Mahatma Gandhi @150

The Mahatma firmly advocated that this world has enough for everyone's need but not greed. Gandhian economics, no wonder, cannot be more relevant today in times of erratic economic development, jobless growth and adverse climate changes.

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India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. From padayatras (covering a distance, usually a long one, by walk) to spinning of the charaka (the wheel) to emphasis on cleanliness - the government's pet programme Swachh Bharat Mission - the Mahatma's ideas are rightly being played out with pomp and fervour. Yet sufficient care should be taken to ensure that these ideas or ideals do not turn into mere symbolisms.

In fact, Gandhiji's persona, philosophy and ideals remain more relevant than ever even today. The father of the nation's moral power emanated from an almost unbelievable oneness of thought and action. He fought caste remorselessly and almost at a spiritual level, correcting his political beliefs and actions all the time. Communal harmony, secularism and non-violence were a practised reality for the Mahatma. Gandhi's greatest invention, satyagraha or holding on to truth, was put to effective use to frustrate the machinations of the British rule.