Two Men, Two Leaders

Two Men, Two Leaders


Both educated in UK
Both returned to serve India after working abroad
Both left their primary profession to join politics
Both simple, honest and diligent
Both good at debates and adept at moulding public opinion
Both never won an election
Both for closer ties with the West
Both for an India - free of communal tensions and poverty
Both against extremism, terrorism and use of force
Both for environmental protection and rural upliftment
Both leaders of India






From Dr. Manmohan Singh's speech on January 30, 2007:

The only political philosophy that I believe will remain relevant for as long as humankind seeks peace, peace in our societies, peace between nations and peace with nature, will be the ideas and values we associate with Mahatma Gandhi.

These ideas and values are today remembered not just when we gather to celebrate the life and teachings of Gandhiji. They are remembered across the world when people gather to honour the legacy of his many disciples - like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa, and scores of others who have opted for the path of non-violence in the struggle for purposeful social change.

Many of us admire Gandhiji, we respect Gandhiji, we want to emulate Gandhiji, we espouse the ideas and ideals of Gandhiji, but few of us have had the courage to practice what Gandhiji preached. You will recall what Mahatma Gandhi used to say to the people of Britain during our freedom movement. He wanted the end of British rule in India. He wanted the end of the British empire. He wanted the end of colonialism. Yet he sought friendship with the people of Britain... to live in peace with all races, all religions and all communities. There is no better example of Gandhism than this.

As long as we live in a world of conflict, as long as human societies are divided by differences, as long as people resort to might to assert their right, there will always be a Gandhian to remind us of the power of truth, of love, of compassion, of peace. That is why I believe Mahatma Gandhi was the most modern thinker of the 20th century.
The essence of Gandhiji’s political philosophy was the empowerment of every individual, irrespective of caste, class, creed or community. Representative democracy is the institutional form in which modern societies have sought to empower individuals. Democracy is not just about periodic elections. Democracy is not just about keeping alive democratic institutions. Democracy is about respecting the innate rights of all human beings. Democracy is about tolerance. Democracy is about asserting the right to dissent. Democracy is about protecting the dignity and self-respect of every human being.

There are other ideas of Gandhiji that are also of great relevance today. They are relevant to the way we wish to organize our societies and our polity. They are relevant to the way we wish to conduct national and international affairs. They are relevant to the path of development we wish to pursue.

One such idea is captured by Gandhiji’s statement that the “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.” In this simple statement on sustainable development Mahatma Gandhi showed us the value of high thinking and simple living. The concern for our environment that now envelops civil society across the globe is best articulated by this simple statement. I do sincerely believe that the world cannot sustain the lifestyles of the affluent. We need a new development paradigm that caters to everyone’s need and can keep in check human greed.

A second idea of equally great relevance to our world today, an idea that can foster peace between peoples, cultures, nations and civilizations, is captured by Mahatma Gandhiji’s statement, and I quote: “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows and doors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the cultural breezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”
This pluralism, this liberalism, this commitment to an open society and an open polity, I believe also an open economy, is what shaped our national movement under Gandhiji’s leadership. These wise words must guide us all in this era of globalisation.

If there is one message India should be remembered for, and identified with, it is the message of the Mahatma. As long as the “idea of India” lives in our hearts and minds, the legacy of the Mahatma will live on. The idea of pluralism, the idea that there need be no “conflict of civilizations”, the idea that it is possible for us to facilitate and work for a “confluence of civilizations”. These ideas, I believe, have a universal, a truly global relevance. In a world enveloped by the darkness of conflict and hatred, these ideas come as rays of sunshine, lighting up our lives, giving us hope, renewing our faith in our common humanity.