By Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 29: January 30, 1948, the day Gandhi was assassinated, is well-etched in the memory of all Indians. The Father of the Nation’s legacy of a torchbearer of nonviolence continues to be acknowledged the world over with his death anniversary being observed as the International Day of Nonviolence, a fitting tribute to the great man. However, 67 years since his demise, do his teachings and his philosophy still carry the same relevance that they used to, and is he still as widely revered among the younger generation?
Prafulla Kar, celebrated Oriya music composer and singer who recently was honoured with the Padma Shri, thinks otherwise. “The younger generation doesn’t have time to remember Gandhian philosophy and his teachings. However, it is time for our people to realize that Gandhi’s thoughts, ideals and philosophy were the building blocks of our country’s freedom struggle as also the fabric that holds our nation together. There is a tremendous lot to learn from his life, and so it pains to see that today’s children fail to appreciate Bapu’s teachings and his way of life,” Kar said.
In the last decade, many states in the country tried to introduce Gandhian thoughts as a part of college curriculum, but hardly any university in the state came forward to impart courses on the subject. Commenting on the issue, eminent educationist A B Prassana Patnaik said it is unfortunate that not enough is being done to pass on the teachings of Gandhi to future generations.
“In order to ensure Gandhian philosophy stays relevant, the state government and universities in the state should come forward and make his thoughts part of the syllabus as done by many universities in India. Varsities can approach the UGC for assistance. UGC gives grants for establishing such courses. People are not doing enough to remember and honour Gandhi’s legacy, and to revive his thoughts it is important that the government and varsities take adequate measures,” Patnaik said.
Pradeep Kumar, an MA in political science from Utkal University, said after studying Gandhi’s books, he found the Mahatma’s teachings hugely relevant to our times, and said if followed in spirit, would offer solutions to many of contemporary society’s problems.
“I have studied Gandhi’s autobiography ‘My Experiments with Truth’. The book really inspired me to put his thoughts into practice. I believe that all students should read his books to understand his views better. I still find his views very relevant in this age. The times have changed and our problems might have become more complex, but the root of many problems is the same and through studying his books, you can understand how to get to the root of your problems,” Kumar said. An IAS aspirant, Aditya Das believes our youth have a tendency to glorify radical leaders of the freedom struggle who resorted to violence as a means to further the struggle for independence, at the same time discounting the contributions of towering leaders like Gandhi who abhorred violence.
“We often see discussions on the merits of Gandhi’s adherence to peace and nonviolence. There is a modern school of thought which believes the ‘radicals’ achieved more through their struggle, but I’m totally against such an idea. People should first know Gandhi before attempting a critique on him,” Das said.