Every year, the second October has been an auspicious day for both India and the rest of the globe. Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi, the father of the nation, was born on this day, and it is also recognized as the International Day for Non-violence to honour Gandhiji’s lifelong promotion of the real spirit of non-violence. Gandhism begins with the well-known phrase, “Simple living and high thinking,” and seeks to improve both the individual and the community. Gandhiji’s contributions to the idea of nonviolent conflict, also known as civil resistance, make up the majority of what is known as Gandhism.

Second October is here, and yet the transition that has followed offers us today a world that is far from the same that we have lived in. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his 75th birthday, has come up to celebrate the day with a film that has been asked to be screened from September 17 to October 2, birthday of our Bapu, made on the life and childhood of PM Modi. The ministry of Education has asked all schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), as well as the Centrally-run Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas, to screen the non-feature film Chalo Jeete Hain, which is loosely based on Modi’s childhood.

It is ironical that the ministry thought that not the life story of Mahatma Gandhi but that of Modi would teach students “moral reasoning” and help them “reflect on character, service, responsibility”. All the values and virtues the ministry associated with the film on Modi are essentially those that have been taught by Mahatma Gandhi through his words and deeds and are far from the reality of the days we are living in.

“Department of School Education and Literacy, MoE is implementing Prerana: An Experiential Learning Program which has successfully completed 65 batches covering 650 districts across the country. It is conducted from the historic Vernacular School of Vadnagar, Gujarat, established in 1888, the very institution where PM Narendra Modi began his educational journey,” the letter said.

The film, which was released seven years ago, was awarded the National Award for Best Non-Feature Film on Family Values at the 66th National Film Awards, the letter said. “To promote experiential learning among participants, pedagogical tools such as value-based sessions, storytelling, indigenous games, hands-on activities and audio-visual learning are being used in Prerana. One such tool is film screenings which help bring abstract values, life stories, historical contexts, ethical dilemmas and human emotions to life,” it added.

In fact, the entire initiative appears to be an insistent effort to mop out the influence our Bapu has left on us, though packaging is almost Gandhian except the direction and purpose, which is dreadfully in contrast.

The values that are the legacy of Bapu are relevant even across the borders. They have a continual relevance to our thinking and action on a broad sweep of issues, from environment to promoting justice, from education to equality. His teachings lead us towards themes that are eternally fresh and thought-provoking. The courage to take up the challenges in creating a culture of peace, in proving the effectiveness of non-violent non-cooperation, and drawing the world’s attention to the gap between what we do and what we are capable of doing and then his emphasis on the importance of facing up to the truth with courage would be the living legacy he has left for us.

Bapu had the vision that included the inter-connectedness and the unity between all things, as well as the contrast among them. His political achievements included leading the movement that ended colonial rule in India, using peace, love and integrity to prevail. But his vision went far beyond politics to encompass human rights and sustainable development for all. He took up the theme of non-violence not just as a philosophy and a political strategy, but as a means to achieve justice and change.

Whatever we are witnessing since last more than one decade is the continual effort to promote Hindu authoritarianism. It is almost same as Nazi anti-Semitism, in contrast to Bapu’s universal love, assimilating entire human kind, without any dividing line. Yet the political system of the Right is premised on the same old idea that India is a Hindu state and minorities must subscribe to Hindu primacy – a position that goes against the very idea of Mahatma Gandhi who believed that all citizens of every faith have equal standing.

The period has witnessed massive efforts to steer the national discourse to treat Muslims as the ‘other’ by way of speeches. There is an attempt to push forward its Hindu majoritarian agenda, including a 2019 citizenship law seen to directly discriminate against Muslims as it fast tracts citizenship for immigrants of six faiths but excludes Islam, have started eroding and subjugating Gandhi’s vision of amity in a secular India with equal rights for all religions. (IPA Service)