By : MA Rahman [The Imphal Free Press]
Today, the 2nd October 2007 is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Democratic Republic of India, and is observed as the National Cleanliness Day throughout India. On this day the Prime Minister of India will also administer an oath or pledge on non-violence from Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi where a National Function is being observed through Door Darshan and the National Informatics Centre- nic from 11am. This year’s celebration assumes significance because UN has adopted a resolution to observe 2nd October as ‘International Day of Non-violence’ with effect from today’s anniversary to be announced by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi from UN Headquarters. This also coincides with the occasion of 100 years of Mahatma’s Satyagraha - a friendly passive resistance the Mahatma launched 100 years ago against the British Rule in India. In Manipur both the functions will be observed at the Gandhi Memorial Hall, Imphal from 10:20am in which His Excellency the Governor of Manipur Dr. Shivinder Singh Sidhu, the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur Shri Th. Devendra Singh with his political colleagues, bureaucrats and other civil society would be attending and take the pledge on non-violence. The day will also be celebrated by most of the Government and Non governmental establishments and organizations in Manipur. Such function will take us to the foot steps of this half-clad fakir who was responsible for giving Swaraj to the millions of people of the Indian subcontinent. Once more the occasion reminds us to pledge ourselves to apply truth and nonviolence in solving all the differences and addressing today’s problems.
“Generation to come, it may be, will scarcely believe that such one as ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth” Albert Einstein.
Father of the Nation/Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi/Bapu/Gandhi was born in India during the British Rule. He did his high school and undergraduate levels of education in India and Law in England. Throughout his student career he had been symbol of hard work and truth as much as he disobeyed his class master when the latter hinted him to copy the spelling of a word “Kettle” from his neighbor’s answer book at a class test conducted during the visit of a School Inspector - Mr. Giles. Gandhi’s early life experiences in the high school years when he was convicted of lying and his attempts to prove his innocence, his father’s death, conflicts with his wife, his struggle to fight temptations, adopting vegetarianism, were prelude to his later experiments with non-violence and truth-the foundation of his triumphs in his life. Gandhi studied all religious books without any prejudice. This made him tolerant to people of all faiths in later years. The Bhagvat Gita, The Quraan, the Bible, Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is within you and Ruskins book Unto His Last deeply influenced Gandhiji’s thought and life.
Different facets of violence:
Do we have to remind ourselves that Gandhiji fought the mighty British Empire neither by killing the British Rulers nor by acts of terrorism but by the peaceful means of non-violence tempered with truth? Today the terrorists are up in arms and resorting to violence resulting in the death of their own kit and kin. Have they attained peace or any of their objectives? The terrorists felt that Mahatma Gandhi and Mrs Indira Gandhi were obstacles in their way and so they removed them by brutally killing them in the land of Lord Rama, the symbol of peace and tolerance. Similarly, Rajiv Gandhi, the symbol of dynamic India, was assassinated at the cost of his campaign for peace or restoration of peace. One would like to ask these people if they have attained peace of independence after getting rid of these leaders. The answere is definitely negative.
One may find little difference between India of British rule and India of today. The atrocities committed by the British are being repeated by our people today. In Manipur too, the people are reeling under the violent acts of our own children in the name of insurrection, despite a sigh of relief after the holocausts of Burmese invasion of Manipur in the seventeenth century and the cross-fire between the British troops and the Japanese invaders in Manipur during the WW II. The atrocities go on unabated on this small patch of land.
Today the voters are bought and many politicians are tainted or have criminal backgrounds - people allege. The consequence, violence related to politics has increased. Now money is “be all and end all” for them. This osmosis of corruption has resulted in various scams. Besides waging war against the Government the terrorists too have put the citizen and the Government under duress to create their funds, putting the economy under a grinding halt. This has also resulted in the flight of the trained and professional people out of the state besides making many industries and projects stone-statue affecting adversely employment opportunities. The over all situation is totally chaotic. Have these violences solved any of their problems? Rather it is compounding and snow balling and churning more and more culpable homicides on daily basis. The general population are now questioning as to the whereabouts of these marod money as it was levied from the common citizen in various forms of taxes by the Government.
