Mahatma Gandhi - Most Outstanding, Compassionate Leader of Last Century

Kailash Satyarthi

Not too long ago, in the last century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi walked on the earth like you and I. He was assassinated, but his assassin did not know that some people never die. Their life message crosses all the boundaries of time and land. Gandhi is indeed one of them.

Why do they become immortal? They live the universal human values that never vanish and convert them into mass acceptance and action. In Mahatma Gandhi's, those values were truth, nonviolence, and peace, and he successfully built the most significant people movement for India's independence on these foundations. In addition to this, his lifelong struggle against all forms of injustice, oppression, discrimination, and poverty was also inspired by these principles.

We must remember that nonviolence, truth, peace, justice and inclusion are all rooted in compassion. In other words, they are the concrete external manifestations of compassion. Compassion forges the deepest connection and ignites feelings for the suffering of others, generates courage, and catalyses action to alleviate that suffering. It also fosters understanding about the suffering and restrains from the hatred, revenge and rage against the oppressor. Such negative feelings dehumanise both the victim and the oppressor.

Let me give some examples of Mahatma Gandhi's compassionate leadership. In 1917, he visited Champaran in an Indian state, Bihar. He saw the ruthless exploitation of indigo farmers by British landlords. He felt it deeply and launched a new kind of movement, Satyagraha. He encouraged villagers to resist through peaceful measures and taught them the importance of hygiene, literacy and self-reliance. Another example of Gandhi's compassionate resistance was the historic 400 km salt march in 1930. He challenged the British monopoly on the production and sale of the salt. That was in defiance of unjust laws.

One of the most significant ways Gandhi expressed his compassion was in his fight against untouchability, a practice that relegated a whole class of people in society. He saw untouchability as a moral and spiritual curse and made it one of his life's missions to abolish it. Another powerful example of his compassion was his fast unto death in 1932 to protest the British proposal for a separate electoral system for the untouchables. While this system was intended to give untouchables their political representation, Gandhi saw it as a form of segregation that would further divide Indian society.

Despite being the leader of the Indian resistance to British rule, Gandhi never hated the British people. His compassion extended even to those who imprisoned or oppressed him. Throughout many imprisonments, he treated British soldiers and jail authorities with kindness and respect and taught them nonviolence. As a result, even toward those enforcing the colonial rule, he softened the hearts of many of his jailers, incidentally, some of whom even later expressed admiration for him.

When India was celebrating its independence in August 1947, the bloodiest Hindu-Muslim riots erupted at the time of partition; Gandhi was sitting on an indefinite fast to align the communal frenzy and restore sanity in Calcutta. Gandhi always fought for Hindu-Muslim unity. That was his firm belief in compassion for all human life. This was the biggest reason for his assassination. This makes Gandhi the tallest compassionate leader of our times.

Gandhi is one of my biggest inspirations, but I don't worship him. I hold him as a mirror that helps me see my inner self and motivates me to walk on the path of righteousness. I keep trying. When we place someone as an object of worship, we start with expectations, desire, or fear and separate from ourselves. Another danger is we paint it with different colours of faith and belief. Hence, the very nature of the mirror causes the truth to fade.

The world has never been so broken, divided, polarised and filled with hatred and violence. I have never experienced such a systematic and aggressive spread of communal divide and hatred in my life. The teachings of Mahatma Gandhi are much more relevant and needed than ever before. Customary celebrations of his birth anniversary will remain farce if we don't ignite our inherent compassion for justice, inclusion and unity.

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