Showing posts with label Relevance of Gandhian philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relevance of Gandhian philosophy. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Gandhi Journal Article-III ( December 2016 ) - Reborn in Riyadh

Gandhi Journal Article-III ( December 2016 ) 

Reborn in Riyadh

The reformation: Inmates at the rehabilitation centre in Thumamah
By Syed Nazakat/Riyadh & Jeddah 
He is an expert in plotting terror strikes. His first mission was to fight the US in Afghanistan and then help the cause of jihad (holy war) worldwide. But in Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Khaled Al-Bewardi was merely No. 68.

Al-Bewardi was 21 when he first heard about al Qaeda’s recruitment for Afghanistan in 2003. The jihadi videos about Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Afghanistan convinced him to fight for the “oppressed Muslim”. In November 2003, he lied to his parents that he was off to camp in the desert with friends, a popular pastime of young Saudis. In truth, he, like hundreds of al Qaeda operatives, left for Pakistan.

At loose ends and casting about for a cause, one of his friends suggested that they go see Osama bin Laden, founder of al Qaeda. But before his group could reach Afghanistan and bin Laden, he was arrested in Karachi by a joint team of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan Special Forces. He was taken to Afghanistan and from there to Guantanamo Bay, a US enclave in Cuba.

After six years there, he was asked to leave his cell and board an aircraft. He thought he would be killed in the air. As he covered his head with his hands and prayed, the Saudi aircraft winged its way to Riyadh.

He disembarked in Thumamah, a former desert resort half an hour’s drive north of the Saudi Arabian capital. Though he did not realise it, he was at another of life’s crossroads. In Thumamah, he could use an indoor swimming pool and a gym, and eat in an air-conditioned dining hall with hundreds of other al Qaeda supporters. There was kasba (meat with rice) or the Najd region speciality, hashi (baby camel). In the evenings, they would paint or play football. On weekends, their wives would join them.

After few months at Thumamah, Khaled was released, with a monthly allowance of 3,000 Saudi riyals, a car and a job. “When I look back at the dark days of my life, it seems like a miracle that I am alive today,” said Khaled, the first reformed al Qaeda man to speak to the Indian media. “My life has suddenly changed for good.”

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Friday, December 9, 2016

Gandhi Journal Article-II ( December 2016 ) - Swadeshi: The greatest vow of this age

Gandhi Journal Article-II ( December 2016 ) 

Swadeshi: The greatest vow of this age

By Radha Bhatt 
Gandhi called swadeshi as swadeshi dharma. It was an integral part of his eleven vows. He described it as the greatest vow of the age. Therefore, to look at this revolutionary human value merely as an instrument to overcome the present state of economic crisis is not only unfair but also to lose its real strength.

In fact, economy is not so an important aspect of human existence as it is being made out today. Material achievement is nothing more than a means in the context of wholesome life of man. It can never become an end or the purpose of human existence. Therefore, any economic system which takes the creation of wealth as an end in itself could never achieve a solid foundation. We have to understand the intricacies of present worldwide economic crisis. We can easily see that the greatest weakness of the present thinking is that we have made consumerism as the primary aim of our life. A country like ours with its ancient culture had had an entirely different view of material wealth. For us the real wealth comprised of air, water, nature, land, ether etc. It meant that all those resources which were needed for the sustenance of human life actually constituted the real wealth. Unfortunately, today wealth is measured in terms of money which is printed on paper and used in exchange. It is eating into the vitals of rich heritage and prosperity of the world. Thus, the world economic crisis is unnecessarily being overemphasised.
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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Gandhi Journal Article-I (February 2016) : Relevance of Satyagraha as a Weapon of Conflict Resolution

Gandhi Journal Article-I (February 2016)

Relevance of Satyagraha as a Weapon of Conflict Resolution

By Anil K Ojha  
Satyagraha is the most important contribution of Gandhi to social philosophy and movement. It emerged as a weapon of conflict resolution. The concept of satyagraha could be understood in the broader context of Gandhian socio-political thought that developed out of actions, which he called 'Experiments with Truth'. It was aimed not merely at political change, but at the complete social, political, economic and cultural transformation. So far as its contemporary relevance as a means for attainment of justice and conflict resolution is concerned, diverse worldwide social movements drew and continue to draw inspiration from the Gandhian Way.

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