Source: http://ifp.co.in/ArticleFull.asp?ArticleID=152
Today, the 2nd October 2007 is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Democratic Republic of India, and is observed as the National Cleanliness Day throughout India. On this day the Prime Minister of India will also administer an oath or pledge on non-violence from Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi where a National Function is being observed through Door Darshan and the National Informatics Centre- nic from 11am. This year’s celebration assumes significance because UN has adopted a resolution to observe 2nd October as ‘International Day of Non-violence’ with effect from today’s anniversary to be announced by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi from UN Headquarters. This also coincides with the occasion of 100 years of Mahatma’s Satyagraha - a friendly passive resistance the Mahatma launched 100 years ago against the British Rule in India. In Manipur both the functions will be observed at the Gandhi Memorial Hall, Imphal from 10:20am in which His Excellency the Governor of Manipur Dr. Shivinder Singh Sidhu, the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur Shri Th. Devendra Singh with his political colleagues, bureaucrats and other civil society would be attending and take the pledge on non-violence. The day will also be celebrated by most of the Government and Non governmental establishments and organizations in Manipur. Such function will take us to the foot steps of this half-clad fakir who was responsible for giving Swaraj to the millions of people of the Indian subcontinent. Once more the occasion reminds us to pledge ourselves to apply truth and nonviolence in solving all the differences and addressing today’s problems.
“Generation to come, it may be, will scarcely believe that such one as ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth” Albert Einstein.
Father of the Nation/Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi/Bapu/Gandhi was born in India during the British Rule. He did his high school and undergraduate levels of education in India and Law in England. Throughout his student career he had been symbol of hard work and truth as much as he disobeyed his class master when the latter hinted him to copy the spelling of a word “Kettle” from his neighbor’s answer book at a class test conducted during the visit of a School Inspector - Mr. Giles. Gandhi’s early life experiences in the high school years when he was convicted of lying and his attempts to prove his innocence, his father’s death, conflicts with his wife, his struggle to fight temptations, adopting vegetarianism, were prelude to his later experiments with non-violence and truth-the foundation of his triumphs in his life. Gandhi studied all religious books without any prejudice. This made him tolerant to people of all faiths in later years. The Bhagvat Gita, The Quraan, the Bible, Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is within you and Ruskins book Unto His Last deeply influenced Gandhiji’s thought and life.
Different facets of violence:
Do we have to remind ourselves that Gandhiji fought the mighty British Empire neither by killing the British Rulers nor by acts of terrorism but by the peaceful means of non-violence tempered with truth? Today the terrorists are up in arms and resorting to violence resulting in the death of their own kit and kin. Have they attained peace or any of their objectives? The terrorists felt that Mahatma Gandhi and Mrs Indira Gandhi were obstacles in their way and so they removed them by brutally killing them in the land of Lord Rama, the symbol of peace and tolerance. Similarly, Rajiv Gandhi, the symbol of dynamic India, was assassinated at the cost of his campaign for peace or restoration of peace. One would like to ask these people if they have attained peace of independence after getting rid of these leaders. The answere is definitely negative.
One may find little difference between India of British rule and India of today. The atrocities committed by the British are being repeated by our people today. In Manipur too, the people are reeling under the violent acts of our own children in the name of insurrection, despite a sigh of relief after the holocausts of Burmese invasion of Manipur in the seventeenth century and the cross-fire between the British troops and the Japanese invaders in Manipur during the WW II. The atrocities go on unabated on this small patch of land.
Today the voters are bought and many politicians are tainted or have criminal backgrounds - people allege. The consequence, violence related to politics has increased. Now money is “be all and end all” for them. This osmosis of corruption has resulted in various scams. Besides waging war against the Government the terrorists too have put the citizen and the Government under duress to create their funds, putting the economy under a grinding halt. This has also resulted in the flight of the trained and professional people out of the state besides making many industries and projects stone-statue affecting adversely employment opportunities. The over all situation is totally chaotic. Have these violences solved any of their problems? Rather it is compounding and snow balling and churning more and more culpable homicides on daily basis. The general population are now questioning as to the whereabouts of these marod money as it was levied from the common citizen in various forms of taxes by the Government.
Source: http://ifp.co.in/ArticleFull.asp?ArticleID=152
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