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Mahatma Gandhi and ‘spiritualization of politics’
Many are the Lankan politicians and public figures who parrot-out accolades and tributes to the Mahatma but locally there are very few or no takers for the latter’s central teachings. One of the latter was the doctrine of ‘Ahimsa’ or the principle of non-violence in politics. This translates essentially into the Buddha’s nugget of wisdom that ‘Hatred does not cease by hatred’. But if the unrelenting violence in Sri Lanka’s public life is anything to go by, the country is marked by a severe dearth of politicians, public persons and policy planners who subscribe to ‘Ahimsa’.
However, the Mahatma’s political life was centrally driven by the ‘Ahimsa’ doctrine or the principle that the taking of life by humans, for whatever reason, is absolutely and unreservedly unacceptable. This doctrine is also in conformity with Jesus Christ’s prime teaching that, ‘Those who live by the Sword, die by it.’ It is because of this solid grounding of the Mahatma’s teachings in the perennial wisdom of mankind’s principal religious leaders that the position could be taken that the Mahatma succeeded in the cause of ‘spiritualizing politics’.
The Mahatma, it needs to be noted, acknowledged the role his mentor and inspirational guide Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the founder of the Servants of India Society, played in the shaping of his political wisdom.
Needless to say, the Mahatma’s paradigm in politics paid off on account of the substantive role his non-violent struggle against British colonial rule played in the achievement of India’s political independence.
The wisdom of meeting violence by peaceful means was continuously underscored by the Mahatma and fortunately for us in Sri Lanka there are a few of his local admirers, such as the Sarvodaya Movement, under the iconic Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, who have gone the extra mile to keep a faithful record of his thinking and teachings in book form. One such literary compilation is titled, ‘Gandhi and Sri Lanka’- 1905-1947’, printed and published Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha publishers, 2002 (with the permission of Navajivan Trust).
The bulk of the book’s content consists of the addresses made by the Mahatma to numerous Sri Lankan audiences while on tour of Sri Lanka in the early decades of the last century. Letters featuring in the correspondence undertaken by the Mahatma with some Sri Lankan public figures are also contained in the book. The latter could be considered a treasury of Gandhian thinking and is a ‘must read’ for those who value humanism.
Reproduced in the above book is a speech the Mahatma delivered to the Ceylon National Congress in November, 1927. At page 96, he is quoted as telling the CNC, among other things: ‘You will find that I have not tired of insisting upon the truth and non-violence at any cost. Given these two conditions, in my humble opinion, you can hurl defiance at the mightiest power on earth – and still come away not only yourself unscathed but you will leave your so-called adversary also uninjured and unhurt. For the time being he may misunderstand the non-violent blows that you deal, he may misrepresent you also, but you don’t need to consult his feelings or his opinions so long as you are fulfilling these two absolute conditions.’
These words need to be borne in mind by any two sides to a conflict. To begin with, they need to stick to their convictions and be firm in advocating the latter. However, they should exercise absolute restraint over themselves and refrain from hurting the other side physically and mentally.
This would ensure the continuation of the sides in the negotiating process, thereby taking the latter to its logical conclusion, with both sides satisfying themselves over the outcome, provided they are sincerely desirous of arriving at a mutually-acceptable solution. Disruptive violent behavior, on the other hand, by the parties to the conflict would ensure the prolongation of divisive relations, ending may be in war and mutual annihilation.
The above positions on conflict resolution are reflective of profound wisdom. Needless to say, they remain valid and should be applied in the numerous theatres of war in South and South-East Asia. If the norms inherent in the Mahatma’s line of thinking are applied to India-Pakistan ties, much of the friction in the relevant bilateral relations could be reduced a great deal. Interestingly, both the Mahatma and Mohammad Ali Jinnah were reportedly followers of Gokhale.
On the question of self-government, the Mahatma is quoted as saying at page 97 in the above book: ‘Self-government you will not have, …unless you speak with the voice of one nation and not with the voice of Christians, Musslamans, Buddhists, Hindus, Europeans, Sinhalese, Tamils and Malays.’
The Mahatma could very well have been speaking to the whole of the Southern hemisphere which is being severely enervated by identity politics of the most destructive kind.
The first negative example that comes to mind in this connection is Sri Lanka. In the latter country, politicians never seem to be learning from their grave mistakes in governance. As could be seen, communalism is continuing to relentlessly weaken Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s current rulers do not seem to be doing anything substantive to improve this disastrous track record of the country. It just would not do to bandy around the word ‘reconciliation’. Without further delay, a practicable program to bring the communities of the country together on the basis of equality in its most vital senses needs to be evolved, if Sri Lanka is to be rescued from separatist tendencies on a permanent basis. As long as communalism is allowed to flourish by governments, Sri Lanka stands the risk of sliding back into separatist violence.
Right now, Sri Lanka and the majority of states in South Asia do not possess political leaders in the Gandhian mould. This is just too bad for South Asia. The Mahatma was a unique visionary and statesman and he believed in raising the bar for himself. The eventual result was an India that was resourceful and positive in most respects.
Hopefully, the Mahatma’s birth anniversary would prompt the political leaders and decision-makers of the South to at least soul-search, turn a new leaf and find out how the lot of their peoples could be improved.