Gandhi's charkha may have lost
its relevance amidst rapid advancements in technology,
but the ideology it symbolizes will continue to spin a spell on generations
to come
Mahatma Gandhi's charkha, or
the spinning wheel, is a symbol of technology that is simple and can
be used by everyone. Today, we have the mushrooming of Internet cafes.
The charkha, however, will always be relevant. The charkha
is what Gandhi stood for-the promotion of small-scale industries, using
one's natural assets. Ironically, we waste our assets-people, environment
and natural resources.
Had Gandhi been alive today, maybe he would have found a more computer-savvy
charkha. The charkha was used to make one's own yarn,
aimed at promoting the village economy.
When Gandhi talked about community living, he did not imply a community
living in an ashram. He referred to people of different communities
working in unison.
Sadly, the incidents in Gujarat, outside the gates of Gandhi's Sabarmati
Ashram have completely whitewashed his concept of community living.
It is an insult to his memory.
Khadi
was a way of generating employment for millions of unemployed at the time.
The village industry offered tremendous scope for self-reliance. Gandhi
wanted every village to be self-sufficient and have an independent governing
body.
Self-reliance does not mean closing our doors and windows to the world.
Gandhi used to quote Rabindranath Tagore to bring home the point: "I would
let the winds of the world blow through the doors and windows of my house
but I will not be blown away."
An economically weak country like India cannot be a great military power
and dabble with international issues. In this country, we have people
going hungry even when we have surplus stocks.
We have abundance co-existing with scarcity because we do not have a good
distribution system. To add to the grievances, we do not have sensible
politicians and officials.
Mahatma Gandhi taught us to think rationally.
Gandhi's philosophies can be easily applied to modern times. His agricultural
economics was against feudalism and the zamindari system. But,
we are trying to strengthen the weak at the expense of the poor.
We want Mandalization, Reservation Bill - all this does not make people
strong, it makes them dependent!
I do not
think one Gandhi can solve our present problems.
We need many people like Gandhi. Gandhi came at a divinely appointed
time in the history of India and went away at a divinely unfortunate
time.
It is, however, impossible to find a person who can match him in his
ideology.
Had Gandhi been alive today, he would have been happy to see the technological
breakthroughs the man has made to save humanity. He would have, however,
worked more towards changing the mindset of people.
Today's generation is connected to the entire world. But I am not sure
whether they identify with Gandhi. Whether people follow his teachings
is a different thing, but his ideology will remain relevant for generations
to come.
-As told to Sunit Bezbaroowa
Sanjoy Hazarika is a research professor at the Centre For Policy
Research, New Delhi. A former correspondent for The New York Times,
he is the author of various books such as Strangers of the Mist,
Rites of Passage and Bhopal, the Lessons of a Tragedy.
