On 10/14/19, Joao Barros-Pereira <[email protected]> wrote: > Beyond the Grave > Looking back at: Is Mahatma Gandhi India’s Favourite Mascot? > > For the week which passed (17/7/21-14) when I was alive on Planet Earth. > > The BJP has pulled the magic carpet deftly from under the feet of the > Congress Party which is not at all a difficult task; this party has > its head in the clouds and its feet not quite on the ground. > > The Congress Party is at a loss, a big loss; they would like to claim > Mahatma Gandhi - body and soul - and derive political mileage from it. > > Unfortunately, they are now in a daze, dizzy with disappointment - and > in the backseat of the BJP trailer car. > > Let the show begin! > > I feel sorry for the Congress Party as they did not take the American > President Abraham Lincoln’s words seriously: you can fool some of the > people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time but you > cannot fool all of the people all of the time. > > Unfortunately, the Congress Party over the decades thought they could > get around his warning as they are smart; and, they are - although > sadly enough they have ended up outsmarting themselves. Smart people > often do this. > > More than half a century has passed since India became an independent > and free nation. > > In the previous few decades the Congress Party had institutionalised > corruption to the high point where it was no longer seen as a negative > value. > > We had reached and, indeed, bypassed this boundary a long time ago > under the Congress Party. Here are the sentiments, in short: > > I am Indian, and I am corrupt - and - I am not ashamed of it as almost > everyone is - corrupt. And so it is okay. Don’t worry, … > > The Congress Party’s nepotism and love of corrupt and easy money > destroyed the Indian peoples’ hope for a better and more honest > country. > > The skin of the average voter - as a result - today is thicker than > our famous elephants. > > The BJP is a new party - comparatively speaking - and has been in the > power saddle for a few years only, and so this great achievement of > corruption belongs largely to the Congress Party which recently has > started to resemble a nice-looking corpse. > > We, no doubt, have witnessed scenarios where the BJP can be as devious > as the Congress Party. > > Casinos in our own state of Goa is a good case in point of double > standards. Is the BJP government saying to the Goan voter: Shut up! > Casinos are here to stay! > > The BJP is acting anti-Chief Minister, too - it was the late CM > Manohar Parrikar who stated he did not want that kind of money - and > protested against casinos while in the Opposition. > > Is the BJP anti-Manohar Parrikar? I cannot believe it! > > A great number of older Congress men and women would love to join the > BJP if only they could squeeze through the key hole. As they say - > many are called, few are chosen. > > Is Gandhi’s philosophy and approach to life relevant in the > twenty-first century? That is the question to be discussed for the > duration of the celebration. > > Obviously, with any great thinker, some ideas are and some ideas > aren’t! We need to discuss what is important for Indians living in > India today. > > No doubt there will be a lot of dramatic fireworks on display but here > is a golden opportunity for educated people to spread and decipher the > thinking of one of the few great politicians and seekers of truth of > the twentieth-century. > > Gandhi’s influence, ideas and opinions which are no longer relevant > for the time in which we live need to be dropped when necessary. > > We should not take a violent attitude while discussing issues, either. > Not this kind of attitude: if you are not with me you are against me. > > We also need to de-idolise him if at all this is possible as he has > become a part of the Hindu pantheon of gods. > > Unlike a lot of the gods which are fictitious, Gandhi was a > flesh-and-blood Indian man and not a fictional character of Indian > mythology. > > Are our people free enough in our minds to discuss issues objectively? > Can we critically look at Gandhi’s values and approach to life without > bringing in party politics? > > Will it sadly and unfortunately end up as nothing more than a debate > of Congress Party vs BJP? Will we witness all kinds of events and > occasions of screaming of slogans, beating of drums - rather than an > intelligent debate? > > Can we give our children a well-balanced picture of Gandhi and not a > white-washed view of the man? > > Generation Next has a great opportunity to critically evaluate the > various aspects of this complex man and his philosophy. Don’t waste > it. > > I hope the commemoration will not become an opportunity for adults to > try to brainwash the younger generation - wrap everything in a sari of > respectability. In short, a circus act. > > Do political parties take what is good for them as we have seen > religionists of every faith do and ignore what is not in their > interest? Will political parties shut their eyes to what they do not > like or pretend it does not exist? > > Here is an opportunity for our politicians to show maturity - to prove > to us Indians they have grown up - and not only grown old? > > Don’t expect too much, however. > > All the same, keep an optimistic smile on your face - and in your heart, > too. >
