Let me put the story in a nut-shell before I start with my view of the whole thing... A rowdy who believes in violence to get things done, meets a staunch Gandhiian and develops belief in that ideology. He starts his fasting to get justice in a murder case that has no evidences whatsoever and he gains public support due to the course of action he has taken for the struggle. This becomes such a huge issue that in the end the villain himself realizes his mistake and surrenders. Ahimsa wins...
My question is, is this an accurate prediction? Is Ahimsa a great weapon in itself today too? Let us see...
First and foremost, Ahimsa is a beautiful concept in itself and it'll surely make this world a much better place to live in. Hinduism considers this as one of the highest virtues that a human being can possess. So ahimsa as a concept in itself is beautiful and if everyone follows it, nothing like that.
Now that said, let us come to the applicability of Ahimsa as a weapon. Let me refrain from talking about Gandhiji for a moment here and talk only about Ahimsa, since my views on Gandhiji as a person have been quite controversial. All said and done, at least as a father of my nation, I have to respect this man and so will I.
Hinduism believes in one basic concept. The dharma or the rules that govern people will differ between the Yugas (the eras) and what is applied in one era will not be completely suitable in the other because of the changing human attitude and the (negative?!) evolution that humans undergo. In the same way, if we are talking about the 1800s or the early 1900s, the Indian society was extremely different and people led a liesurely life where they had time to cooperate and coexist with each other. In that kind of a setup if a person goes on fast, the news spreads and people become concerned about the person and may be they will help him accomplish his mission, depending on the validity in it.
Let us look at the India today (don't ask me which publication of the 'India today' magazine :)). Population has literally exploded and people have become more and more self-centered. You cannot blame them for that because they have the basic need to exist and survive in the maddening crowd. In this setup, if someone tries to follow ahimsa to get his justice, he wouldn't even be noticed no matter how long he sits on the street. And if it is a protest against someone in power, a sniper would aim the guy's head as shown in the movie but unlike what happens in the movie, the bullet wouldn't hit his shoulders but the center of his forehead.
If everything could be done in the Ahimsa way, why does Indian Penal Code (Section 302 if movies are right :)) have capital punishment as its integral part? Quite equally violence is not the answer to everything and it is disastrous. The answer to this question comes from Chankya in one simple line "Saama, Dhaana, Baedha, Dhandam". Try to talk... If it doesn't work, go for bargains... If bargains don't work, try to divide and conquer... Only when the entire sequence fails go for punishments. To me, this is the only rule that can be universally applied to any problem and any situation.
2 comments:
however we differ , i will always agree with ur last para. i would like to add to it, that the order of the concepts may not be in the same order as u mentioned ;-)
Nope. How many times do you think gandhi would have got canned by brits? 10 times- 20 times... after becoming popular and fame it was other basic families that participated would have got affected. Gandhi would have gone unscathed. Having said that, if I were in his position i wouldnt have even dreamt of fighting for freedom. i would have been selfishly taking care of my family and myself. Hail gandhi.
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