Sulabh Swachh Bharat - VOL: 2 | ISSUE 42 by Sulabh International Social Service Organisation

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A True Gandhian

Women Behind Mahatma

Mahatma Outside India

Tale Of Lessons

She was his companion, his wife, his caretaker and his representative too

People from all over the world still remember Gandhi as an epitome of peace

An unarmed soldier, a fearless warrior, the man who believed in Ahimsa

Dr Pathak remains the lone warrior combating the scourge of manual scavenging

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Vol - 2 | Issue - 42 | Oct 01 - 07, 2018 | Price ` 5/-

Mahatma Gandhi

Lion Wrapped In A Simple Loin Cloth

Cover Story Quick Glance

With the birth of Bapu, the destiny of India’s independence was written

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”

He was into the battle with a proven weapons- truth and non violence

his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices.

Mahatma Gandhi’s strong determination brought independence to India

EARLY LIFE Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar; his deeply religious mother was a devoted practitioner of Vaishnavism, influenced by Jainism, an ascetic religion governed by tenets of self-discipline and nonviolence. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court(for barristers and judges). Upon returning to India in mid1891, he set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm that sent him to its office in South Africa. Along with his wife, Kasturbai, and their children, Gandhi remained in South Africa for nearly 20 years.

Urooj Fatima

he man who is hailed no short of a god in India, the father of the nation, the person who played a pivotal role in our independence, the creator of the idea of non-violence and so many more accolades that speak of character at every turn. Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the greatsouled one.” He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during

Did You Know? In the famous Salt March of AprilMay 1930, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea. The march resulted

Gandhi’s Trail

Justice CN Broomfield During Gandhi’s Trial

uring the Non-Cooperation movement, thousands of Indians were put in jail. Gandhiji himself was arrested in March 1922 and charged with sedition. The judge who presided over his trial, Justice CN Broomfield, made a remarkable speech while pronouncing his sentence. “It would be impossible to ignore the fact,” remarked the judge, “that you are in a different category from any person I have ever tried or am likely to try. It would be impossible to ignore the fact that, in the eyes of millions of your

countrymen, you are a great patriot and a leader. Even those who differ from you in politics look upon as a man of high ideals and of even saintly life”. Since Gandhiji had violated the law it was obligatory for the bench to sentence him to six years imprisonment, but, said judge Broomfield, “If the course of events in India should make it possible for the government to reduce the period and release you, no one will be better pleased than I”.

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in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself. DISCRIMINATION Gandhi was appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian immigrant in South Africa. When a European magistrate in Durban asked him to take off his turban, he refused and left the courtroom. On a train voyage to Pretoria, he was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment and beaten up by a white stagecoach driver after refusing to give up his seat for a European passenger. That train journey served as a turning point for Gandhi, and he soon began developing and teaching the concept of satyagraha (“truth and firmness”), or passive resistance, as a way of noncooperation with authorities.

PASSIVE RESISTANCE In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed an ordinance regarding the registration of its Indian population, Gandhi led a campaign of civil disobedience that would last for the next eight years. During its final phase in 1913, hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including women, went to jail, and thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. Finally, under pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts, which included important concessions such as the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of the existing poll

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Steve Jobs’s Fascination For Gandhi

here were a few people Steve Jobs held as a hero. But the one person that through his entire life he held most dearly was Mohandas Gandhi. In 1999 Time Magazine asked Steve his choice for the person of the century, he replied: “Mohandas Gandhi is my choice for the Person of the Century because he showed us the way out of the destructive side of our human nature. Gandhi demonstrated that we can force change and justice through moral acts of aggression instead of physical acts of aggression. Never has our species needed this wisdom more.” Steve changed his style of glasses during the very agonizing period he experienced after being fired by the board of Apple. He

tax for Indians. In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa to return to India. He supported the British war effort in World War I but remained critical of colonial authorities for measures he felt were unjust. In 1919, Gandhi launched an organised campaign of passive

“We can no more gain God’s blessing with an unclean body than with an unclean mind. A clean body cannot reside in an unclean city.”

purchased a pair of circular, wirerim glasses to match the picture of Gandhi he had since his early 20s. While he was working at Atari, Steve asked Nolan Bushnell to fund a trip to India for him. The trip reinforces his love of Gandhi. On returning, Steve announced that: “There is no one that embodies better what I want to become, other than Gandhi, he changed the world”. Steve always kept a picture of Gandhi and perhaps history will remember him much like his hero. “Think different celebrates the soul of Apple brand that creative people with passion can change the world for better.”- Steve Jobs.

resistance in response to Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Act, which gave colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress subversive activities. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by Britishled soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence. LEADER OF A MOVEMENT As part of his nonviolent noncooperation campaign for home rule, Gandhi stressed the importance of economic independence for India. He

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revolutions

Champaran Movement And Salt March he, or anyone after him, was arrested. This way, the struggle would go on, with or without him. On April 18, 1917, when Gandhi appeared in Motihari Court and was accompanied by nearly 2000 local people. The then Lieutenant Governor of Bihar ordered the withdrawal of case against Gandhi, and the Collector wrote to Gandhi saying he was free to conduct the inquiry. The struggle went on, the civil disobedience continued. The protests and hunger strikes ultimately ended with the abolishing of the cultivation of indigo, or as it was known then, the ‘tinkathia’ system. This small step in the form of passive protest was a giant leap forward in the history of freedom struggle and heralded the advent of the Gandhian era.

Salt March for freedom

Champaran Movement

hamparan Satyagraha was Mahatma Gandhi’s first experiment of Satyagraha. It was undertaken in the erstwhile undivided Champaran district in northern Bihar in April 1917. Under the British rule, many farmers in the Champaran district of Bihar were forced to grow indigo in their lands, much to their dismay. To fight this, a money lender named Raj Kumar Shukla reached out to Gandhi and requested him to come and help them. As Gandhi wrote in his autobiography, he did not even know of Champaran before this. Nonetheless, he came down to this district on April 10 of 1917 with a band of lawyers, including Dr Rajendra Prasad, to fight it out with the British. Preparations began. Gandhi and his lawyers travelled across the district to different villages, meeting farmers and taking note of their sufferings and complaints against the forced indigo cultivation. The struggle against forced indigo cultivation continued. Now, however, the possibility of Gandhi’s arrest was more imminent. But he put together a plan, a chain of people who would take over the work if

particularly advocated the manufacture of khaddar, or homespun cloth, in order to replace imported textiles from Britain. Gandhi’s eloquence and embrace of an ascetic lifestyle based on prayer, fasting and meditation earned him the reverence of his followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the greatsouled one”). Invested with all the authority of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Gandhi turned

the independence movement into a massive organisation, leading boycotts of British manufacturers and institutions representing British influence in India, including legislatures and schools. After sporadic violence broke out, Gandhi announced the end of the resistance movement, to the dismay of his followers. British authorities arrested Gandhi in March 1922 and tried him for sedition; he was sentenced to six years

nable to ignore Gandhi’s work, the British planned a conference in London to discuss India’s future. They excluded all Indians from the talks. Gandhi was furious and started campaigning against Britain’s Salt Laws which outlawed Indians from collecting or selling salt and forced them to pay for heavily taxed British salt. He led thousands on a ‘March to the Sea’ where the protesters boiled up salt water to make illegal salt – a symbolic act of defiance against British rule. He was arrested and the campaign escalated, with thousands refusing to pay their taxes and rents. The British gave in and Gandhi attended the conference.

in prison but was released in 1924 after undergoing an operation for appendicitis. He refrained from active participation in politics for the next several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government’s tax on salt, which greatly affected India’s poorest citizens. A DIVIDED MOVEMENT In 1931, after British authorities made some concessions, Gandhi again called

“Education should be so revolutionised as to answer the wants of the poorest villager, instead of answering those of an imperial exploiter”

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Son of God

For The Plight Of Untouchables “For reforms of Hinduism and for its real protection, removal of untouchability is the greatest thing... Removal of untouchability is...a spiritual process”

“I

do not want to be reborn. But if I have to be reborn, I should be born an untouchable, so that I share their sorrows, sufferings and affront levelled at them, in order that I may endeavour to free myself and them from the miserable conditions.” That was what Mahatma Gandhi said as back as April 1921. The statement speaks volumes on what he thought about untouchables. In fact, he sparingly used the words “untouchables” but named them as “Harijans”, meaning they are the people of Hari, the Hindu God. Mahatma Gandhi did encourage the untouchables to enter the Hindu temples and many a time facilitated their entry by fighting with hardcore upper cast fanatics. He also said “Swaraj is a meaningless term, if we desire to keep a fifth of Indians under subjugation and deliberately deny them the fruits of national culture” He observed numerous fasts and satyagraha in order to secure rights

for Harijans. It was his efforts that the greatest Dalit leader Dr BR Ambedkar joined Congress in spite of having differences with its leaders. There are numerous incidents where Gandhiji strongly opposed untouchability. He used to perform all those tasks which were considered taboo for touchables. E.g. he used to clean the toilets of Ashram and made his followers including his wife Kasturba also to do the same. On September 20, 1932, Mahatma Gandhi, who was in Yerwada Jail, went on a fast as a protest against the segregation of the so-called “untouchables”. A new organisation, ‘Harijan Sevak Sangh’, was founded to combat untouchability. A new weekly paper, the Harijan, was started. We can safely conclude that Mahatma Gandhi did take as much interest in removing untouchability from Indian society as much as he worked for gaining independence for India.

off the resistance movement and agreed to represent the Congress Party at the Round Table Conference in London. Meanwhile, some of his party colleagues–particularly Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a leading voice for India’s Muslim minority–grew frustrated with Gandhi’s methods, and what they saw as a lack of concrete gains. Arrested upon his return by a newly aggressive colonial government, Gandhi began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment of India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God”.

