A touch of the Mahatma

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Jab jab tera bigul baja, jawan chal pade
Majdoor chal pade the aur kisaan chal pade
Hindu wa Musalman Sikh Pathan chal pade
Kadmon pe tere koti koti pran chal pade.

There are many Indians who are still walking the path laid and followed by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. This path demands giving up comfort and dedicating one’s entire life to the betterment of the people and the society, with nothing but non-cooperation, non-violence and peaceful resistance. And while it’s been more than 63 years since Bapu spoke his last words, his philosophy has survived among Indians, who live their lives based on the tenets of his beliefs and principles. That, perhaps, is the best tribute to the great man.
On October 2, we pay tribute to the individuals who not only live the path laid down by Bapu, but whose efforts continue to keep alive what Gandhiji believed was important for the development and prosperity of India.

Right to education: Sandeep Desai
Just as Gandhiji walked spreading the message of non-violence with nothing but a lathi in his hand, professor Sandeep Desai has been travelling in Mumbai’s local trains with a bowl, a bunch of visiting cards, and a placard around his neck explaining his mission — to spread the message of education for all and collect funds for his two free rural schools. “I was tired of pleading with corporate organisations and government institutions. I needed money to run the schools and I was determined to get it, even if I had to beg, which I did and still do,” he says.
Desai’s The Shloka Trust, which runs two free schools — one in Donivade village in Ratnagiri and another in Gangowadi village in Sindhudurg — works under a very tight budget. “You can’t run schools in villages for fees. Most of villagers are landless labourers. Education is the last thing on their mind,” he says.

Tiffin for the destitute: Raghu makwana
Twenty-six-year-old Raghu Makwana is handicapped below the waist due to polio, but it didn’t restrict him from helping the poor and destitute in Ahmedabad. Raghu runs a tiffin service for slum dwellers.
Starting from a chance encounter with a beggar couple who were too sick to go out and beg, Raghu’s dabba now serves 14 poor families in Ahmedabad twice a day.
“There are so many poor people in Ahmedabad who can’t afford food. I’m just trying to help them in whatever way possible,” says Raghu, who even uses part of the meagre `5,000 salary he earns from an NGO.
Raghu says that helping the poor has helped him find a new self, and made him a believer in God. “Often I wouldn’t have the money, but I believed in God and knew He would help. I even decided to fast if I had to and offer up my food,” he says.
But help wasn’t far away. When they heard about his dabba service, people offered help in whatever way they could. Today, there is a group of people who fast on alternate days to support his free tiffin service. They fast for a day, and donate the money they would have spent on their meal to Raghu’s dabba.

Be the change: Udaybhai ka rickshaw
No matter where you go, Udaybhai’s autorickshaw meter always reads zero. He never asks his passengers for money, taking whatever they give. Udaybhai’s auto runs on a “friend-paid-before” basis, which means somebody has already paid for you, so you can ride till wherever you want. The money you pay will help the next customer reach his destination. And Udaybhai’s auto is no ordinary auto. It has got an MP3 player, designer seats, newspapers, magazines and a mobile library.
The first two months, says Udaybhai, were very tough. “I had no money at all. But as Gandhiji said, you need indomitable will to do something,” says Udaybhai, who is also a disciple of Padmashri awardee Ishwarbhai Patel, a well-known Gandhian. “Ishwarbhai always told us, ‘Whatever you do, do it with all your heart’,” he says.

Upholding dalit rights: Bezwada Wilson
Gandhiji worked towards upholding the rights of the dalits. Forty seven-year-old social activist Bezwada Wilson too has dedicated his life to fighting towards the eradication of manual scavenging and upholding the rights of dalits. Born into a dalit family, young Wilson was shocked when he found out about manual scavenging. “The practice was abolished in 1993, but there are still more than two lakh manual scavengers,” says Wilson, who spent the last 27 years of his life fighting against the practice. “There’s not much support, we don’t have enough volunteers, but our spirits are high,” says Wilson.

Social integration: Natwar Thakkar
Just as Gandhiji wanted Indians of different castes and creed to live in harmony, Padmashri awardee Natwar Thakkar has lived silently in the complex and inhospitable socio-political climate of Nagaland for over four decades now, trying to create a sense of integration and harmony among the people of Nagaland. He says, “I don’t preach Gandhian thoughts. Gandhiji believed that violence is never a solution to social or political problems, and my only mission in life is to work towards this.”

Simple living, high thinking: prof. V. Ramdas
Eighty-year-old economics professor V. Ramdas has lived his life as per the 23 points of Gandhiji’s Constructive Programme. He is one of the dying breed of Gandh-ians, who lived a simple life and has been motivating youngsters. “You tell youngsters about non-violence and they yawn,” says Ramdas, “It’s my duty to tell them of Bapu’s ideals, and what else could be better than living them myself,” he says. Ramdas has also been promoting village industries like soap, oil manufacturing, as well as organic farming.