October 2 is a national holiday in India. The day is called Gandhi Jayanti. This is the day when the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was born. Gandhiji, as he was popularly known, is still remembered for the wonderful things he taught, not just to Indians, but to the entire world.
Gandhiji was the architect of our freedom struggle. But while we may have got freedom from the British Raj, we are today not free of corruption, crimes, killings, man-made drought situations, malnutrition, etc. which are far more bigger evils than the English rule. Humanity itself was a religion for Gandhiji who used to worship honesty. But today we are divided on the basis of religion, caste, inequality, apart from dishonesty all around. Even the currency notes of higher value which has Gandhiji’s picture embossed on them has shrunk in value terms as you can hardly get anything from them.
Gandhiji’s teachings have more significance in today’s world. Hence, let us follow on his path to get true ‘swaraj’ (freedom) for our nation in real terms.
Work is worship which was Gandhiji’s motto in life. Let us therefore cancel the holiday of October 2nd and work more vigorously which would please the soul of Gandhiji. Also, let us not talk about Gandhiji but try to become one like him. That would be a real tribute to our dear Father of the nation.
One more thing to mention is that Gandhiji always maintained his originality. As a barrister, he travelled to the United Kingdom and South Africa. He would always wear his traditional Indian dress and would respect the culture of his country and its customs. . He would do that even though foreign nationals did not understand, like or respect it.
For many decades, a large number of Indian youngsters have been following the Western culture. Indians have lost respect for their culture, customs and their mother-tongue. What is the point of having a national holiday or celebrating a great soul’s birthday when Indians don’t want to follow what this great leader has taught us? Give it a thought!
Jubel D’Cruz,
Mumbai, India