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The fasting caused an uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindu community and the government. In 1934, Gandhi announced his retirement from politics, as well as his resignation from the Congress Party, in order to concentrate his efforts on working within rural communities. Drawn back into the political fray by the outbreak of World War II, Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in return for Indian cooperation with the war effort. Instead, British forces imprisoned the entire Congress

Extracts From Letters ...I think we are committing a great sin in treating

a whole class of people as untouchables and it is owing to the existence of this class that we have still some revolting practices among us. Not to eat in company with a particular person and not to touch him are two very different things. No one is an untouchable now. If we don’t mind contact with a Christian or a Muslim, why should we mind it with one belonging to our own religion? No defence of untouchability is possible now, either from the point of view of justice or that of practical common sense. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XIII, p. 120, 26-7-1915 It has been a passion of my life to serve the untouchables because I have felt that I could not remain a Hindu if it was true that untouchability was a part of Hinduism. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XIX p. 289, 29-1-1921 The crime against the untouchables I feel, the exploitation of the dumb millions I feel, but I realise still more clearly our duty to the lower animal world. When Buddha carried that lamb on his back and chastised the Brahmins, he showed the highest measure of love. The worship of the cow in Hinduism typifies that love. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XIX, p. 395, 2-3-1921

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Attention-Grabbing… “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem”

l Gandhi did not celebrate the moment of Independence. He wasn’t even in Delhi. He didn’t hear Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, nor did he celebrate the Independence; rather he went on to fast in Calcutta to stop the intense rioting in the Eastern-Western Bengal. l Mahatma Gandhi walked around 18 km every day, for 40 years! l Gandhi’s job in South Africa was amongst the well-paid jobs. Gandhi, as a lawyer to Dada Abdulla & Co. in Natal, South Africa, was paid 15,000 dollars every year at the time. If adjusted to inflation today, that value would be Rs. 12,13,960 per annum which would put him in the top 5% richest Indians, but he gave that up to return to India and work as a ‘satyagrahi’. l Gandhi actually owned a couple of football clubs in South Africa. In South Africa, seeing the racial discrimination against Indians, Gandhi started two football clubs to propagate his ideology. Gandhi helped establish 3 football clubs in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg all of which were given the same name: Passive Resisters Soccer Club. l The first Indian to have been accorded the “TIME Person Of The Year” title. Gandhi as ‘Man of the Year 1930’ on TIME Cover In 1930, Mohandas Gandhi was named the Man of the Year by TIME Magazine. Now this coveted title is popularly known as the “TIME Person Of The Year”. TIME Magazine said “Mahatma Gandhi symbolizes the ability of individuals to resist authority in order to secure civil rights and personal liberties.” Gandhi was also the runner-up for the title of the TIME’s Man of the Century; the title going to none other than Albert Einstein. l A day before he died, Mahatma Gandhi seriously gave a thought to dissolve the Indian National Congress. Before Independence, the Indian National Congress

was a non-political organisation involved in India’s fight for independence. After the independence, it was decided that the Indian National Congress would be converted into a political party. This obviously irked Gandhi and he toyed with the idea of dissolving the organisation. l Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize five times. The committee till date regrets not awarding Gandhi with the Nobel Prize. Mahatma Gandhi was considered for the coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1947, but he never received the award. He was also nominated in 1948 but that January he passed away, and nobody was conferred with the award that year as ‘there was no suitable candidate’. The Nobel committee in 2006 expressed regrets that they could never award Gandhi with the prize. l Most photographed man of the time. Though Gandhi did not like being photographed, he was perhaps the most photographed man of the time. l Gandhi served in the army during the Boer war – he crusaded against violence since the time he realised the horrors of war. l Mahatma Gandhi spoke English with an Irish accent, for one of his first teachers was an Irishman. l There are 53 major roads (excluding the smaller ones) in India, and 48 roads outside India that are named after him. l The funeral procession of Gandhi was eight kilometers long. Gandhi used to say, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. He certainly was the change he wished to see in the world; but the question is are you & I being the change we wish to see in this world?

leadership, bringing Anglo-Indian relations to a new low point. PARTITION & DEATH OF GANDHI After the Labour Party took power in Britain in 1947, negotiations over Indian home rule began between the British, the Congress Party and the Muslim League (led by Jinnah). Later that year, Britain granted India its independence but split the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid the massive riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together, and undertook a hunger strike until riots in Calcutta ceased. In January 1948, Gandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi. On January 30, 12 days after that fast ended, Gandhi was on his way to an evening prayer meeting in Delhi when he was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, a fanatic enraged by Mahatma’s efforts to negotiate with Jinnah and other Muslims. The next day, roughly 1 million people followed the procession as Gandhi’s body was carried in state through the streets of the city and cremated on the banks of the holy Yamuna River. PRINCIPLES He followed the principles of nonviolence, truth and peace throughout his life. He guided his fellow citizens to struggle for freedom, not by using weapons, but by following ahimsa (non-violence), peace (Shanti) and

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Campaigns And Ideologies His views are still motivating us in almost every aspect of life, he was not a philospher but his views on life, state or spirituality are extraordinary For democracy

My notion for democracy is that under it, the weakest should have the same opportunity as the strongest. This can never happen except through non-violence.

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love For love

We become what we think (Aapki soch apka mukaddar tay karti hai) For spirituality

For violence

God has no religion

For untouchability

My fight against untouchability is a fight against the impure in humanity For happiness

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you

He Fought Many Campaigns 1917: Champaran Movement - Against oppressive plantation systems

1917: Kheda Satyagraha - Against remittance of crop revenue

1918: Ahmedabad Mill Strike - Against cotton mill 1919: Khilafat Movement 1920: Non Co-operation Movement 1930: Civil Disobedience Movement 1 1932: Civil Disobedience Movement 2 1942: - Quit India Movement

For enemy

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection

For life

owners

do are in harmony

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent For humanity

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty

truth (Satya). He proved that Ahimsa (non-violence) is more powerful than the sword. He adopted the principles of satyagraha in the Indian Independence movements. GANDHIAN ERA He remained the most influential leader of India’s freedom movement during the period from 1919 to 1948 and thus the period is called the ‘Gandhian Era’in Indian history. Mahatma Gandhi was both a saint and a practical leader of his compatriots. He was a simple, pure, unselfish and religious person. He did most of his personal jobs on his own. He fought for the freedom of India through non-violent and peaceful methods. He tried hard to raise the distressed sections of the society. He fought against illiteracy. He dreamt of providing mass employment through Charka and Khaddar. He always felt for the poor and untouchables. He wanted to abolish untouchability from Indian society. The life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi were so glorious that people around the world still pay homage to him. We will always remember him in our hearts.

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

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a true gandhian

In The Footsteps Of Gandhi Dr Bindeshwar Pathak remains the lone warrior combating the scourge of manual scavenging

SSB BUREAU

here have been many admirers of Mahatma Gandhi, and many more interpreters of his ideas. But very few dared to implement any of Gandhi’s ideas especially the basic one about sanitation. One of the radical moves which Gandhi undertook when he was in South Africa was to take up cleaning the latrines. He realised that you cannot preach until you practice it yourself. He practised what he preached. As a matter of fact, this is what had Gandhi stand apart from all the social reformers and political leaders. Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh Sanitation & Social Service Reforms, is one of the rare people who had literally followed in Gandhian footsteps. It is more than a coincidence that Dr Pathak set upon his work with manual scavengers and then moved on to create an appropriate sanitation mechanism through his two-pit toilet in the Gandhi centenary year of 1969 and he has steadfastly kept at it for halfa-century. As a young educated man who belonged to the traditional upper caste (Brahmin) of Hindu society, Dr Pathak plunged into radical social action by physically carrying the night soil. It was the purest Gandhian act. No one of the scores and hundreds of Gandhians did that. Somewhere, Dr Pathank broke the lip-service that the whole country was paying to the Father of the Nation for decades after Independence and took a major practical step. It would have been easier for Dr Pathak to have engaged in manual scavenging for some time and moved on. But he did not. He thought of the problem, and he looked for a

solution and found one as well. He was determined to end the practice of manual scavenging. That is why, he developed the two-pit toilet system, and he set up an organisation

to build toilets to end the scourge of open defecation, while working on the issue of manual scavenging. Open defecation could only be ended through the building of toilets

Dr Pathak makes no secret of his Gandhian inspiration and his commitment to fulfill Gandhi’s social goal of removing stigma of untouchability attached to the lives of manual scavengers

because in most places it was the non-availability of toilets that led to open defecation. And he set a shining example of what a non-governmental organisation (NGO) could do to address a major social problem in the country. Again, he proved to be a pioneer in the field because there are thousands of NGOs in the country doing valuable work in various fields, none of them had paid attention to the one social problem that was staring everyone in the face. It is also interesting that no other NGO had joined Sulabh International, which has been set up for the purpose, in the important task of building toilets or providing public toilet facilities. It is a work that is being pursued in many developing countries of the world with the help of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and many other European and American governmental and non-governmental aid organisations. Sulabh International remains the lone organisation working in the field. Government programmes for building toilets began under the UPA2 and it has been transformed into the Swachh Bharat Movement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Dr Pathak and Sulabh International have been at it for decades now. Dr Pathak makes no secret of his Gandhian inspiration and his commitment to fulfill Gandhi’s social goal of removing the stigma of untouchability attached to the lives of manual scavengers. Gandhi was quite clear that political freedom had no meaning until it is followed by freedom from exploitation at

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Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

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viewpoint

‘Gandhiji’: Idol Of My Life

Gandhiji’s unique stress on sanitation was not simply due to his personal passion for cleanliness, but also driven by a larger vision that he had for India by- Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

ahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of truth, nonviolence, compassion towards the poor and downtrodden, honesty, integrity, ethics and morality, concern for the untouchables, keeping the environment clean, his dream to restore human rights and dignity to untouchables, and to bring them into the mainstream of society have influenced my life and have led to the success of the Foundation. Mahatma Gandhi was a man of honesty, integrity, ethics and morality. I have also tried to follow these concepts of Mahatma Gandhi and even today the functioning of the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation is totally transparent, based on honesty and integrity. We all know how passionate was Mahatma Gandhiji about cleanliness. Throughout his life, he set a personal example of cleanliness and was never tired of writing articles on sanitation and cleanliness. From the very beginning of his public career in South Africa, he gave top importance to sanitation, especially safe and hygienic disposal of human waste. In his sprawling Phoenix Ashram in Durban, he and other inmates used trench latrine and as head of the ashram, he was very particular that everybody should clean his own toilet. In 1901, when Gandhiji came to India from South Africa to attend the Indian National Congress annual conference in Calcutta, he advised the Congress volunteers to sweep the venue and advised the delegates to clean their own toilets, laying the emphasis that scavengers should not be engaged for such job. As nobody agreed to his suggestion, the Mahatma himself took the broom, shovel and trowel in his

