On Gandhi Jayanthi, it was a tribute with a difference as speakers from different walks of life grappled with the message, ideas and ideals of Gandhi at Manthan Samvaad-2018 at Shilpakala Vedika on Tuesday.
“Gandhi has been reduced to a slogan and a round frame of spectacles. His message about dignity of labour and cleaning our own toilet has been turned into an exercise in optics with four brooms and four cameras,” said Kanhaiya Kumar, the student leader of All Indian Students’ Federation in an electrifying address, which had the youth on their feet. Quizzed about dragging the personal life of politicians into public domain, Mr. Kumar said: “We all have mothers, we respect them. We don’t drag them onto a public platform. The problem arises if there is a camera when mother’s feet is being touched. The problem arises when the 90-year-old mother is used as an example for public probity when she uses an ATM.”
Lynching cases
Earlier in the day, retired Justice A.P. Shah spoke on ‘Republic of Intolerance’. “We have had 63 lynching cases between 2010 and 2018. A whooping 61 have taken place after May 2014. We are seeing this as we are becoming socially numb to violence. At the heart of the conflict is the ‘othering’ that can be based on gender, caste, religion and beliefs. Gandhian philosophy is being violently shoved aside,” said Justice Shah, who suggested punishment for criminals indulging in lynching as well as charging officials with dereliction of duty under whose watch the crimes are committed.
The toast of the day was Congress politician and former U.N. employee Shashi Tharoor, who was scheduled to speak on his book Why I Am A Hindu. Using the opening passages from the book, Mr. Tharoor took off to delineate Hinduism from Hindutva. “The political Hindutva is a relic of Europe of 1920s. Hinduism is a faith, not a race. There is a lot of freedom in Hinduism. You can pick and choose. The word used by Vivekananda for Hinduism is not its tolerance, but acceptance,” said Mr. Tharoor referring to the Chicago Address of Swamy Vivekananda. Asked about the reality of caste and its discriminatory nature, Mr. Tharoor cited the examples of Adi Shankara, Valmiki, Ved Vyas and a host of other Hindu luminaries who tried to transcend the caste system.
Making a difference
Among the ideas of India that were discussed was about charity and giving. “Education has been commoditised. We need to build vibrant universities to tap the best brains in our country. Giving money to a religious institution is not charity. Charity is when we help others. Every individual can make a difference,” said Amit Chandra of Bain Capital, who shared his experiences in institution building and charity in a conversation with Ajay Gandhi of Manthan, the moving force behind the event in its sixth edition.