Long live Gandhigiri.... is it???

I have never been a big fan of M.K. Gandhi. And I am pretty sure not many people were before the release of ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’. Personally, the idea of perfect non-violence has never been my cup of tea. Was beaten by mom for not getting up early or not brushing well, by the teacher for scoring low or for not doing homework, by dad for losing money from pockets, by friends just because I was born on that day some years ago. Basically, I have grown up as a victim of violence throughout my life. The first thing I see after I switch on the television is the program “Sansani” where a person who himself looks like a criminal would be pointing out some lesser known (And lesser appearing to be) criminals to people. Then there are murders, feuds, kidnappings, mobs and riots everyday in my so called peace loving country. So, where does this ideal of non-violence stand as of today and what is the need of such a big fuss over it in recent times?




So, what ‘Gandhigiri’ is in today’s context? Is it even real, even applicable in the society of today? From my childhood days, I was taught that (And I know atleast 48% of the population would disagree with me):



Dhor, Gawaar, Shudra, Pashu, Naari:

Yeh sab taadan ke adhikaari!!

(The fool, the illiterate, the ‘privileged’ class (I am not the one who wrote this, so please forgive me for mentioning!), the animal and the female: Have to be beaten in order to make them work or understand!)



So, how does non-violence play its part in the India of today? Not a lot, for sure. I would rather ask you a question, what would you do if you are slapped on a cheek without any fault of yours? If your answer is ‘I would present my other cheek to him, waiting for him to be exhausted after hitting me again and again!’, then you are probably born in the wrong era, after all. In today’s world it is rather, ‘You started it, let me finish it!’ or ‘You punch me, I punch you harder!’



Remember, life is like a flooded river and emotions are like the silt it brings, they may be carried away to the basin and then into the sea, as if they were never there, or they may settle down unyielding at the bottom and change the course of the river. The world is changed by people who stand against the flow, show full resistance not get carried away by it. And if you show positive emotions like love, friendship, peace and harmony then negative emotions like anger, hatred and violence cannot be ignored either.



So, non-violence or Gandhigiri, no matter how attractive as it may seem, will never provide for a solution to all the problems caused by the society today. Can you imagine a world where there is no hatred, no competition, and no violence? Well, it would certainly look like the office of an Indian PSU from the outside, with a real life portrait of the man himself, hanging on the wall. (Most people will disagree with me on this too! What am I doing?) But for me in the world as I live in, it is, ‘Live and let die!’ and ‘You hit me once, You get hit twice!’
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