hands and started cleaning the venue and the makeshift toilets. As Gandhiji set the personal example, the volunteers followed him. Gandhiji finally came to India from South Africa in 1915 and settled in Seva Gram in his home state of Gujarat. As head of this ashram, Gandhiji made it compulsory for every inmate to clean the toilets by turn, precluding the need for engaging outsiders for cleaning the toilets. Gandhiji suggested to his followers and other Indians to use trench latrines as far as possible and use the fertilizer formed from decomposed human excreta. Gandhiji also wanted that bucket toilets (which had to be cleaned by the untouchables) should be converted into sanitary toilets, thus relieving the untouchables from this demeaning practice, as he wanted to bring them in the social mainstream on a par with others. Gandhiji’s unique stress on sanitation was not simply due to his personal passion for cleanliness, but also driven by a larger vision that he had for India. As a son of the soil, he was familiar with and pained by the terribly unhygienic conditions under which most Indians, especially villagers, lived. By prioritizing sanitation above all else, Gandhiji was trying to teach his countrymen that civilization and good life begin with cleanliness and hygiene. As a Gandhian who had lived with the Mahatma in his Seva Gram Ashram has recorded, “One of my earliest memories of Bapu is seeing him trudge along the tracks sweeping up the excrement that the villagers had left around like dogs, even by the well.” In these and other ways, Gandhiji endeavoured to make the issue of sanitation and sanitation workers a people’s movement. His

concern for making India clean was so impassioned that he once declared, “I want clean India first and independence later.” After Mahatma Gandhiji, I have been shouldering the mantle of environmental and social cleanliness through founding and leading the Sulabh movement for sanitation and social reform. Sulabh has for the last five decades been striving relentlessly to fulfil the Gandhian dream of a clean India. Sulabh has made outstanding contribution in this area by giving many sanitation technology breakthroughs, including the system of two-pit-pour-flush-onsite-compost-toilet technology that I invented and innovated in 1968-69 and which has now been globally and nationally accepted as the most appropriate and affordable toilet technology to meet the needs of millions of toilet less people in India and all over the world. Since its inception in 1970, Sulabh has built over 1.5 million household toilets and has the distinction of devising an effective system of 9000 public toilet complexes spread across cities and towns of India. The network of our toilet system, being used by more than 20 million Indians everyday, has shown the way of making India open-defecation-free and environmentally clean. The Gandhian philosophy has a tremendous impact on the Sulabh Movement and we have tried to shape our organisation in such a way that it fulfils the aspirations and dreams of Mahatma Gandhi.

the social and economic level. Dr Pathak’s mission takes the Gandhian revolution to outs logical goal by ending manual scavenging and creating open defecation free villages. Dr Pathak had adopted two enlightened solutions to open defecation and to the issue of manual scavenging. To end open defecation, he set out on building toilets, and in cities and towns he created public toilets and evolved the pay-anduse system, by making people pay a nominal amount for using the facility. It is a sound principle of market economics that there are no free lunches. In a vast country like India, there has to be a sustainable system of maintaining a civic facility, and it is only possible when people pay for the facility. The more radical act of Dr Pathak has been the conversion of former manual scavengers into high caste Brahmins. Converting from one caste to another in a rigidly hierarchical Hindu social system is well-nigh impossible, and this is especially so when the change is from a lower rung in the caste structure to the higher one. But this is precisely what Dr Pathak did in the face of an indifferent and unchanging Hindu society. Dr Pathak had realised that it would not be sufficient to end manual scavenging because the former manual scavengers would still carry the stigma. The only way to wipe off the stigma is to make them into Brahmins. It is a bold social remedy which had been rarely tried. It is revolutionary idealism at its best. Dr Pathak remains the torch-bearer of the Gandhian legacy in its true and idealistic sense.

Tagore on Mahatma

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Who Is Mahatma? This is a speech by Guru Rabindranath Tagore wherein he explains the meaning of ‘living a life of sacrifice’ and how human beings can reach immortality

wished, when I came to Ahmedabad to visit this Ashram once more, in which I spent a happy time with you a little over two years ago when Mahatmaji was with you. I know how very deeply you are all feeling his absence from your midst and how you would like me to speak to you before I leave. I will try to do so very briefly. You are all living in this Ashram a life of self-sacrifice. I do hope that you will be able to realise the significance of that discipline which you are undergoing. All training, which takes the form of self-renunciation, has its positive aspect. It is nothing negative. Only, unfortunately, human beings make the mistake and get infatuated with the idea of suffering for its own sake and as an end in itself. That idea is not true. What, then, is the true meaning of sacrifice? It means that for human beings, the life of the body is not the best life, but the life of the soul. The material world which we share with the animals, is not the only world. We have higher needs, because we have a deeper and higher life is hidden within us. That hidden life is immortal. Our physical life has its immortality. Only those human beings, who can get rid of the sheath of self, can reach that immortality. They must lose their separate self in order to realize the infinite. They must become ‘Dwija’ twice-born; born of the spirit; born into the light. They who realise the Infinite in themselves become immortal. They realise the life that knows no loss; and it is the privilege of human beings to be born again into the sphere of immortality. Just as the chick breaks through the shell and comes out into the light, so men must break through the shell of self and come out into the world of

spiritual freedom. Since men have always felt dim that the material world is not final, therefore, they have sought all kinds of discipline in order to rid themselves of its thraldom and bondage. All the different religions of the world have this one meaning. They express this one aspiration. They point the way to be born again, even through the portals of death into the world of spirit, the sphere of immortality. All forms of self-sacrifice, if they

are true, must have this ultimate goal, the goal of freedom from the self into the realm of the unselfish. We must all of us have our tapasya, if we would truly get rid of self. That is the meaning of the prayer of our sages: Lead me out of the world of unreality into the kingdom of the truth. Lead me out of the world of darkness into the light. Lead me out of the world of death

You are all living in this Ashram a life of self-sacrifice. I hope that you will be able to realise the significance of that discipline

to immortality. This prayer, which we all must utter, must be supported by the life of self-sacrifice. You are in this Ashram, going through that discipline of sacrifice. You are striving through tapasya to reach that Amrita-Loka that kingdom of immortality. I am sure, you all feel that the spirit of Mahatmaji is working among you. What is the true meaning of the great word Mahatma? It implies the emancipated soul that realises itself in all souls. It means the life that is no longer confined within itself, but finds its larger soul of Atman, of Spirit. Then in such realisation, it becomes Mahatma. For it includes all spirits in itself. That spirit is working among you, that Great Spirit. You have to realise that it is not merely deprivation of

Tagore on Mahatma

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

From Mahatma Gandhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pen Wardha 934 er 15, 1 Novemb re ath Tago n a r d in To Rab

med being for is h ic h V, tion w the URUDE s Associa ie r t s u will need d DEAR G s n s I e r e g g n la o its l engage India Vil ational C il N w n t a ia h d t The Allatters f the In r even arious m uspices o v a e e h t h t gether o r o in t e s t r e e e und is m v ert ad ciation hem to ce of exp the Asso trouble t e o is t v d d e a assistan d rely to sess ot inten n but me they pos n. It is n io h t io t ic ia n h c e t o w t s s a n, tters in f the A m in ma sanitatio e embers o , h s m t e e o lu t h t a e v e b g , food e is mad developin l analysis referenc f a r o e ic s v d e m e o n e h h wh ved met e.g., in c anure, s, impro wledge, e o r n u k t l c ste as m ia a fa u w n e a spec g m la illage l of vil of tion of v , disposa er), care n h t io o t a d r n distribu e a , co-op (adult ere. dustries ucation d e , t r ention h o m village in p s o t n a s r u t e dvisers numero of villag g such a ings too n h o t methods m r a e h r t a ch e yo e to app I approa y m and man a ll , s a n t r r n u u t fa in n? Na llow yo od of ssociatio please a A u s o y ie l the meth r t il s d u n W d a n n I e io t Villag ssocia ll-India t of the A c je b o of the A e hat th l. ely, e belief t rs sincer approva u r o u Y o y e you in th HI ask hav . GA ND h to its t c K a . o r M p p a

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To Rabind ranath Ta On the wa gore y to Februar y Calcutta 19, 1940 DEAR GU RUDEV, The touch ing note th at you put parted has into my ha gone straig nds as we h t in to my heart. Bharati is Of course a national Visvainstitution internatio . It is undo nal. You m u b te d ly also ay depend the commo upon my d n endeavo o in g all I can in ur to assure you to kee its perman p your pro e nce. I look mise to sle to hour durin ep religiou sly for abo g the day. ut an Though I have alwa ys regarde second hom d Santinik e, this visit etan as my has brough ever before t m e nearer to it . than With revere nce and lo ve, Yours M. K . GA NDHI

comfort that has any value. There is no true value in sacrifice, in tapasya except the spiritual value. For it is said in the Upanishad: This is the divinity of universal activity who is the great soul, who constantly dwells in the hearts of all people. They who know him with the heart and with the mind, which is sure in its perception, become immortal. The meaning is this. The great universal spirit, the Mahatma, whose activities are for the world, is not for any confinement, or limitation, but for the universe. Therefore, this Deva himself is called Vishvakarma. He is the Infinite Soul, whose activities are for the whole. He dwells in the hearts of all. The Infinite Soul, whose activities are boundless and whose dwelling place is in the hearts of all human beings, he is the Mahatma.

The great universal spirit, the Mahatma, whose activties are for the world , is not for any confinement, or limitation, but for the universe

The Upanishad text goes on to say: He dwells in the hearts of all men. The meaning is that they who know him with heart and mind shall attain immortality. To know him with the heart and mind is to be Vishvakarma, to dedicate oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities to the service of the Universal Man; to be one with Mahatma, the Great Soul, to realise oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spiritual unity with all beings. Our discipline of self-sacrifice is to attain this goal, it is to be emancipated from the confined life of self and to attain the true freedom of the spiritual life. It is for this great end that men are required to live the life of sacrifice. In our scriptures, it has been wonderfully said that Brahma began this world with sacrifice. Thus, he created the universe. Therefore, self-sacrifice in this higher sense, is creative. When men live this life of self-sacrifice, they come thereby into touch with the Infinite whose great sacrifice is this world. When we have this spirit within, we are one with the Vishvakarma, we are united with the Mahatma; we become his partners, his fellow-workers, in the boundless work of creation.

