Opinion Walking with Mahatma Gandhi: In polarised times, an act of defiant hope
Perhaps the most significant fact about the 'yatra' was that it comprised largely of young people.They are responding to the call for a politics of love and opposition to purveying hatred
A 'yatra' of this kind can, for some people, raise the hope that a mobilisation in favour of rights might grow in strength. (Express archive photo) A padyatra that began on October 2 in Varanasi and concluded in Delhi on November 26, Constitution Day, could well be titled “Walking many leagues with Mahatma Gandhi”. Yet Sarva Seva Sangh chose modesty over loud claims and called this endeavour: “Ek kadam Gandhi ke saath”.
This may explain why the approximately 1000-kilometre yatra involving several thousand people was mostly ignored by mainstream media. The yatra raises two key questions. A quarter of the way into the 21st century, what does it mean to “walk with Gandhi”? And, do actions driven by the love of intrinsic value still count?
The yatris were asking for the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution to be honoured. But the Delhi police did not allow them to walk from Rajghat to Jantar Mantar, where the concluding meeting was scheduled. While only a handful of people walked all the way, thousands joined the yatra for a few hours or several days along the route. As the yatra traversed 18 districts in three states, it made 110 stops at schools, colleges, bazaars and other public places in villages and towns.
What it means today to walk with Gandhi is the easier question to answer. “We are a caravan of love, we oppose politics of hatred” — the yatris said through signboards, slogans and conversations with curious bystanders. It is significant that at no point were the yatris physically disturbed or attacked. However, the slogan “Mahatma Gandhi amar rahaen” (Long live Mahatma Gandhi) on a few occasions got the negative response of “Gandhi murdabad” (Down with Gandhi).
The yatris were reportedly met with more curiosity than opposition. The focus on honouring and upholding the Constitution touched a chord not in any abstract sense, but because people associate the Constitution with basic rights like material development, right to work, and healthcare.
The yatris, nonetheless, found much despondency. Yes, freedom of expression is seen as a right, but it seems less and less actionable. Even if the candidate they voted for wins an election, people said, the person remains unreachable. There seems to be a pervasive hopelessness about rights actually being realised.
In this context, a yatra of this kind can, for some people, raise the hope that a mobilisation in favour of rights might grow in strength. But it is much more likely that many who joined or cheered, or hosted the yatris, did so out of love for intrinsic value.
Perhaps the most significant fact about the yatra was that it comprised largely of young people. It does not matter whether or not these young people become avowed Gandhians. They are responding to the call for a politics of love and opposition to purveying hatred. They resonate with the slogans “Bulldozer raj nahin chalega” (No rule of the bulldozer) and “Dharam ke naam par batwara nahin” (Don’t use religion to divide people).
Sarva Seva Sangh was created in 1948 with the aim of fostering sarvodaya, the upliftment of all in a social order based on truth and non-violence. Over almost eight decades, the Sarva Seva Sangh has seen high points when its leading members led or supported movements for social justice, such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Simultaneously, hundreds of Gandhian workers affiliated with this Sangh worked quietly, often without recognition, at the village level across India. The Emergency put the Sarva Seva Sangh in a tumult, with some members of the fraternity standing with Vinoba Bhave in support of the Emergency, while others stood with Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement challenging corruption and arbitrary use of power.
In 2023, the Sarva Seva Sangh campus at Rajghat, Varanasi, was demolished by bulldozers after they lost a court case. However, the manner of the demolition was widely condemned as a political act against the Sangh.
If one sticks with the old standards of political mobilisation, the formal Gandhian movement is now at a low ebb. But, as we enter the second quarter of this century, the old reference points and goal posts of what counts as a successful movement may no longer be valid.
At a time when millions have come to experience life largely through digital media — a yatra of this kind, actually walking across hundreds of kilometres, meeting real people in real time, is an act of defiant hope and enthusiasm.
The writer is the founder of the YouTube channel Ahimsa Conversations
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