Where Gandhian Values Still Live

Amid a profit-driven age, a quiet collective of young Indians is reviving Gandhian ideas through community-led action, moral courage and deep engagement with the most marginalised

- G PALANITHURAI

In recent years, in some of the social media tracks, it is argued that the era of Gandhi is over. We are living in a market era where profit drives people into action.

Everyone is in motion, either physically or mentally, and in such a way, lifestyle has been shaped because of the revolution that takes place in technology and communication. If the movements of the people are looked at closely, one could see the people after power and authority, fame, profit, prosperity, property, gold, gadgets, and women. While working towards the above targets, they tend to lose their moral sentiments and ethical values. Since the above is the order of the day, contrary to the above, one could see a large number of youth, both men and women with high educational qualifications, who have dedicated themselves to attacking the problems of the most marginalized in the society which they consider as Gandhian action and they never proclaim that they are Gandhians or non profit organizations or doing social service. They joined together not to work for the people but to work with the people who are most vulnerable in the hill areas or in the plain with the support of many individuals who run businesses and industries, and they are consciously supporting such a kind of responsible service activities not as charity but as responsibility. This is the uniqueness of this group of people. The activities are coordinated not by a highly educated person but by an enlightened person. ‘The group called themselves Kukku, which is nothing but the sound of a bird.

» Works with the community, not for it;

» Rejects labels like NGO or charity;

» Revives Nai Talim for tribal and Dalit children;

» Publishes children’s literature and Gandhian works;

» Restores traditional architecture, local arts, tribal water systems;

» Operates through enlightened leadership—no hierarchy, no formal power.