Kasturba Gandhi

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

The Woman Behind The Mahatma She was his companion, his wife, his caretaker and later in life his representative too n Shail Raghuvanshi

ahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation needs no introduction. Everyone knows, that he worked hard to transform himself from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to the Mahatma. He fought hard to help India and its citizens to get their deserved freedom is also well known. Though, how much of it is appreciated today I am not very sure. What few know or even bother to remember is the person behind the Mahatma’s success. Yes, indeed. I am referring to Kasturba Gandhi, the simple, unassuming wife of the Mahatma. Born Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia in Porbandar, she became Kasturba after marrying Gandhiji. She bore him four sons - Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas. History offers proof of the sacrifices that this woman made to enable the Mahatma to work towards procuring freedom for India. Adjusting to a new way of life, giving up the little pleasures that every married woman desires, letting go of dreams that any girl has of wedded life - this and a lot more did Kasturba do, just to let her husband lay a foundation for the task that lay ahead of him. Kasturba let the revolution that ushered in independence usurp her dreams and desires. Not an easy thing to do. Understanding the power of sacrifice for a noble cause is something that requires a lot of self-introspection which most people do not have. But do we remember Kasturba for all that she did? In many ways, Kasturba’s relationship with Gandhiji was like any other wife in most Indian homes. Most of the time, the man-woman equation is unequal, particularly so for Kasturba and Gandhiji as they were married in an age when equality of rights in an Indian marriage was something unheard of. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi, says in his book, Kasturba: A Life, “The story of my grandmother’s life is simply this: while Mohandas experimented with truth, Kasturba experienced it.” Of course, this certainly does not belittle all that Gandhiji did for us. Even today, I credit my freedom to him and will always

do. I am only trying to see another aspect into the Gandhiji saga. Kasturba is said to have always been caring and ever helpful. More than anything else, she was always patient with her husband. Having been forced to do without a lot of amenities, she did not permit her husband’s power with the masses to go to her head. Again, something very difficult to do, as pride in a husband’s power and fame is very normal for any woman. Poverty and celibacy were ways of life she willed herself to accept tough decisions to make. So many times, in our hurry to acquire and maintain a

career, so many times in our obsession to live the lives of liberated women, we tend to disregard qualities that define a woman. Yes! They are love and sacrifice. I know! I know! You might rightfully ask me as to why sacrifices need to be made by women alone. Men can make them too! True! But, we cannot generalize in today’s world. Not all men are selfish. So many men make sacrifices we never get to hear about. Many men today are volunteering to care and help around in the house. But it is a fact that, even today, women are expected to be loving, to run the household, work outside,

She supported him in his quest for social, economic and political equality for Indians in India and before that in South Africa

take care of the needs of their families and still retain their ‘femininity.’ It is a man’s world still. It is an unfair society, agreed, but becoming bitter about it will definitely get us nowhere. Nor will getting lost in the tugof-war of egos get us anywhere! Again, you might question the oft-repeated statement, “Behind every successful man there is a woman...” “Why be the woman behind the successful man?” you may ask. “Why not be the successful woman before the man instead?” It certainly is a question for our times, considering the current environment where women contribute significantly in almost every field that was earlier considered to be a male domain. But what most women tend to conveniently forget now-a-days is that success need not be measured by a career and a ‘high funda’ lifestyle. No success is a victory if it forces you to compromise on all those values you hold dear, like relationships and the joys of a family. At the far end of your life, when you have become old and need to depend on others for physical and emotional requirements, will our families and friends be there for us? Were WE there when they needed us the most? Did we take time out (from our busy and successful lives) to share their joys and woes? Or did we say, “Not now, later. Can’t you see I am busy?” Sadly, we were busy getting further and further away from the love that we need the most. Women like Kasturba Gandhi often go unnoticed because of their beautiful humility. Arun Gandhi says, “Kasturba Gandhi spent virtually her entire life with the daily all-encompassing reality of Mahatma Gandhi’s search for Truth.” Women like these are the ones who make a house a home. Housewives by choice or by circumstance, they live their lives to the fullest, forsaking those little desires they once thought important. They are successful women in their own right, just as much as those working women who believe in themselves and in the right to be happy without trampling on the feelings of their loved ones. Kasturba died on February 22, 1944. As we remember Mahatma Gandhi, the successful man, let us salute Kasturba - the successful woman behind the successful man! (The author is a freelance journalist, poet, editor and a blogger)

Khadi

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

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Spinning Wheel

‘Khadi Stands For Simplicity, Not Shoddiness’

“I believe that where there is pure and active love for the poor there is God also. I see God in every thread that I draw on the spinning wheel” SSB BUREAU

andhi firmly believed that the essence of swadeshi consisted in producing enough cloth to wrap each Indian, which would be possible through spinning and weaving by the masses. The people needed to pledge themselves to the use of swadeshi cloth only. He added that the use of Khadi cloth for covering the body has greater implications. In his own words, “Khadi must be taken with all its implications. It means a wholesale Swadeshi mentality, a determination to find all the necessaries of life in India and that too through the labour and intellect of the villagers. That means a reversal of the existing process. That is to say that, instead of half a dozen cities of India and Great Britain living on the exploitation and the ruin of the 7,00,000 villages of India, the latter will be largely self-contained, and will voluntarily serve the cities of India and even the outside world in so far as it benefits both the parties”. The potential to produce khadi lying at the fingertips of an individual makes him/her empowered and proud of the identity. For Gandhi, khadi was a means of uniting the Indians, of acquiring economic freedom and equality. More importantly, khadi marked the decentralisation of production and distribution of the “necessaries of life”. “If we feel for the starving masses of India, we must introduce the spinning wheel into their homes. We must, therefore, become experts and in order to make them realise the necessity of it, we must spin daily as a sacrament. If you have understood the secret of the spinning wheel, if you realise that it is a symbol

of love of mankind, you will engage in no other outward activity. If many people do not follow you, you have more leisure for spinning, carding or weaving”. The spinning wheel was a means of the economic upliftment of the poor and the despised on the one hand, while on the other it afforded considerable appeal on moral and spiritual grounds. The towns in the country that had flourished at the expense of the villages now had the opportunity to compensate the villages by buying cloth, which was spun and woven in the villages. This initiative went a long way in knitting economic and sentimental ties between people in the villages and in the towns. The spinning wheel became the centre of rural development. Antimalaria campaigns, improvement in sanitation, settlement of disputes in villages and several other endeavours

for enhancement of the quality of life in villages revolved around, in one way or the other, the spinning wheel. It provided an alternative means of livelihood to the underemployed and the unemployed people. For Gandhi, its adoption by the common people marked the protest against industrialism and materialism. More importantly, the use of khadi reflected the faith and commitment of the masses to the practice of obtaining the necessities of life through the labour and intellect of the villagers. This marked the empowerment of the people in villages by making them self-sufficient and generating the confidence and the potential in them to overthrow their exploitation by the city dwellers. The use of khadi also ushered in the process of decentralisation of production and distribution of the basic necessities of life. Gandhi urged people to promote khadi rigorously.

For Gandhi, khadi was a means of uniting the Indians, of acquiring economic freedom and equality

Gandhi said that other village industries stand apart from khadi primarily because they do not involve voluntary labour in large numbers. These industries may continue as a “handmaid of khadi” but they cannot exist without khadi: It may, however, be added that Gandhi did agree that the village economy could not be complete without the operation of village industries—those of handgrinding, hand-pounding, soapmaking, papermaking, tanning, oil-pressing and others of this kind. What lay at the core of this thought was the urge to make the villages selfsufficient. He added that since it was not easy to close down the established, functioning mills, it was appropriate to register resistance and protest at the time they were being set up. He was deeply convinced about the ability of the village people when he argued that no machinery in the world was a match for the willing hands and feet of the village people and of course the few simple wooden instruments that they make themselves. Gandhi was convinced that agriculture did not need revolutionary changes. The Indian peasant required the introduction of the spinning wheel, not the handloom. This was because the handloom could be introduced in every home unlike the machinery. The restoration of the spinning-wheel would solve the economic problems of India at a stroke. The All-India Village Industries Association (with headquarters at Maganwadi) supported those industries in villages that did not require help from outside the village and could be run with little capital. It was hoped that such industries in the villages would generate employment and purchasing power in the villages. Interestingly, the Association took upon itself the responsibility of training village workers. It published its own periodical, the Gram Udyog Patrika.

World View

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

‘Bapu’: Inspiration Of World Leaders Indians can take great pride in the fact that some of the most well-known personalities of the 20th and 21st centuries cite the Mahatma as their role model

Barack Obama In 2009, when Barack Obama was visiting Wakefield High School in the US, a ninth grader asked the would-be President: “If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who

would it be?” Obama chuckled and answered: “Well, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list. You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine.”

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, great leader of the South African people and another giant of the 20th century anti-colonial struggle, often cited Mahatma Gandhi as one of his

greatest teachers: “Gandhi’s ideas have played a vital role in South Africa’s transformation and with the help of Gandhi’s teaching, apartheid has been overcome.”

World View

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Pearl S. Buck

Al Gore

Noted American writer and novelist, Pearl S Buck, had this to say after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: “He was right, he knew he was right, we all knew he was right. The man who killed him knew he was right. However long the follies of the violent continue, they but prove that Gandhi was right. ‘Resist to the very end’, he said, ‘but without violence’. Of violence the world is sick. Oh, India, dare to be worthy of your Gandhi.”

Former US Vice-President and environmentalist Al Gore acknowledges Gandhi’s influence on him, especially in his fight against global warming: “Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of satyagraha can be translated to mean truth force. It is this truth force which can help us to fight this battle honestly and with people’s participation.”

Rabindranath Tagore

Albert Einstein

Although Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi had some sharp differences, the former was the first notable contemporary to refer to the latter as Mahatma. “Mahatma Gandhi came and stood at the door of India’s destitute millions…who else has so unreservedly accepted the vast masses of the Indian people as his flesh and blood… Truth awakened Truth,” he said.

Albert Einstein and Gandhi were big admirers of each other and exchanged letters frequently. Einstein called Gandhi “a role model for the generations to come” in a letter, writing about him. “I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time,” he said.

George Bernard Shaw

Steve Jobs When Steve Jobs started his second innings at Apple in the year 1997, he stood before a giant portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and said these words before a packed audience: “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers…because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” It is believed that Mahatma Gandhi inspired these words.

And finally, no one of course could say it better than Nobelprize-winning Irish playwright and passionate socialist, George Bernard Shaw: “Impressions of Gandhi? You might well ask for someone’s impression of the Himalayas.”

