One of the sayings of the father of our nation which he lived in spirit and practice was - “Be the change that you want to see in others”. To completely understand, appreciate, and practice the philosophy conveyed by the above saying, we also need to understand the context in which it was made. Gandhiji was a practicing lawyer in South Africa where his activism and practice of law became the base on which he led the freedom movement in India. Once he attended a Church prayer service in the country, after which many people of the Church remarked to him that - “The world has to change for us to change”. To which he retaliated with the above golden words which went onto become a philosophy not only behind his movements but largely the freedom movement of our nation. With the above words, he urged people to be more responsible for their actions, be more interlinked with the society, take initiative to stand up for the truth, and against any evil. The philosophy behind the saying is hence not to wait around for something bad to stop or something good to happen, but make it happen with all the power we have in our hands. It conveys that change has to start somewhere and each and every individual’s actions lead to it. It urges all of us to act towards a better future and not rely on fate.
The quote made by Gandhiji is all the more important due to the political atmosphere in the times he made this remark. South Africa was suffering from evils such as apartheid where people of darker skin were looked down upon and did not occupy politically important positions to take actions against the ill practice. Going by his own saying, Gandhiji did try to address the issue although briefly by questioning the logic behind having different compartments of a train for different coloured people. True, he may not have achieved his goal of completely eliminating the evil of apartheid, but he showed everyone around him that one individual can stir debate on such an issue and bring to light the injustice caused to many communities. Gandhiji followed a similar outlook in India whether it was towards colonialism or the evils that haunted our society.
The philosophy behind the above statement has greatly shaped India’s freedom movement. Gandhiji is considered the very first mass leader of the Indian nation. He was able to unite the masses against many evils of the colonial powers. Due to his philosophy of each individual has the power in them to bring about any change, he empowered the masses of India who started to believe that their actions can lead the nation in the path of freedom. This belief among the masses greatly boosted morale and hence the freedom struggle took a great leap with Gandhiji’s arrival. In this, Gandhiji not only believed that his actions can bring about change in the country but also made every individual feel the same. As a result of this attitudinal change, we could see many movements across the country which were lead against the colonial powers without requiring anyone face to lead the movement. They may have been shortlived, but definitely conveyed the plight of the community against colonial atrocities.
Gandhiji not only politically united India, but also brought about many social changes. For the first time, mass movements took place against the ill practices of the caste system and the backwardness it has resulted in our society. Gandhiji played an important role in freeing our society against the taboo of inter-caste marriage by marrying his daughter to a different caste. This inspired other people to shun the caste barrier to a great extent. With actions such as these, Gandhiji not only brought about a change in the people around him but also empowered them to be engines of change themselves.
The political nature of the freedom movement and also the shaping of our constitution was in many ways influenced by this idea of being the change that we wish to see. Our constitution as it is shaped today is quasi-federal in character and many amendments such as the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment have given birth to grass root level governance bodies like the village panchayats and municipal bodies. Gandhiji always advocated that the change comes about in a bottom-up fashion and hence the strongest governance bodies must be as close to people as possible. This is to achieve the goal of involving every last member of the society in active nation building because innovation, implementation, and change spurs from individuals and cannot be forced on them with a top-down approach. Hence the governance even today is loosely derived from the philosophy of each individual is a vehicle of change.
As the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus said - “The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”. Thus to bring about this change constantly even in the future of our nation, we need to carry on the philosophy as was followed by Gandhiji and take on the responsibility of bringing about change.
The quote by Gandhiji hence cannot be viewed solely from a historical perspective but also from a contemporary perspective. One needs to explore the connotations it has in the present time and strive towards change as it holds the key to a brighter and more progressive India.
In today’s extremely connected world, an individual has access to influence people at large through many platforms of social media. The concept of individuals bringing about change is more achievable than ever before but we fail to utilize the opportunity in the best way possible. There have been many instances in the recent past of how individuals have largely contributed to a perceptive change in the society. Movements such as the Chipko movement have been brought about by a single community to prevent environmental degradation. Individuals such as Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai have individually contributed a ton towards child rights and education. Judicial activism brought about by individuals like the recent Sabrimala case striving for gender equality in religious matters has put women empowerment into action. There have been many online movements addressing various issues such as racism, sexual harassment, women empowerment, migration issues among many others. These may not have lead to much political change but have certainly empowered individuals to address any evil in their surroundings and start a debate around it in a positive direction. These are among the very few pieces of evidence that individuals are far more empowered today to bring about change in the society and people around them.
Although the potential to bring about change has increased, there are many areas where our nation needs to strive harder on an individualistic basis to achieve bigger goals. People today commonly ask “Acche din kab aayenge?” without realising they have a huge role to play in the process of nation-building and hence in the arrival of “Acche din”. The situation is very similar to the people after the Church prayer saying “The world has to change for us to change”. But this time around we as individuals need to retaliate with “Be the change you want to see in others”. We as citizens, individuals and communities need to participate in movements like the “Swacch Bharat Mission”, “Stand up India” and others. Without taking the initiative to maintain our surroundings clean each and every day, without aiming higher and becoming job generators ourselves among others, we cannot expect India to rise above the joblessness, stagflation, and poverty. India has come a far way since the days when Gandhiji led us to freedom. We still have a long way to go to achieve many such goals such as a thriving demography, a 5 trillion economy, and all in all a global leader. And all of this is possible if we think of each one of us as drivers of the country's progress. It is time we accept, practice, and live in the spirit of our Gandhiji’s saying - “Be the change you want to see in others”, and hence the society.
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