Living the Ideals of Mahatma Gandhi – Images from Kashmir – Latest News Updates

By: Sumitra Gandhi Kulkarni

In April 2024, I went to vote and so I was relieved when in June 2024, Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of Bharat for the third time. Mahatma Gandhi or Bapuji as I call him was my grandfather. I lived with him until I was 19. This year I am 95 years old and I feel the urgency to compare Prime Minister Modi with Gandhiji and write down my thoughts. Future generations may want to know the opinion of a member of Gandhiji's family who, as an adult, had the privilege of knowing these two human beings.

During my long years, I have known many leaders. However, my association with Narendra Bhai is extraordinary. It began during the difficult period of the Emergency of 1975. Although the exact time cannot be recalled, Narendra Bhai was then a young and dynamic pracharak of the RSS.

In the 1970s, sectarianism continued to eat away at the national fabric. As a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, I was deeply concerned about the demographic change taking place in the border districts due to heavy infiltration from Pakistan. The influx into Assam was even greater. No one in my party, in Congress, has taken this issue seriously. But I remember clearly how much Narendra Bhai, even at his young age, cared about these issues. He was clearly engaged in national issues and the politics of the day did not distract his attention.

Even then, he was fully aware of the challenges faced by women in rural Bharat in matters of personal hygiene; drinking water; primary health care for their families, etc. Soon after becoming Prime Minister, he showed exemplary courage and expressed the need for national cleanliness in his Independence Day speech. He launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which improved sanitation and the dignity and safety of women in Bharat. My grandfather believed in the Jan Andolan people's movement as the basis for lasting social change. Narendra Bhai's unwavering focus on the word Sab ka as in Sab ka saath, Sab ka vikas, Sab ka vishwas and Viksit Bharat is the same. These are not just buzzwords for him. They are his drivers. His early leadership in humanity during the Covid-19 pandemic did not stop at our borders, but embraced the entire world. Here again, he swam against the tide to free us from the stifling yoke of Article 370. He is consistently carrying out the agenda that should have been completed after attaining independence. The CAA is a good example.

In this great land of Sanatan Dharma, political freedom was won by the spiritual force of many Masters such as Sai Nath of Shirdi, Shri Ramana Maharshi, etc., and Gandhiji became the instrument to direct this. It is no coincidence that decades later, Narendra Bhai became the instrument to free us from the colonial mentality. A second struggle for independence.

My grandfather always said: Be the change you want to see in the world. Having witnessed Narendra Bhai's journey from close quarters from RSS worker to Prime Minister of Bharat, I can say without a doubt that Narendra Modi personifies the change we all yearn for in our beloved Bharat.

Even if I don't subscribe to hagiography, I must be impartial. The most striking similarity between Bapuji and Narendra Bhai is that their public lives are rooted in the spiritual core of Sanatana Dharma. They are both Sthithapragnya, unaffected by clumps and bats. Such a person knows that the Truth will eventually prevail and therefore has no resistance to patiently waiting for this to happen. This would explain the characteristic silence of Narendra Bhai in the face of the incessant attacks of his political opponents. This is the sign of a Raja Rishi.

According to our scriptures, before the Dharma is restored, there is always a seething. Negativity is the first result of such churning, and these negative forces oppose the Truth. We witness the extent of this negativity every day. Even national interests are compromised for political gains. In such circumstances, it takes a person who has absolutely no interest in power and is incorruptible to put the interests of the poor and the nation above all else. It is therefore our duty to recognize that even though we are enjoying the fruits of Narendra Bhai's efforts, but have not given him the corresponding electoral mandate, he is not affected and is quietly continuing his duty. Let me say without hesitation that if Bapuji had been alive today, he would have been a great supporter of Narendra Bhai. Bapuji would have been the first person to warn us against those who have usurped his name and made it their mission to misuse it to divide us for political purposes.

My grandfather's many detractors and those of Narendra Bhai will be surprised to know that Narendra Bhai rejuvenated Gandhiji's ideals by integrating them into the modern development agenda of the Bharats. The guiding principles of state policy became state policy. In doing so, he ensured that Gandhiji's legacy continued to seep vigorously and unceasingly into the psyche of our nation.

Narendra Bhai, just like my grandfather, will also have to stand the test of the public gaze. But, as Lord Krishna told Arjuna, what matters is to do your work and leave the outcome to the Truth which will ultimately prevail. I am confident that history will finally judge Bapuji and Narendra Bhai kindly.

(The author is the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi)

Courtesy of PIB, Srinagar