Cesar Chavez Gandhi had a great effect on Mexican-American labor movement and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez and his advocacy for Latino farm workers. Chavez modeled many of his tactics, like boycotts and huger strikes, on Gandhi’s methods. “Not only did he talk about non-violence, he showed how non-violence works for justice and liberation,” said Chavez.

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Martin Luther King Jr. “Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics,” said Martin Luther King Jr., the beloved civil rights leader in the United States of America, who adopted non-violence as the weapon of choice to help millions of African Americans fight for their rights.

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served Mahatma Gandhi

Justice CS Dharmadhikari

VIEWPOINT

Chairman, Council of Advisors, Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation is a name to reckon with as a truly inspiring speaker, a Gandhian thinker, an Indian independence movement activist, a lawyer, a judge and an author

‘My Life is My Message’ His multifarious and dynamic personality was based on truth and nothing but the truth

Simplicity Helped Healthy Living Man owns that of which he can make legitimate use and which he can assimilate

“

. . . Many households are so packed with all sorts of unnecessary decorations and furniture which one can very well do without, that a simple living man will feel suffocated in those surroundings. They are nothing but means of harbouring dust, bacteria and insects. . . I meant to say is that my desire to be in tune with the infinite has saved me from many complications in life. It led not merely to simplicity of household and dress but all round simplicity in the mode of my life. In a nutshell, and in the language of the subject under discussion, I have gone on creating more and more contact with akash. With the increase in the contact went improvement in health. I had more contentment and piece of mind and the desire for belongings almost disappeared. He who will establish contact with the infinite possesses nothing and yet possesses everything. In the ultimate analysis, man owns that of which he can make legitimate use and which he can assimilate. If everybody followed this rule, there would be room enough for all and there would be neither want nor overcrowding.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

Editor-in-Chief

Kumar Dilip Edited, Printed and Published by: Monika Jain on behalf of Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation, owned by Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation Printed at: The Indian Express Limited A - 8, Sector -7, NOIDA (UP) Published at: RZ - 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam - Dabri Road, New Delhi - 110045 (India) Corporate Office: 819, Wave Silver Tower, Sector - 18, NOIDA (UP) Phone: +91-120-2970819 Email: editor@sulabhswachhbharat.com, ssbweekly@gmail.com

ahatama Gandhi summed up his philosophy of life with the words, “My Life is my Message”. His multifarious and dynamic personality was based on truth and nothing but the truth. Non– violence was another intrinsic element of this philosophy. At the All India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay on 8th August, 1942, that is, on the eve of Quit India Movement, Mahatma Gandhi declared, “I want to live full span of my life and according to me, the full span of life is 125 years. By that time, India will not only be free but the whole world will be free. Today, I do not believe that Englishmen

are free, I do not believe that Americans are free. They are free to do what? To hold other part of humanity in bondage? Are they fighting for their liberty? I am not arrogant. I am not a proud man. I know the distinction between pride, arrogance, insolence and so on. But what I am saying is, I believe, in the voice of God. It is the fundamental truth that I am telling you.” Gandhi was the most normal of men. He was universal, such a man cannot be measured, weighed, or estimated. He is the measure of all things. Gandhi was not a philosopher, nor a politician. He was a humble seeker of truth. Truth unites because it can be only one. You can cut a man’s head, but not his thoughts. Non–

Gandhi’s prayer stands for invoking the inner strength of men for the good of one another, his spinning wheel for dignity of productive labour, and broomstick for abolition of social inequalities based on birth

Oct 01 - 07, 2018 violence is the only other aspect of the sterling coin of truth. Non–violence is love, the very content of life. In this principle of non–violence, Gandhi introduced technique of resistance to evil and untruth. His Satyagraha is inspired by boundless love and compassion. It is opposed to sin, not sinner, the evil, not evil doer. For him truth was God and in that sense he was man of God. Truth is not yours or mine. It is neither Western nor Eastern. Gandhi’s prayer stands for invoking the inner strength of men for the good of one another, his spinning wheel for dignity of productive labour, and broomstick for abolition of social inequalities based on birth. He wanted freedom from rule of merchandise. He wanted rationality in productive system, which should be based on human rationality. He was not an orthodox economist. His plan was peace, security and progress for human race as a whole. He believed that the planning should be based on ‘Man Power’ rather than horse power. These issues are not restricted to India, but are global in nature. These principles are universal. He insisted on individual code of conduct. He introduced an entirely new dimension in technique of social transformation. One cannot comprehend Satyagraha without connecting it with Constructive Work or the Ashram observances. Gandhi, the statesman and the fighter for freedom, could not have been like what he was, had he not been Gandhi, the social reformer, and Gandhi, the saint. It is the quest for truth in all its glory that creates Gandhi, the man. Gandhi never pretended to be consistent with previously held views in his life. He readily abandoned his stands when he felt the need to do so. These “inconsistencies” often infuriated his antagonists, who felt that he was a “slippery” politician. I think his inconsistencies were more a reflection of an ever–growing personality to whom consistency was less important than being true to the inner voice of truth as understood at any given point of time. Gandhi took up the ancient but powerful idea of ahimsa or non –violence and made it familiar throughout the world, particularly in political and economic field. However, non– violence means more than the mere absence of violence. It is something more positive, more meaningful and dynamic and Gandhi combined it with a sense of responsibility for the welfare of people. His great achievement was to demonstrate through his own example that non–violence can be implemented effectively not only in the political

arena, but also in our day–to–day life. His whole life was his experiment with truth. He knew that human dignity cannot be preserved on charity. Mutuality and well–being is the essence of life. It is therefore S+G that is “Science plus Gandhi”, which alone can save the planet earth. Gandhi was an apostle of peace and brotherhood. The modern nuclear weapons, not only pose a grave threat to world peace but will destroy mother earth. Apart from the ecological sustainable model of development preached by Gandhi, decentralistion of socio–economic power based on non– violence, and building up of people’s power, communal harmony based on people’s initiative, rather than the state power is the only alternative. The 20th century was the most violent period in human history. More people have suffered and have been killed by organised violence than any other time before. The wars, the genocides, the weapons of mass destruction have created such an enormous mass misery and agony that it is difficult to find any trace of hope. Therefore, Gandhi’s teachings of non– violence are most relevant today. Now, though late, there is a realization that there is no other alternative. This is the reason why amidst report of increasing teenage violence across the United States, a bill has been introduced in New Jersey Assembly seeking to include Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings of non – violence in the school curriculum. On 12th May, 2000, on Mother’s Day in New York, several thousand mothers resolved and demanded a ban on the manufacture of arms, and its use. Therefore, in my view the teachings of Gandhi are not only relevant but also the only alternative. Some people seem to think that compassion or non-violence is just a passive emotional response, rather than a rational stimulus to action. They forget that Gandhi combined it with a sense of responsibility. He was not a mere onlooker but was an active participant. He first followed and then preached. He was a leader in real sense of the said term. Whenever there was a risk to life he was at the fore front and never had a desire for power or wealth. Sacrifice was key word of his life. He lived a simple need based life because he knew that needs have an end whereas greed is endless. Gandhiji knew that “In times to come people will not judge us by the creed we profess or label we wear or the slogans we shout, but by our work, industry, sacrifice, honesty and purity of character.” He also knew that man who wants freedom has to take tremendous risk. That was essence of his life, that is why he could say that “My Life is My Message”.

OpEd

Keshava Setlur He has done his MBA from the University of Michigan, USA. He is a graphologist.

upfront

Ink Notes

Keshav Setlur analyzes Gandhi’s handwriting and gives a detailed explanation of his personality

ccording to Setlur Gandhi was simple and relentless in his work. Gandhi’s qualities of truth and compassion are also easily seen. Gandhiji’s handwriting highlights two great aspects of his personality-simplicity and relentless determination. Gandhi’s greatness was his simplicity. His handwriting reflects a person of forthright and honest nature. The covering loops in the middle zone show a man of spontaneous and outspoken disposition. The ‘i’ dots that frequently occur as fine dots near the stem signify honesty and patience in his personality. Such was his simplicity that in the word, ‘sympathy’, we find the rounded ‘s’ which literally stands for sympathy. This spontaneity, however, did not suggest lack of caution. The separated’d’ down stroke shows certain deliberateness, which means that he liked to work at a pace which suited his comfort, and his goals. Many of his leading out lines (which follow the baseline, far after the words have ended) emphasise a man of caution. This man, though frail in body, was by no means weak. In fact, the heavy endings in the letters, and strong down strokes in the ‘g’ indicate a person of high determination. The ‘t’ bars, which end heavily while going slightly downward, indicate selfcontrol and a strong will power. This

indicates a person who wielded the power to dominate. It was probably his broad-mindedness, sympathy and benevolence that made him a lovable dominator. Wide spacing between the letters indicates broad-mindedness in his personality. Gandhi thought fast (denoted by the high degree of connection between letters, and the ‘t’ bars of the previous words being used to start the following words and in the right-wardness of some of the ‘g’ ending strokes), which, combined with his deliberateness, indicates a person who was fast and thorough. At the same time, he was never reckless in his actions, as is shown by the upward curving, leading out strokes in the middle-zone letters such as ‘n’. A tendency to be formal is shown in the occasional arcade connections used in words like ‘f’ and, of course, in his signature. Leanness in the upperzone loops indicates a person who was alert and agile in his mind. All the same one does not need to look hard to find the lines crashing into each other repeatedly which indicates a person who seldom learnt from his mistakes! His refined literary and cultural leanings stand in the delta ‘d’s that he do so often used. Also emphasizing this is the frequent usage of the fluid ‘g’. Being unemotional, fair and objective in his thoughts and deeds was obviously not beyond him, which is reflected in the sharp-pointed ‘n’s and angular (albeit wide) ‘m’s. For the most part, he was a person who believed in logic, shown by many words which have a high degree of connectivity. All in all, he was a strong, frank and benevolent person, with enough integrity to stand by his principles.

Photo Feature

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Man of The Millennium Mahatma Gandhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life epitomized truth and ahimsa, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make these virtues ours too!

