 'Decentralization' from Gandhi. The vision of non human-centric nature can be obtained. Arguments on non-governments can be accepted. That is how ideologists are being accepted world-over. That is why, it is being said that all welfare schemes in capitalist countries have Marxists influence.

Lastly, the notion that the ideology that 'wins', 'rules the world' is the truism and creates the world order is merely an illusion. One that forms as the opposing and the alternative force is more powerful, because it is exerting that opposition while holding against the entire weight of its times. Even today, Gandhism is the opposing force on several stages against the contemporary authority and current affairs. That is also the reason for its attraction to many ideologists.

Gandhism is formed of opposition. Opposition is founded on belief, the dream that the world can be transformed. Those who loose that belief move away from Gandhi. In general, they move away from all kinds of idealisms. Their paths are different.

An article by the friend Balasubramiam Muthusamy made me write this. His book "Indraiya Gandhigal" (Contemporary Gandhis) is full of practical examples of the above mentioned ideals. The book considers only modern India, especially Verrier Elwin to Laurie Baker are not even mentioned in there. If such contemporary Gandhis are listed in today's world, one can identify 100 most important idealists.

J

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudhir_Kakar

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masanobu_Fukuoka

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verrier_Elwin