In this hour of rancour, hope for steady stewardship

In a few days, we are off to Rio de Janeiro for about 6 weeks to greet a new granddaughter born almost on the eve of the Olympics. I feel like one of the three wise (wo)men who travelled across the world to adore the infant Jesus and am not looking forward to the inordinately long plane journey or to the fact that we will be arriving at the start of their summer. After battling our exceptionally long and unremitting summer, I feel terrible that we will miss the festivals of Dussera and Diwali and the start of the most glorious season here in India. Each year, no matter whether Diwali comes in September or November, the weather changes magically around this time. There must be something worth noting in the lunar astrological calculations after all.

As I write this column, Gandhiji's birth anniversary is just days away and my thoughts turn to how far away we have come away from what he lived and died for. With every passing decade, we seem to be moving further and further away from all that the wisdom he bequeathed us: religious tolerance, austerity and cleanliness in our daily lives, honesty and an unshakable belief in the power of Truth, compassion for those less fortunate than us. Non-violence and secularism are the mantras our political parties mouth at the drop of a hat but even a cursory glance at the day's newspapers will tell you how little they are practised in individual lives. With the passing away of all his most famous acolytes (Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Schweitzer, Mandela and Desmond Tutu,), Gandhiji's message gets fainter. I can think only of Aung San Su Ki and the Dalai Lama as the last two world leaders who still practise non-violence in their politics as an article of faith. In our own country, the only sounds I hear are bloodthirsty cries for revenge. 

I am frankly appalled at the hysteria of the war-mongers who have been baying for vengeance against Pakistan in the wake of the recent happenings in Kashmir. First of all, we seem to have collectively decided that all the blame for the tragic death of 18 Indian soldiers can be placed exclusively on Pakistan. The sad truth is that our own security arrangements reveal serious lapses. Be that as it may, it makes no sense at all to punish the entire populace of our neighbouring country (no matter how angry we feel at the moment) for what is the handiwork of a few sick minds and their deep state. To now ban all sporting engagements, all cultural shows and films is only going to push the Pakistan into a corner and intensify the terrorist activities that their army plans and executes. Despite the sagacious advice by our prime minister that our two countries should wage a collective war against ignorance, poverty and disease, the lunatic fringe in our politics and media run high-decibel debates that hand out free advice on how we can deprive 'the Pakistanis' of water, goods and entertainment. Thankfully, our government has so far conducted itself in an exemplary manner .

However, what frightens me is the widespread support for violent retaliation. Have Gandhiji's lessons been so soon forgotten? How can we not remember that one of his last fasts was undertaken to release the fair share of Pakistan from our joint sovereign fund after Partition? How can we not remember his fast against communal violence in Noakhali? If even our generation that grew up in the immediate aftermath of his death seem now to have decided that Gandhiji's lessons in self-restraint have no place in the world of realpolitik, then what values will the future generations build their world on? 

Equally disturbing is the rampant worship of wealth: where Gandhiji once told us to think of the poorest before thinking of ourselves, the new mantra seems to be if you have it, flaunt it. Our young people today look at education not as a means of improving their knowledge and minds but as a ticket to a job that earns them mega bucks. And because they earn more than they have the good sense to spend, it is mostly blown up on sensual gratification. Clothes, cars, fancy homes and holidays - cleverly marketed by multinational companies - are a huge draw. Time was when it was considered vulgar to flaunt one's wealth, our political leaders often left flourishing legal practices to don khadi and announce a life dedicated to public service. Similarly, most civil servants kept modest homes and lived fairly austere lives (compared to what I see now) to fit in more comfortably with the lives of those who had fewer privileges. All these are now a distant memory.

Albert Schweitzer once said of Gandhi, it is difficult to imagine that such a man once walked this earth. When will we see another like him?