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BOOK REVIEW |
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Timeless Inspirator-Reliving Gandhi,
R A Mashelkar, Ed., 2010, Pune: Sakal Publications |
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This book is a compilation of forty-six narratives from a diverse range of individual achievers from different stratas of life; from corporate leaders to scientists and social scientists, sportspersons to musicians, diplomats and doctors, the book truly raises Mahatma Gandhi from ‘the hero’ stature, transcending his philosophy into ‘Gandhism-the way of life.”
For example Ashok Jhunjhunwala, while advocating reduced consumption akin to the Gandhian thought of aparigrah mentions that Goodness ought to be preferred over greatness. Ela ben stresses that when we focus on women, we find allies for a stable community; as “she is the forger of bonds-in her, essentially you have a creator, a preserver”. In fact Gandhian thought echoes in every narrative of this book and is a reminder that time for pausing to reflect and undertake a course correction has arrived.
Edited by Mashelkar, it is easy to see that having received so many laurels in science, a reorientation in Dr Mashelkar’s thinking was waiting to happen. The Gandhian engineering and getting more from less for many (MLM) are the offshoots of that rethinking. In editor’s words, “I asked myself, what was India’s greatest gift to the world in the twentieth century?” It was not of her cadre of young software professionals or medicine practitioners (species likely to be more easily spotted in other countries than India perhaps), or her status as the fastest growing economy, not even her achievement as an owner of nuclear expertise; it was Gandhi”.
Echoing the same sentiment, though in a different form even the greatest batsman of all time, Sachin Tendulkar too says that “He never seemed to force them (the British), He gently led them into believing in the cause….”.
Nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar) realized a part of Gandhiji’s dream of “Inclusive innovation” when BARC started AKRUTI- a societal initiative for utilization of Non-Power application and spin off technologies with the help of local NGOs. Even Arnavez Aga, well known corporate leader, states that “just before his death, Gandhi urged the U.S. to abandon the atomic bomb and yet his own country-India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 euphemistically calling it a peaceful nuclear explosion…….” Reading Gandhism and Ahimsa in different context and capacities, the readers might find the arguments adding diverse dimensions to their own interpretations.
Solution science
Samir Brahmachari, DG, CSIR, refers to CSIR 800 in the context of creating Global Public goods in sync with the Gandhian spirit. Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD), he felt would have been applauded by Gandhi, if he was alive today. Extending the context of health, Abhay Bang refers to the movement they launched against the sale of liquor in Ghadchiroli. Without
stopping sale of liquor, health and well being of tribals could not have been envisioned at all. Ramasamy recalls his experience with leather sector to illustrate how generating jobs for low income leather workers would have appealed to Gandhi as a pursuit of what he calls the solution science; serving the masses rather than the classes.
The Museum of Tolerance cites one of Martin Luther King, Jr quotes, “Tribute to ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable.” At the heart of the book lies the concern about reinforcement of Gandhian presence in our day to day life.. When burden becomes a responsibility, and when concerns trigger creativity, we encounter Gandhi in action”.
This is a must book for not just libraries but also for keeping as a collector’s edition on one’s work station, gifting it to friends or keeping it near one’s sleeping bed; who knows, when a thought of compassion may strike somebody and the thoughts of Gandhism may start rolling out an unfinished agenda again.
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 21(4), 19, 2010 |
