Gandhi: The global icon

India is celebrating 150th year of Gandhi. And rightly so. A fitting tribute to someone who is India’s biggest global icon, whether anybody likes it or not. When his birthday is recognised by The UN as a global affair, the man must be having something. It is important, therefore, to try and understand why this is so. Why do we say that Gandhi is a Global Icon? The man who lived for 79 years and sat on 17 big fasts unto death, staying without food for 144 days in the process. On two occasions his fasting went on for 21 continuous days. In 1921, he took a resolution to observe a fast every Monday. That adds another 1,341 days of fasting. He was arrested 13 times and remained incarcerated for a total of six years and five months. He stayed abroad for 24 years. Gandhi statues are there in more than 100 countries including Pakistan and Great Britain. Interestingly, his statue finds a place besides that of Winston Churchill at the Parliament Square in Britain. The same Churchill who gave Gandhi the epithet of the ‘Naked Fakir’. There are more than 250 cities in some 70 countries where many major roads are named after Gandhi. In all the 719 districts of our country there are either schools, roads, buildings or parks in the name of Gandhi. Some 70 cities here are named MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Road. About 150 countries have issued 800 kinds of stamps on Gandhi. In 1969, commemorating his centenary the British Government issued a stamp on Gandhi. Before that only the members of the Royal Family were given place on stamps. There have been 45 films and 500 documentaries made on Gandhi and a film on Gandhi also got an Oscar. Some 90,000 books have been written on Gandhi. And all these were not managed. These were spontaneous actions to respect a man who till date remains the greatest mass leader in the Indian history, and the global, too. The intriguing question is how all that happened. One word that epitomises Gandhi is Truth. His advocacy of truth, his practice of truth and his commitment to truth are the reasons why Gandhi is still living, more than seven decades after his death. From Mister Gandhi in South Africa his names kept on changing periodically. In Champaran, he was called Bapu for the first time in 1917. In 1919 Tagore addressed him as Mahatma and in 1944 Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in his radio message addressed him as Father of the Nation. It was his experiments with truth that went on evolving Gandhi till his transformation from Mohandas to super human. In his 150th year let the young India know, and if possible, understand Gandhi. Particularly, because for the Indian youth today the two greatest sources of knowing Gandhi are Richard Attenborough who made Gandhi and Rajkumar Hirani who made Lage Raho Munna Bhai. But Gandhi has many more attributes that ought to be known. A man who was not even a regular 25 paise member of the Congress Party and who never occupied any position in the party still remains the all-time greatest leader of the Congress. While we are too busy trying to sort out the Ram Janma Bhoomi issue, it is also important to understand Ram from Gandhian perspective. For Gandhi, Ram was different. For him, Ram was both Ishwar and Allah who would give good intentions to all.

Market needs stimulation

Democracies thrive on economy and economy thrives on confidence of the people in the system. India has for long carried forward the legacy of the Raj when the purpose of the then government was exploitation of the colony and filling the coffers of the British Government at the cost of India. The babudom that continued to hold the reins of governance after independence could not shake off its imperialist mind set and India went on to remain a country of subjects rather than citizens. But there are limitations to the rule by magistracy and collectorate and the signs are gradually showing. It is for this reason that in our TDS (Trust Deficient Society) driven economy business cycles hover between frequent troughs and occasional peaks. In the process, the confidence of the market continues to remain shaky as a result of societal paranoia. To cope with the situation the interventionist stimulations are tried time and again to boost the economy. The tricky part is that it works for short durations and goes back to the original bearish stance sooner than later. What is to be understood is that internal stimulation is required to keep the system ticking and kicking on its own. The only way this can be done is by boosting the confidence of the market which comprises not only the investors but also the consumers. In fact, it is the consumers that stimulate both the market and the investors. More so in a market economy which draws sustenance from a myriad of factors. It is against this backdrop that the recent opinion of the Chief Economic Advisor has to be viewed. In order to rejuvenate the markets stimulus packages are announced to bail out certain industries. But such steps are against the spirit of the market economy. Indian experience with the market economy is around three decades old, time enough to realise that market economy is governed by market forces. Naturally, there are sectors that reach the decline phase. How far can state sponsored stimulation help. Slowdowns are market phenomena that depend significantly on consumer sentiments, rather than only investor perception. Using tax payers’ money to intervene every time there are slowdowns in certain sectors is fraught with moral hazards. If some sectors are assumed too big to fail than ensuring that they don’t fail through interventions from the state tantamount to creating a situation where profits are private and losses are of the society. Systemic incentives are better options than fiscal stimuli. System needs to be strengthened rather than some sections. The measures announced recently by the government may seem to be prudent. But there is need to examine whether the slowdown bogey is a careful design by some smart operators rather than purely market driven. Markets depend more on psychological rather than economic factors. In order to keep an economy ticking the morale of the industry must be boosted. But government must not only appear to be industry friendly but also prove consumer friendly. Policy consistency is what gives stability to the economy. Knee jerk responses do not go far enough. It is pertinent therefore to give that confidence to the investors, consumers and financial institutions that things will not be allowed to drift.

Poverty concerns

Poverty is an issue that fails to be addressed. As one philosophy puts it, there are only two castes in the society — the rich and the poor. Biblical cannon “blessed are the meek…” offers no solace when half-filled stomachs continue to struggle for the next meal. Statistical data suggests that we have come a long way as far as poverty alleviation is concerned, but the fact remains that the march ahead is longer. Is there a faster way to poverty eradication? Or is this an unending journey. Well, it is not easy to figure. Given the fact that poverty as an issue has always been at the top of the agenda of governments since independence,we can only keep our fingers crossed. The problem persists despite the force of the rhetoric and the growing decibel volume. Not that there are reasons to doubt the intentions. But the methodology and systemic interventions have not proved their authenticity. True, interventions from outside have their limitations and there are leakages in the system, these will have to be addressed not by external forces but by internal forces that work to change hearts. Institutional remedies depend on human commitments for their effectiveness. Moreover, societal transformation is also needed. People with compassion and munificence who care for the poor and work for the upliftment of the deprived. Governments are just one part of the larger society. Societal action thus would be more crucial. Wealth accumulation has become the benchmark of excellence in the society and people are running madly after it. Naturally, when this becomes the norm, selfish motives drive the society and personal prosperity and amassing riches is the only end. In such a society, we can only breed inequality and push the vulnerable to misery. Wealth, as the vedic wisdom says, “has to be earned by two hands and distributed by thousand hands”. We need to realise the significance of those golden words of wisdom: ‘when wealth is lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost, when character is lost everything is lost’. We need to build societal character. Corruption poses one of the gravest threats to economic growth, democracy, and political stability. Political corruption has taken on a new prominence in public discourse due to its devastating impact on public confidence in political and economic institutions and processes. But institutions may not be enough. There is a need for a socio-cultural overhaul and change in individual mind set. Vulgar consumerism coupled with egoistic extravaganza has blurred the line between need and greed. Insecurity of the rich and callousness of the society needs to be addressed. Perhaps, the Gandhi Talisman can throw some hints. The same is quoted here: “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest person whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to that person”. It may be recalled that Gandhi popularised the term ‘Daridranarayan’.