The Hindu Business Line : Meaningless ritual

OCTOBER 2 is Gandhi Jayanthi. All over the country, politicians and other luminaries will solemnly troop to the nearest statue of the Mahatma and deck it with outsize garlands.

They will also lecture on his greatness at meetings held to mark the event: Not one speaker will omit to say that the greatest tribute we can pay him is to unfailingly follow his teachings in our daily lives.

Once the functions are over, the poor man will be instantly forgotten and political VIPs will be back to their ways. The only outcome of the celebrations will be the outgo in lakhs of rupees on arrangements for decoration, transport and security dumped on the hapless taxpayer.

It is doubtful if any of the exalted personages will ever pause to think of the meaninglessness of the ritual and contrast their obeisance to the statue for a few minutes on one day with the scant regard all throughout the year for Gandhian values of truth, non-violence, sacrifice, honesty, rectitude, simplicity, austerity, tolerance and love.

What would Gandhi have said or done when he finds politicians revelling in vulgar ostentation, misusing their power and authority to amass wealth, making corruption and exactions a way of life and be brazen and shameless about it all?

A survey conducted last year by the World Economic Forum in 102 countries in respect of some 70 indicators denoting the quality of public life has come to a shocking finding that India ranked among the last dozen polities in the public trust of politicians and ethical behaviour of firms. Is this what Gandhi and the freedom heroes died for?

From panchayats to Parliament, there is no election without the political trademarks of murder and mayhem.

Before the start of every movement, Gandhi invariably laid down a series of do's and don'ts for the people, strongly warning them against indulging in violence.

He did not hesitate to admit to "Himalayan blunder" and stop his non-cooperation movement when it was at its peak just because a mob burnt a police station and killed a few constables in an obscure village. Nowadays, is there a single political leader willing to stick to the path shown by Gandhi?

The ultimate mockery is when persons against whom courts have framed charges for heinous crimes become MLAs/MPs and even lord it over the people as Ministers with sickening hauteur.

More Stories on : Politics | Economy | Offhand

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Pricing LNG

No case to shelve the bureaucracy

Yuan: The hero turns villain

New Foreign Trade Policy — How to avoid another miss

Meaningless ritual

`We come within our awful banks again'

Gender budgeting — The value of a homemaker's meal

Oil prices

GDP growth