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MAHATMA, OBAMA AND INDIA
Ali Engineer, Asghar
Ali Engineer, Asghar
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Engineer_Mahatma.pdf
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"Obama’s tributes to Gandhiji, I must say, was not merely ritualistic, it was more than that. It seems it came from his heart. Obama after all is follower of Martin King Jr. who was greatly influenced by Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence and what is distinguishing feature of King Martin is that he practiced non-violence and won rights for African-Americans through nonviolent means. King Martin had to sacrifice his life for his ideals but he liberated African Americans in sixties of last century and Obama is also King Martin’s follower so what he said in India was more than mere formality and had ring of truth. But having said this some questions would be in place. King Martin practiced what he believed and empowered the African-Americans. Obama, though he too believes in Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence but since he contested election and won presidency of America he is far from practicing his philosophy. It is very important to note in case of Gandhi is that he never involved himself in any kind of power struggle. He never entertained ambition to become President or prime minister of India. The day India became independent and government formation was taking place in Delhi Gandhiji was far away in Navakhali putting out fire of communal violence. He did not even celebrated Indian independence which came at a heavy cost of partition, on one hand, and, mass killings, on the other. And his priority was establishing communal harmony. So he chose to be in Navakhali which was burning in communal fire."(PG 1)
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2010-11-16
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