Gandhi and the Younger Generation

[Alice Bosley]

When I was in India, I got the chance to have many long talks with Prasad Sarvodaya about whether many of Gandhi’s ideas of nonviolence were still viable in the modern world. Prasad believed that many of Gandhi’s strongly held beliefs, about homespun clothing, nonviolent lifestyles, city life, etc, could and should still be used in the modern day and by the younger generations. Is the best way to promote nonviolence in the younger generation encouraging them to spin their own clothes and live in the countryside? While those things may, in fact, help a person become truly nonviolent, I’m not sure if it’s realistic to push for those actions in the modern world.

Rather than shunning modernity and technology, Gandhian leaders in India should be utilizing them to draw in the younger generations to nonviolent ways of life. Gandhi’s legacies are dying out with the generations that were more closely connected to him; to the younger generations, he is a near-meaningless symbol of Indian nationalism. While many of Gandhi’s ideas, his hatred for cities and technology being the most obvious examples, are obsolete, much of his philosophy is applicable and important for today’s world. Prasad has been starting very successful workshops in Sevagram Ashram to teach young adults about Gandhi’s life. It is clear that the younger generations would be open to learning about Gandhian ways of life and, if broader steps are taken via modern technology, it would be possible to revive Gandhian nonviolent action and thought in the world today.

[Jordan Hill]

Gandhi for a Younger Generation III

Let me start by acknowledging Alice Bosley’s first posting and her thoughtful coverage of making Gandhi’s message accessible to a younger generation. I too believe that one of the most pressing Gandhian matters of the 21st century will be discovering new ways of presenting the ideas of Gandhi in order to make them accessible to the younger generation. This work is of vital importance because many of the pressing global issues that we face today (sustainability, reconciliation, prejudice, relating to the other—to name just a few) could be informed by Gandhi’s ideas and experiments.

To take a road between the suggestions of Prasad Sarvodaya and Alice Bosley, I would like to suggest that the major obstacle in presenting Gandhi to the younger generation is an issue of communication. Many of the noteworthy books about Gandhi such as Judith Brown’s Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope and Louis Fisher’s Mahatma Gandhi, are well researched and insightful, but clock in at 394 and 546 pages, respectively. The problem that arises here is that our generation has undergone a shortening of attention that makes valuable books such as these essentially inaccessible. From this perspective, the issue is not a matter of presenting Gandhi’s original ideas (as Prasad suggests) or of presenting a modern version of Gandhi’s ideas (as Bosley suggests), but rather presenting Gandhi’s ideas in a WAY that connects with a new global generation that has been weaned on hot flash television and instant message compatible technology.

My impetus for this idea has arisen not from the modern situation, but from the example of Gandhi himself in his vision for writing Hind Swaraj. As Anthony J. Parel notes, Gandhi was attempting to write “to a mixed audience: expatriate Indians . . . the Indian National Congress . . . ordinary Indians . . . and the English.” (Hind Swaraj and Other Writings, xvi) In order to do this, he wrote in the “Editor” to “Reader” format. This allowed him to speak in plain language, and to address issues one-by-one in short chapters (originally published as articles in Gandhi's newspaper Indian Opinion). Gandhi’s example can inform us 99 years later, (exactly, as he wrote Hind Swaraj from November 13-22, 1909) in a situation where the generations of the 21st century are in need of a way of connecting with Gandhi, but on their own terms. I believe it is the responsibility of those of us who have grown up in this thoroughly modern age, but under the priceless guidance of mentors like Prasad, Carson, Harding and Kapur, to develop new and creative ways that help our generation to understand the unadulterated wisdom of Gandhi.

(** I hope to expand this conversation, but the pressures of the end of the semester have kept me from going further at this time. I sincerely look forward from hearing the diverse perspectives of the Gandhi/King community on this issue.**)

[Shara Lili Esbenshade]

This is really interesting. I don't know much about youth in India, but from my experience with activist youth in the United States, I would agree that few would be interested in giving up technology or city life. However, in speaking out for nonviolence among peers in the U.S. who share my political views and desire for justice, peace, equality, I find a different obstacle in trying to convince a lot of them of the need for complete nonviolence in the social justice movement. So many radical youth believe in using property destruction and other violent means during protests because their disillusionment with the government is so great that they do not trust that anyone would listen if they were peaceful. There is this feeling that nonviolence will no longer work in achieving radical change perhaps because their perception is that it poses no threat to the system. At other times I think the violent trends at protests are simply born out of anger. I am glad you posted this, though because there definitely needs to be more widespread discussion about how to teach and demonstrate through history the benefits and effective techniques of nonviolent social movement to youth.

Shara