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Photo Feature

Big events

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

TIMELINE – MAHATMA GANDHI Oct 2, 1869

Transvaal to Carry Fingerprinted Identification

– Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in Gujarat, India

1906 – Gandhi Organises Stretcher-

1876 – Mohandas Gandhi begins

Bearer Corps that Serves During the Zulu Uprising

Sep 11, 1906 –

Primary school in Rajkot

Gandhi Introduces Non-Violent Protest Philosophy of Satyagraha

1881 – Mohandas Gandhi Enters High School in Rajkot

May 1883 –

Mohandas Gandhi Marries Kasturbai Makhanji in an Arranged Child Marriage

1884 – Mohandas Gandhi Enters

Jan 10, 1908 – Gandhi is Arrested for the First Time, for Refusing to Carry an Obligatory ID Card in South Africa May 30, 1910 – Gandhi Establishes

Rebellious Adolescent Phase, Engaging in Activities He Will Soon Reject

the Tolstoy Farm, which Serves as a Base of Operations for His Activities in South Africa

1885 – Mohandas Gandhi’s Father

Nov 6, 1913 -Gandhi Begins “Great

Dies at 63

Sep 4- 1888 – Mohandas Gandhi Travels to London to Train as a Barrister

Jun 12, 1891 – Mohandas Gandhi

Returns to India from London after Passing the Bar

Apr 1893

March” to Gain Indian Rights in South Africa

Jan 10, 1897 – Mohandas Gandhi

is Nearly Lynched by White Settlers in Durban upon Returning from a Brief Trip to Fetch his Family in India

1899 – Gandhi Organizes an Indian

Ambulance Corps of 1100 Men During His Service in the Boer War

Nov 1904 -Gandhi Founds the

Phoenix Settlement 1906 – Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance Requires Asians in

Apr 30, 1936 – Gandhi Relocates Base of Operations to Sevagram, a Small Village Near Wardha in Central India

Mar 10, 1922 – Gandhi is Arrested

by the British Government on Charges of Inciting Violence at Chauri Chaura

Feb 1924 – Gandhi is Released from Prison After Serving Only Two Years of a Six-Year Sentence Following Surgery for Appendicitis Sep 1924 – Gandhi

Begins Twenty-One Day Fast in an Attempt to Reconcile Hindus and Muslims

Experiments with Truth’ is Published

Sabarmati Ashram

Founds the Natal Indian Congress

Feb 1922 – Nationalist Mob Sets Fire to a Police Station in Chauri Chaura Incident, Prompting Mahatma Gandhi to Call Off the Non-Cooperation Movement

Jan 9, 1915 – Gandhi Receives Hero’s Welcome Upon Returning to India from South Africa

May 1893 – Mahatma Gandhi is

Aug 22, 1894 – Mohandas Gandhi

Sep 17, 1934 – Gandhi Announces Retirement from Politics to Focus on Village Economics

Exclusive Authority Over the Indian National Congress

Sep 1925 – Gandhi Founds the All-

Apr 1917 –

Gandhi Goes to Champaran to Investigate Conditions of Local Farmers

India Spinners’ Association

Mar 1919 – British Government

Congress Raises the Tricolor Flag of India

Embarks on the Salt Satyagraha

Apr 6, 1930

– Mahatma Gandhi Arrives at Dandi, Gujarat, Concluding the Salt March

Mar 5, 1931

– Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, Signs the Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Apr 13, 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh

Aug 29, 1931 – Gandhi Sets Sail

Sep 1920 –

The Gandhi Era of the Indian Independence Movement Begins with the Non-

Aug 9- 1942 – Gandhi is Arrested, Along with the Entire Congress Working Committee Aug 15, 1942 – Mahadev Desai,

Dies at Age 74

Passes the Rowlatt Act in Colonial India, Indefinitely Extending the Use of ‘Emergency Measures’

Massacre

Aug 8- 1942 – The All India Congress Committee Launches the Quit India Movement

Dec 31, 1929 – Indian National

Mar 12, 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi

Advocating on Behalf of Farmers in Kheda Subject to Oppressive Taxation During a Famine

Mar 27, 1942 – The Cripps’ Mission

Gandhi’s Personal Secretary, Dies From Heart Failure

Independence of India

Jan 1918 – Gandhi Begins

in Rajkot

Mar 3, 1939 – Gandhi Announces Fast-Unto-Death in the Effort to Form a People’s Council

1927 -Gandhi’s ‘The Story of My

Jan 26, 1930 – Declaration of the

Jun 17, 1917 – Gandhi Establishes

Fast to Protest Separate Elections for Untouchables

Dec 1921 – Gandhi is Given

Jun 1914 – Gandhi Suspends South African Struggle After Winning Passage of the Indian Relief Act

– Mohandas Gandhi Travels to South Africa to Work Under a Year-Long Contract with Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian Firm

ejected from a South African Train, Motivating Him to Fight for Indian Rights in the British Colony

Cooperation Movement

for England to Represent the Indian National Congress at the Second Round Table Conference

Dec 28, 1931 – Gandhi Arrives in Bombay After His Visit to Europe Sep 1932 – Gandhi Begins Six-Day

Feb 22, 1944 – Kasturba Gandhi Mar 23, 1946 – The British

Cabinet Mission Arrives in India

May 5, 1946 to May 12 1946 – The Simla Conference

Aug 16, 1946 – Direct Action Day, Also Known as the “Great Calcutta Killing”

Sep 2, 1946 – Formation of the Interim Government of India

Jun 15, 1947 – United Kingdom Passes the Indian Independence Act 1947 Aug 15, 1947 – India’s Independence

Jan 12, 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi Announces

Fast to End Hindu/Muslim Violence in Delhi

Jan 30, 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi is Assassinated by Nathuram Godse

Landmark

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Milestones of ‘Bapu’s’ Life

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi aka Bapu- the name itself is capable of carrying the whole universe in it. He has a big hand in bringing about India’s independence. We pay tribute to the Indian leader by recalling the biggest milestones in his life. 1893: Train Incident

Everyone remembers the incident when Gandhi was thrown off from a train in South Africa by the racist passengers for travelling in a First Class seat. This was Gandhi’s first brush with racism - an event which fired his resolve to fight against such biased discrimination as a lawyer.

1894: Natal Indian Congress

Even though we remember him more for his actions in India, he did a significant lot for Indians in South Africa too. Founding the Natal Indian Congress, he opposed a bill that sought to deny Indians the right to vote. Even though he failed, he did take up a lot of other issues and injustices against Indians that marked the rise of this man as a fighter for justice.

1897 January: Mob Beating in Durban

Another racist event in Gandhi’ life was when he was beaten by a white mob in Durban Harbor. Gandhi refused to press charges - practicing what later came to be known as his principle of ‘nonviolence’ - and this earned him a lot of public admiration and support. His attackers even offered him a public apology.

1919: Leader of Muslims

It was the year he started garnering strong Muslim support for his leadership in the Khilafat movement. Gandhi’s motive was always to unite Hindus and Muslims to fight united against the British.

1920: Boycotting British Goods

By 1920, Gandhi’s position in the Congress had strengthened - and he added more spark to the ‘Hartal Movement’ by getting people to more intently boycott British products and encouraged them to start making their own clothes rather than buying British clothing.

1930: Dandi March

The British retaliated by passing the Salt Act which made it illegal for Indians to make their own salt, punishable by at least three years in jail. On March 12th, Gandhi (now 61 years old) travelled 320 km on foot for 24 days to Dandi to make his own salt - and others followed. This historic Dandi March - a statement in satyagraha and self-sufficiency landed him in jail yet again.

1942: Quit India Movement

It was the year Gandhi launched the Quit India campaign declaring India’s independence from British rule. Not surprisingly, Gandhi was arrested for his subversive actions once again.

1943: 21-Day Hunger Strike

The 73-year old Gandhi started a hunger strike that lasted for 21 days - all in the interest of HinduMuslim unity after the first NonCooperation Movement. Gandhi was staunchly against the partition of India, but he was ultimately overruled by the Muslim League.

1947: Indian Independence and Partition

It was a bittersweet year for Gandhi. Even though he saw the last of the British as the independence of India was finally a reality, tensions between Hindu and Muslim factions resurfaced and escalated into violence during the Partition.

1948 January 12: Final Fast

Reeling from the aftermaths of the Partition, Gandhi undertook another - his last - fast in 1948 to promote peace and pressure the government to pay Pakistan after the Partition. Within 5 days of his fast, all his demands were fulfilled - and the communities in India promised to work against violence and promote peace. This might very well be called the Gandhi’s final victory before his death.

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Abode

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Where he lived

Sneak Look Into Gandhi’s Ashram

“I want the cultures of all the land to blow about my house as freely as possible” Gandhiji rested under an improvised bamboo hut in the midst of guava trees near a well. A cottage, now called Adi Niwas, was soon constructed by Jamnalal Bajaj for Gandhiji. For several months, one corner of the cottage was occupied by him, the second by Kasturba, the third by Mahadev Desai and the fourth by an important guest who happened to be in Segaon to meet Gandhiji. It was only after a year or two that a separate cottage was constructed for Kasturba. Subsequently, Gandhiji also shifted to another hut which was originally prepared by Miraben for her own use in the village. It is this hut which is now known as Bapu Kutir and where Gandhiji lived most of the time till 1946 when he left for Noakhali and never returned to Sevagram. In fact many a fateful decision which affected the destiny of India was taken in this little hut of Gandhiji at Sevagram Ashram which was aptly spoken in the words of late JC Kumarappa, “the de facto capital of India since service of the country is the function of a capital city”. The original name of the village was Segaon. After about a year, it was changed into ‘Sevagram’. The Government had informally consulted Gandhiji about the new name which literally means ‘the village of service’ (Sevagram).

GANDHI SEVAGRAM ASHRAM

Since Gandhiji wanted to live like a simple peasant and to serve the nation through rural re-construction, he emphasised the need of an Ashram where the workers could be trained for bringing his dreams into reality. He had been thinking of moving to a village in order to engage himself directly in the work of rural reconstruction. In the mean time, Jamnalal Bajaj suggested establishing the Ashram in a village, about four miles from Wardha. Most of the land of this village belonged to Jamnalal Bajaj. Gandhiji accepted the proposal and decided to move to Sevagram

from Maganwadi. The “Ashram had been set up under the direction of Bapu in the village “Segaon” in 1936, which has latter been named as “Sevagram Ashram” (Service village). It was hinted that his shifting to Sevagram during the summer heat may be deferred for some months so that a few huts may be constructed in the meantime. But Gandhiji was adamant and decided to walk to Sevagram on 30th April, 1936, along with Mahadev Desai and Jamnalal Bajaj and other associates, like Shriman Narayan and Balwant Sinha. There was no road but only a cart track to the village. Since there was no cottage on the proposed site of the Ashram,

Abode

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

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DANDI KUTIR, GANDHINAGAR

andi Kutir is India’s Largest & Only Museum built on the life and teachings of One Man, Mahatma Gandhi. It represents Gandhi’s powerful idea of people across lines of class, gender, age and community asserting their common right to salt itself: a symbol to inspire a pluralistic society to march towards independence, Purna Swaraj. A glimpse of Gandhi’s early life is beautifully portrayed with the help of audiovisuals. From his birth on 2nd October, 1869, in Kathiawad, to his childhood when he was a shy, remarkable and unique student. It also traces his marriage to Kasturba and his experiments with youth. Dandi Kutir Museum, Gandhinagar, is kept open for the general public since January 2015 by Archaeology and Museum office under the Sports, Youth & Cultural Activities Department, Government of Gujarat. This is the only museum depicting Biography of Father of the NationMahatma Gandhi-using Sophisticated Technology in the world.

