Gandhigiri

The whole country is singing praises of how Munnabhai has made Gandhi relevant once again. How it has become cool to follow him. Some are sending flowers to liquor vends asking them to shut shop, some others are stripping in public to get work done in govt. offices. It does require courage to do what the hero does in the movie.

Before I begin, let me say that I have been an unabashed fan of MKG since many years. His prophet-like ability to connect with the people of that period, his ascetic approach to life and his being ruthlessly honest with himself have been awe inspiring to say the least. What began as an innocuous off-loading from a first class compartment on Pietermaritzburg train station in 1893 ended up creating a Mahatma to nearly the whole world.

I would like to put forth a contrarian view though. I think what MKG achieved was made possible because of two sets of people the Indian and the Englishmen. The British considered themselves to be running a just and fair empire. They were moralistic, believed in being righteous and played cricket. At the same time they believed in their right to rule India. They suffered from the white man's burden of delivering an inferior race.

They felt challenged that there was someone of an inferior race who could be more of everything. His Satyagrah way of seeking and championing for truth was unique. It showed them in their face that an occupational force could never be morally right. In the new world order freedom from occupiers was a given.

On the other hand were the Indian people. By nature we avoid physical conflict. He gave them an option where they could fight for their right to freedom by not doing anything. Non-cooperation was the mantra. Imagine, you could sit all day at home sing bhajans, not do anything and be actually working to get India free. Easy!

These two mindsets gave the Indian freedom movement the momentum it needed.

I am not sure if this would have worked with the Taliban or with the barbaric gangs of central Africa. Could the balkan ethnic cleansing have been resolved any differently? Could the Vietnamese have done anything different against the napalm attacks? Could India itself have handled the Punjab extremists differently? or can we do anything to fix the Kashmir issue? I have serious doubts. It did not work even then, a million people trans-migrated after India's partition. His influence over the world was at its peak when the world went into the second World War.

Despite the contrarian thought, he remains a star of India's independence movement. He showed the world an alternate path. Whether people follow his principles or not the standards of personal discipline and rectitude are daunting enough even to read through.

I congratulate the the film for the attempt.