A simple person like me has a right to speak about Mahatma ji because one who becomes as much as noble, he gives as much as right to speak on oneself. On the basis of the power of this right, I am here in front of you and have courage to speak on Gandhi ji.

As Mr. Bhatia ji told us that we have been working in the hills of Uttranchal since 16 years on education. The name of Mahatma Gandhi resounded in our ears from our very childhood and it will be better to say that was a kind of a blind faith and superstition for Mahatma Gandhi. In fact I could only understand Gandhi ji in last 10 years.

While working in the villages, when we worked in the hills and the women of the villages to whom I consider much more intelligent and particularly those women who are not literate, raised some questions. They said that education provided by us is spoiling the career of their children for they do not want to work in the fields and they wander hither and thither keeping their hands in their pockets. They presume themselves better than their parents. They think their parents are backward and of low standard. Their daughters do not want to put their hands in cow dung. They asked what type of education is this? On the surface it appears that there lies some confidence in them but in fact it is a sign of inferiority complex. In the beginning, this thought was ignored by a man like me thinking that these are the thoughts of illiterates but when we peep into the reality, we found that the thought was profound. When I examined the whole matter, we shall have to take the support of Gandhi ji.

When we read the thoughts of Gandhi ji, particularly those words which are told by him before 1930, we heard those words which was the voice of the women of that era. It means even before 100 years ago, conditions were not changed. There was a change on the external part but there was hollowness from inside. The problem was in the same situation as it was before. But a great contribution was done by Mahatma Gandhi that he created self-confidence and courage in his countrymen. An Englishman namely Pearson visited India in 1907, Roma Dola has quoted in one of his editions and says that Indian citizen fears the Englishmen and he cannot talk to them gazing eye to eyes To express himself and put their justified cause potently is an uphill task for them. When Pearson again visited in India in 1917, he said that there was a miracle in past years. He said that the main reason behind it that Gandhi ji and in these two years the countrymen had awakened. An ordinary man talks with Englishman face to face and eyesto eyes He not only talks confidently but also has courage to insult him. This miracle was done by Gandhi ji.

Many of us may believe that India is gaining such confidence, that India is shining but it is not nirpeksha confidence it is called sarpeksha atmawishwas it is so called because it is based on comparison. Like we are doing from past 100 years, we like to follow west. I don’t think that Gandhiji talked about that confidence he always talked about some other confidence which I think is built when we give birth to it, when man recognizes himself well and he knows what he is and then that confidence which would be born is that are which Gandhiji always talked about.

I want to draw your attention on two more things which I think are important -- swatantra and swarajya. Gandhiji understood them very deeply. It is not about freedom but about swatantrata because freedom does not have the same meaning a swa-tantra-ta (self organized ness). In freedom there is the possibility of conflict between one and the other. That is why we have sayings like ‘ones’ freedom ends where the other’s nose begins’. In freedom there is now understanding of how to achieve that freedom but in swatantra that understanding is embedded. After reading Gandhiji I think not only India but the whole world has to understand that we all are living in one type of limelight that we have develop a lot but if we kneed deeply into the matters today we are facing the problems of pollution, global warming, poverty. Infact I think that our problems have increased that from the earlier. I don’t find the solution to these problems but only two words that are Swarajya and swatantra are relevant. I will end up my discussion with one example when in 1917 in Ahemdabad mill workers were on strike and the strike ended due to the Gandhiji.

To illustrate this let us look at the discourse he gives on March 17, 1918. Gandhiji in his discourse takes the example of two great leaders of India Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya and Lokmanya Tilak to he said “At present, there is only one person in India over whom millions are crazy, for when millions of our countrymen would lay down their lives for. That person is Tilak Maharaj. He has written on the inner meaning of Gita but I have always felt that he has not understood the age old spirit of India deep down in his heart, he would like us all to be what the Europeans. He underwent six years imprisonment but only to display courage of the European variety, with the idea that these people who are tyrannizing over us now. If Tilakji had undergone the sufferings of internment with spiritual native, things would not have been as they are the results of his imprisonment have been different.

In my view this abstract is important because I think time has changed but not that much as deep down today also we are following the same path which Gandhiji showed to us.

We have different nature and we have to stand on this nature and there is no competition between west and east because today also we have that quality that shows the whole world and that is the path of peace and harmony and this is only way which Gandhiji always showed to us. We have to look forward for the Gandhian value be it today or after 20 years and I don’t think that there is any other path rather than that of Gandhiji.

Thank you,