SABARMATI ASHRAM

On his return from South Africa, Gandhi’s first Ashram in India was established in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad on 25 May, 1915. The Ashram was then shifted on 17 June, 1917, to a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati. Reasons for this shift included: he wanted to do some experiments in living eg farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, Khadi and related constructive activities, for which he was in search of this kind of barren land; mythologically, it was the ashram site of Dadhichi Rishi who had donated his bones for a righteous war; it is between a jail and a crematorium as he believed that a satyagrahi has to invariably go to either place. The Sabarmati Ashram (also known

as Harijan Ashram) was home to Mohandas Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle. Originally called the Satyagraha Ashram, reflecting the movement toward passive resistance launched by the Mahatma, the Ashram became home to the ideology that set India free. Sabarmati Ashram named for the river on which it sits, was created with a dual mission. To serve as an institution that would carry on a search for truth and a platform to bring together a group of workers committed to non-violence who would help secure freedom for India. By conceiving such a vision Gandhi and his followers hoped to foster a new social construct of truth and

non-violence that would help to revolutionize the existing pattern of life. While at the Ashram, Gandhi formed a school that focused on manual labour, agriculture, and literacy to advance his efforts for self-sufficiency. It was also from here on the 12 March, 1930, that Gandhi launched the famous Dandi March 241 miles from the Ashram (with 78 companions) in protest of the British Salt Law, which taxed Indian salt in an effort to promote sales of British salt in India. This mass awakening filled the British jails with 60 000 freedom fighters. Later the government seized their property, Gandhi, in sympathy

Dandi Kutir is the only museum depicting Biography of Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi using Sophisticated Technology in the world

with them, responded by asking the Government to forfeit the Ashram. Then Government, however, did not oblige. He had by now already decided on 22 July, 1933, to disband the Ashram, which later became asserted place after the detention of many freedom fighters, and then some local citizens decided to preserve it. On 12 March, 1930, he vowed that he would not return to the Ashram until India won independence. Although this was won on 15 August, 1947, when India was declared a free nation, Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948 and never returned. Over the years, the Ashram became home to the ideology that set India free. It aided countless other nations and people in their own battles against oppressive forces. Today, the Ashram serves as a source of inspiration and guidance, and stands as a monument to Gandhi’s life mission and a testimony to others who have fought a similar struggle.

Statues

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Memorials

Mahatma Outside India Monuments dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi across the world Mahatma Gandhi not only fought for India’s freedom from the British colonisation but also taught the world about nonviolence or ahimsa. People from all over the world still remember Gandhi as an epitome of peace. The world has dedicated many monuments and statues to Mahatma Gandhi and people continue to revere him as a symbol of peace, humanity and non-violence. Here are 10 such monuments in foreign counties dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi:

LAKE SHRINE, CALIFORNIA, USA

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

This is the Gandhi World Peace Memorial. It comprises a thousand-year old Chinese sarcophagus, in which, a portion of Gandhi’s ashes are kept in a brass-silver coffer. The memorial was built in 1950.

The statue was given to the Danish government by Indira Gandhi on her visit to the country in 1984.

CHURCH STREET, PIETERMARITZBURG, SOUTH AFRICA This is the city that once saw Gandhi being thrown off a train by a white man in 1893. South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu unveiled the statue.

TAVISTOCK SQUARE, LONDON, ENGLAND The statue was created by sculptor Fredda Brillant and was unveiled by former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1968.

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Statues

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PLAZA SICILIA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

GARDEN OF PEACE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

In the 15th year of India’s independence, the Indian government gifted a Gandhi statue, made by Ram Vanji Sutar, to Argentina.

Artist Werner Horvath made a oil painting of Gandhi to represent his contribution towards peace and non-violence.

GLEBE PARK, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA The bronze statue of Gandhi identifies his guiding tenets No politics without principles; no commerce without morality; and no science without humanity.

ARIANA PARK, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND In order to commemorate the Treaty of Amity, 1948, which was signed between India and Switzerland, the Indian government gifted them the statue on the 60th anniversary of the treaty. The statue has an inscription that reads ‘Ma vie est mon message’, which is French for ‘My life is my message’.

PARLIAMENT SQUARE, LONDON, ENGLAND MEMORIAL GARDEN, JINJA, UGANDA In 1948, part of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes was emptied over the Nile River in Jinja. The memorial stands near that place.

The most recent sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi was installed in London, on March 14, 2015. Artist Philip Jackson sculpted the statue. The then British Prime Minister David Cameron, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Gandhi’s grandson and former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and actor Amitabh Bachchan were present at the unveiling ceremony.

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODARdas MODI: the making of a legend”

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

France My France, Germany and Canada visit is centred around supporting India’s economic agenda and creating jobs for our youth. Will discuss strengthening India-France economic co-operation and visit some high-tech industrial units outside Paris. In Germany, Chancellor Merkel and I will jointly inaugurate the Hannover Messe, where India is a partner country. Looking forward to enhancing ties with Canada and interacting with leaders, captains of industry and diaspora in Canada. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Tweets

French President Francois Hollande with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on April 10, 2015.

he landmark of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France on April, 11, 2015 was the signing of an agreement for India to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly away condition, bypassing the log-jammed deal for the supply of 126 combat aircraft. It was also decided to fast track the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur, Maharashtra.

As Make-in-India was the theme of the visit, both sides inked 20 agreements that covered areas like civil nuclear energy, urban development, railways and space. Modi visited the Jean-Luc Largardere factory, an Airbus assembly line in Toulouse. He also addressed the Indian community at a reception at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage to the statue of Shri Aurobindo, at UNESCO, in Paris, on April 10, 2015.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the World War I Memorial, in Neuve-Chapelle, France.

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODARdas MODI: the making of a legend”

Germany

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying a wreath at the Air India Memorial Site, Toronto, Canada.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting a Madhubani painting to the Mayor of Hannover.

he next stop of Prime Minsiter Modi during his his three nation tour was Germany on April, 12. In Germany, the prime minister inaugurated Hannover Messe, a business fair, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel. In his discussions with Chancellor Merkel, Modi highlighted the need for promoting bilateral business and investment ties between India and Germany. In a round table meeting with German CEOs, he said the latter must not go by “old

perceptions” but, to come to India and feel the change in the regulatory environment. Interacting with NRIs, Modi said India has the potential to become a global manufacturing hub and asked the latter to act as a bridge between India and Germany. The key takeaways from this visit were a greater focus on cooperation in education and urban development and a call for having a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Culemannstrasse, Hannover, Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they visit the India booth at the Hannover Messe Technology Fair.

We have re-energised the Indian growth engine. The credibility of our economy has been restored. India is once again poised for rapid growth and development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi IN AN OP-ED ARTICLE IN THE GERMAN DAILY FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG

Modi’s visit to Germany will likely serve as a catalyst for German companies to become more heavily involved in the wide range of infrastructure

projects that are currently being developed across India, including high-speed rail networks, industrial corridors and smart cities. Rajiv Biswas ASIA-PACIFIC CHIEF ECONOMIST AT ANALYTICS FIRM HIS Continue in next issue

30 28

Anecdotes

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Inspiring Stories

Tale Of Lessons Mahatma Gandhi’s personality had so many dimensions. The greatest leader of the world, visionary, an unarmed soldier, a fearless warrior, the man who believed in Ahimsa (Non-Violence) and Satyagraha and the man who sacrificed his whole life for the freedom of India He Believed In The Dignity Of Labour

Something To Be Shy About

Now, I’m going to ask you an embarrassing question, OK? How do you pass urine? Oh...I can see, most of you seem to be shy at my question... Why? All the excretions from the body, whether it is sweat, urine, etc...are ugly in our eyes. (Though whatever we eat, are delicious, sweet, etc.) We have to realise everything has got its own merit and reverence. And one incident from the Dandi March brings this out very well indeed. The seventy-eight members who took part in the Dandi March each carried nothing more than a shoulder bag containing the bare minimum necessities for their journey. They also had a regular routine for every day. One strict condition Gandhi laid down was that once the yatra (journey) started at 6.30 in the morning, it would not be disturbed or stopped in between till it reached the next halt. And this is how it was every day. But one day the system broke down. Alas, Gandhi himself was the lawbreaker. But what could have happened? A few minutes later came the news that Gandhi himself had stopped the yatra because he had an urgent need to relieve himself. He told his colleagues at the yatra that this was very unusual for him, that he would be back very soon and that not one of them was to follow him. A few minutes passed...Then a long fifteen minutes had passed. The yatris (travellers) became restless. Could something have happened to Gandhi as he went into the jungle? Uneasy and anxious, a group of friends followed the path they had seen him take. At a distance they could see Gandhi digging the earth with the root of a tree, taking handfuls of soil and spraying it on the open land. Not able to understand his action, the friends advanced upon him. Catching sight of them Gandhi was at once shy as well as angry. But the friends explained to Gandhi that they were worried for him. In reply, a self-conscious Gandhi told them that he was feeling guilty at passing urine in the open ground, as if he had done a great crime. So he had sprayed the soil and covered the place to a great height. Every one of his friends was struck at his reverence to the mother earth.

