The philosophies and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi still rule the hearts and the minds of every Indian which are simple yet very appealing to the masses. The messiah of peace Mahatma Gandhi is well known for following the tenets of ahmisa and truth in India’s bid to gain independence from the Britishers. In addition to the propagation of ahimsa, Mahatma Gandhi left an indelible mark on every walk of life which is cherished and celebrated by a majority of Indians.
Every humanitarian issue that Mahatma took up in the early and mid part of the 20th century echoes today as the world wakes up to the harsh reality of climate change, food adulteration or the prevailing inequality in the society. Long before the emergence of the climate issues to the fore in the later half of 20th century the Mahatma had preached the issue of nature conservation. He brilliantly summed up his concern in his brilliant one liner saying ““The world has enough for man’s need but not enough for man’s greed!”. He definitely was referring to the mindless industrialization which has eroded nature irreparably.
The cleanliness momentum has reached a crescendo in the country thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi untiring initiative. But mark the prophetic words of the Mahatma who had long ago said that Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Now India truly realizes the importance of swachata mission as the cleanliness drive has become a national movement with the hygiene and sanitation issues becoming very popular. PM Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort in his first tenure has called for nation wide swachata mission which would be the apt tribute to the Father of the nation on his 150th birth anniversary. Since then it has become a national movement as in every nook and corner of every tehsil and district there are healthy discussions on Swachata, the construction of toilets in the homes becomes the sine qua non for every household.
Gandhiji followed a very simple food habit which included the intake of goat milk. He preached simplicity in the consumption of food which includes being vegetarian. He advocated the need for a healthy food instead of a luxurious meal. The food habits adopted by Gandhiji was affordable by every Indian yet it can provide all nutrients for the healthy life. In pre-independent India the country was impoverished and poor; the Mahatma tried to make the life of Indians better through advocating simple nutrient food affordable by every Indian.
The Mahatma saw a hero in the common man who was very instrumental in the success of his every national or regional level movements.
Gandhian ideas are far more relevant today as the world faces multiple challenges of environmental degradation, poor hygiene and sanitation quality and remains on the verge of the global epidemic as evident by the spread of coronavirus.
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