Reviving Ahimsa to settle disputes

DANDI NAVSARI DISTRICT, JULY 21: Nearly seven decades after the Mahatma picked up a fistful of salt at the sea-shore here and shook the...

DANDI NAVSARI DISTRICT, JULY 21: Nearly seven decades after the Mahatma picked up a fistful of salt at the sea-shore here and shook the foundations of the British empire, Gandhians in this little town are all set to revive and implement the principles of ahimsa and persuasion in settling all inter-personal local disputes.

8220;Between 1937 and 1988, not a single criminal or civil case was registered here,8221; says Dhirubhai Patel, secretary of the Dandi Namak Satyagrah Smarak Trust, 8212; founded last year when the Gujarat government re-enacted the Dandi March 8212; which is now spearheading the Gandhian revival.

Locals admit that this was the achievement of the Dandi Yuvak Mandal, a now-defunct organisation, which showed the way in settling disputes through negotiation and persuasion. 8220;The half-a-dozen-odd cases that were reported are due to petty politics,8221; maintains Patel.

A year after the DYM8217;s founder died, the Smarak Trust 8212; chaired by Rajmohan Gandhi, the Mahatma8217;s grandson, and comprisingleading citizens like Kumudben Joshi and Mahesh Kothari 8212; is ready to pick up where it left off. 8220;We will hold prayers and fasts before those involved with disputes to bring about a change of heart. The idea is to prevent quarrels from reaching the court8221;, says Patel.

A training centre for Shanti Sainiks8217; is also on the cards, though the Trust is yet unsure what they will be taught. 8220;It8217;s still in the conceptual stage8221;, says Patel.

Despite the Trust secretary8217;s enthusiasm, scepticism about the project8217;s effectiveness abounds. 8220;It8217;s easier said than done8221;, says former MLA Dinkar Desai. 8220;An entire generation has passed by. Earlier, the Jain muni Sandalji tried to do something similar elsewhere in the State, but the experiment came a cropper.8221;

Maintaining that the DYM succeeded because there were few problems in the first place in Dandi 8212; whose population now is a little less than 1300 8212; Desai says, 8220;Persuasion might have limited success. But you might have to fall back on legal meanssooner or later.8221;

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8220;We8217;ll have a tough time selling the concept to the youngsters8221;, agrees Patel. But 30-year-old Prakash Patel, who lives right next to the Gandhi Memorial, believes otherwise. 8220;The hype of the Surajya Dandiyatra 1998 did create awareness about Gandhian philosophy among the younger generation8221;, he says.

Apart from the peaceful settlement8217; plan, the Trust has suggested establishment of a multi-purpose complex that will facilitate research on Gandhi, a library, separate halls for prayer and meditation and a permanent exhibition.

8220;A Gateway of Freedom8217; will also be built at the village entrance, for Dandi is where the civil disobedience movement began and proved to be source of inspiration for people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King8221;, says the trust secretary.