Once upon a time Lalaji (Lala Lajpat Rai) and Mahatma Gandhi were staying at the house of an ardent nationalist, Shiv Prasad Gupta. On their first day at the house of their host, Lala Lajpat Rai dressed in new clothes after his bath and left his dirty and old clothes in the bathroom. The next morning he found the clothes washed and neatly folded, on his bed. He was delighted. Lalaji had been travelling a lot for Freedom Movement at that time and he had many more dirty clothes with him. He politely asked Mr Gupta if he could put the whole lot of dirty clothes for washing. Mr Gupta said he certainly could. So Lala Lajpat Rai got all his clothes washed. When the time came for them to leave, Lalaji said he would like to tip the servant who had washed his clothes. His host said it was not necessary but Lalaji insisted. Mr Gupta went in search of the man who had washed the clothes of Lalaji but he was shocked to know that the clothes had not been washed by any of his servants. Finally, a servant said, “It was the other man in the room with Lalaji who washed all the stained clothes. “I saw him hanging out the clothes to dry.” Can you guess now, who had washed the clothes of Lalaji? “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

We Are Here To Serve Not To Be Served

A sanyasi (Monk), Swami Satyadev spent a day at Sabarmati Ashram and then expressed a wish to stay there. “I like the work you do here,” he told Gandhiji. Gandhiji said he was welcome to stay at the ashram it was meant for people like him, but added, “You will have to put away your saffron robes, and dress like the others here.” Swami did not like that. “I am sanyasi (Monk)!” he protested. “I’m not asking you to renounce sanyas,” explained Gandhiji. “Sanyas is a state of mind. Dress has nothing to do with it.” If you wear your ochre robes here, people will not allow you to do work out of respect for your robes, instead, they will serve you, and that would be contrary to the principles of this ashram. We are here to serve, not to be served. The Swami thought the matter over and decided to join the ashram.

Anecdotes

Oct 01 - 07, 2018 On another occasion, a man in an advanced state of leprosy came to the ashram and asked for shelter. “I’ve come to shed my skeleton here,” he said. “I won’t go even if I’m pushed out,” he added. “How can I say there’s no shelter for you here?” said Gandhiji. “You’re welcome.” Nursed by Gandhiji, the man spent several days in the ashram before succumbing to the disease. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

He Was Fearless

“I have no fear. That is why I’m unarmed. That is what ahimsa is about.” When he visited the Northwest Frontier to meet his Pathan supporters, he was dwarfed by their height. They were tall and rugged, and all carried guns. “Are you afraid?” he asked them. “Why else would you carry guns?” They stared at him, stunned into silence. No one had ever dared to question their courage. “I have no fear,” continued Gandhiji. “That is why I’m unarmed. That is what ahimsa (Non-violence) is about.” The leader of the group, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, threw down his gun, and the others followed suit. “An education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other, is a misnomer.”

He Was Considerate

Mahatma Gandhi suspended his individual Satyagraha campaign for almost a fortnight from 25th December, 1940, to 4th January, 1941, so that British officials enjoying their Christmas holidays would not have to come out to make arrests. “An error does not become truth because of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. The words of Gandhi “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Gandhi’s Life-Saving Medicine

Apart from keeping the freedom struggle alive Gandhiji also kept his inimitable sense of humour alive by breathing fresh air into it now and then. In fact he himself had said on one occasion, “If it was not for my sense of humour, I would have died long back.” Here are few examples of his unique ability. A reporter asked Gandhiji, “Why do you always choose to travel by third class in a train.” He replied “Simply, because there is no fourth class as yet.” When Gandhiji was going to attend the Round Table Conference in England, a newsman asked, “Mr. Gandhi do you think you are properly dressed to meet the King.” Gandhiji said, “Do not worry about my clothes. The King has enough clothes on for both of us.” Once again, a reporter asked Gandhiji, “Is it true that one’s food habits affect one’s character. For example, you drink only goat’s milk. Does it affect your character? Gandhiji retorted, “My dear young man, just now I had a glass of goat’s milk. Now I feel an itching sensation at my temples. May be horns are about to emerge. So pack off and run for your safety.” Speaking of goat’s milk, Gandhiji, even while travelling, always preferred to have goat’s milk. Now, cow’s milk and buffalo’s milk was easily

available at railway stations. But the milk of a goat was quite an uncommon commodity. Obviously Gandhi’s infectious sense of humour had rubbed off on people who were close to him. Sarojini Naidu remarked on this goat’s milk habit of Bapu by saying, “It is becoming a costly affair to keep Gandhiji in poor conditions.”

All For A Stone

Many people know that instead of soap, Gandhiji used a stone to scrub himself. Very few people, however, know how precious this stone, given by Miraben, was to Gandhiji. This happened during the Noakhali march, when Gandhiji and others halted at a village called Narayanpur. During the march, the responsibility of looking after this particular stone, along with other things, lay with Manuben. Unfortunately, though, she forgot the stone at the last halting place. “I want you to go back and look for the stone,” said Bapu. “Only then will you not forget it the next time.” “May I take a volunteer with me?” “Why?” Poor Manu. She did not have the courage to say that the way back lay through forests of coconut and supari (betel nut), so dense that a stranger might easily lose his way. Moreover, it was the time of riots. How could she go back alone? But she did go, and alone; after all she had committed the error. Leaving Narayanpur at 9:30 in the morning, Manu trudged along the forest path, taking the name of Ram as she went. On reaching the village she went straight to the weaver’s house that had been their last halt. An old woman lived there. And she had thrown the stone away. When Manuben found it after a difficult search her joy knew no bounds. Carrying the precious stone, she returned to Narayanpur by late afternoon. Placing it in Bapu’s lap she burst into tears. “You have no idea how happy I feel. This stone has been my cherished companion for the past twenty-five years. Whether in prison or in a palace it has been with me. Had it been lost it would have distressed me and Miraben as well. Now, you have seen that every useful thing is worth taking care of, even a stone.” Manuben said, “Bapu, if ever I took Ram naam with all my heart it was today.” Bapu laughed and replied, “Oh yes, one remembers the Lord only when one is in trouble.”

Prisoner No. 1739

When Gandhi was a prisoner of the South African Government in November 1913 in Bloemfontein Gaol, his jail card bore the following among other details: No. : 1739 Name : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Religion : Hindu Age : 43 Trade : Solicitor Date of Sentence : 11-11-13 Date of Discharge : 10-11-14 Sentenced : Pounds 20 or 30 months (on each of four counts). Gandhiji was awarded 50 marks for good conduct. As he did not pay the fine, he had to serve the full sentence. The card bears his thumb impressions. About the prison diet supplied to him the card says: “Allowed vegetable diet owing to religious scruples. Diet : 12 bananas, 12 dates, 3 tomatoes and 1 lemon each, 2 ounces of olive oil, and 3 selected groundnuts.”

Stamp

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Gandhi’s Rare Postage Stamps

The life of Mahatma Gandhi has been depicted in stamps brought out by 150 countries in the world, including Great Britain, the country against whom the Father of the Nation had valiantly fought for India’s independence

Interesting facts of Gandhi’s stamps • There are 300 postages have been released about Gandhiji in the countries of World, other than India. • The first nation other than India, released postage stamps on Gandhiji was United States, in the year of 1961, January 26. The second country is Congo in the year of 1967. • The year of 1969 was Gandhiji’s centenary celebration, to give emphasis to this day, more than 40 countries released postage stamps of and on Gandhiji. •The first country released post card for Gandhiji was Poland. •The first country other than India released remembrance envelope about Gandhiji was Romania. •The country firstly released post mark to admire Gandhiji is Myanmar (formerly Burma). Other countries were Czechoslovakia and Luxumberg. • One of the part of Gandhiji centenary celebration, the countries of Bhutan (2 postages) and Somalia (3 postages) released 5 stamps, that are all printed at Nashik, Maharashtra, India. • On the birth anniversary of Gandhiji, the UN announced October 2 is the day off Non-violence. And more, it released postage on 2009 in the honour of Gandhiji. •In India, the first postage stamp on Gandhiji was considered to release on his 80th birth day. For this, 4 types of stamps

drafted. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took keen interest in this. Unfortunately, Gandhiji was assassinated 8 months before his 80th anniversary. That postage was released on the day of Independence day in 1948. •The leader who worked hard for the development of India and a great Swadeshi, whose first postage stamp was printed at Switzerland. From 1925 to till the date, the one and only Indian postage stamp printed outside India is this only. In this year of 1948, the currency and postage stamp printing facility came in to existence in Nashik. • Governor General C Rajagopalachari wished to use Gandhian postage stamps in his official correspondence. After this, the stamps used in the official capacity were imprinted ‘Service’ and used by the officials all over India. •Of this ‘Service’ stamps in the denomination of Rs.10 was the very small number of postage stamps printed in the world. Only 100 postage stamps were printed. These are all treated in India as rare postage stamps. •In India, more than 48 stamps and 200 postal envelops having special emblems were released in the honour of Mahatma Gandhiji. •A set of four rare stamps featuring the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi has been sold for record 500,000 pounds at an auction in the UK which its seller said is the highest price ever paid for Indian stamps.

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

More than 150 nations, A to Z (Antiqua to Zambia) released postage stamps depicting Gandhiji’s photos. This is a great gesture not given to any other world leaders other than our ‘Bapu’

Stamp

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Currency

Oct 01 - 07, 2018

Origins

Gandhi’s Image On Indian Currency Notes Any idea where the smiling picture of Gandhi that we see on currency notes today came from?

e have been seeing the picture of a smiling Mahatma Gandhi on our currency notes since a long time. Many of us have been seeing it since always, and that is often the first picture to come in mind when we think of Gandhi. But ever wondered where did that picture come from? How did we manage to get such a perfect shot, at the right moment, for the right purpose? While many of us thought that it was a drawn caricature, it is not true. In reality, the image was cropped from an actual photograph. The picture in question was that of Mahatma Gandhi standing next to Lord Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence. Lord Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence was a British Politician. He was a leader of the women’s suffrage movement in Great Britain during the first two decades of the 20th century and then served as the secretary of state of India and Burma. The picture was taken in 1946 by an unknown photographer. It was taken at the former Viceroy’s House, which is now known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The mirror image of the original picture has been used on the Mahatma Gandhi Series of bank notes. The series of notes was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 1996. The notes were issued in a phased manner in denominations of Rs. 5 (introduced in November 2001), Rs. 10 ( June 1996), Rs. 20 (August 2001), Rs. 50 (March 1997), Rs. 100 ( June 1996), Rs. 500 (October 1997) and Rs. 1000 (November 2000).

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561, Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Delhi No. F. 2 (S-45) Press/ 2016 Volume - 2, Issue - 42 Printed by Monika Jain, Published by Monika Jain on behalf of SULABH SANITATION MISSION FOUNDATION and Printed at The Indian Express Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, NOIDA (U.P.) and Published from RZ 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam-Dabri Road, New Delhi – 110 045. Editor Monika Jain