Mahatma Gandhi's Prophetic Clarion Warning

- By Prof. Gita Dharampal*

Mahatma Gandhi with the doctor studying the leprosy germs with microscope, Segaon, 1939.

COVID 19 is a wake-up call for the postmodern world! In line with the adage "every problem is an opportunity in disguise", the present dramatic scenario of pandemic proportions spotlights the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's clarion call (articulated in his incendiary manifesto Hind Swaraj [1909]) to extricate ourselves from the mesmerisation of modernity. Considered by him at best as a "nine days' wonder", he even went as far as to discredit modernity's alleged civilizational status as a "disease" to which we must endeavour not to fall victim. Whether this can be deemed an illustration of prophetic prescience or not, in any case, Gandhiji's vituperative phraseology (admittedly constituting part of a polemical diatribe with the aim of subverting the legitimacy of the colonial enterprise, epitomized by his stringent criticism of the Indian railways,¹ law courts, modern medicine and English education) embodies for us today an uncanny significance in these cataclysmic times as the virus spreads exponentially and the death toll is on the rise.

Modernity itself seems to be in a state of siege - especially in the western hemisphere, as transatlantic flights to the US are suspended; European nation-state borders sealed; international stock markets are plummeting making a global recession loom large; home office, self-isolation and quarantine are becoming the 'new speak' as economic, social, educational and cultural life is being impacted. As for politicians, struggling - they are at a loss to find a global approach and are compelled to undergo a slow awakening to the gravity of the pandemic.

With modernity's shining gloss getting unmasked as a deceptive mirage, it is dawning on us that our modern globalized life-style has made us weaker than ever²: admittedly, free trade, cheaper flights and social media have brought us closer together than ever, but they are also making us more vulnerable than ever. What is more, mass hysteria is on the rise as through social media platforms rumours and fake news are spreading faster than the virus. And yet, the primary victims are the 'first world' including India's and the South's upwardly striving jet-setting elite who until now enjoyed the specious privilege to be living in an age of unparalleled sophistication, freedom and comfort, claiming supremacy over the natural world and mastery of science.

Yet with jeremiads blasting in the news media that we are only a step or two away from disaster, not only the hubris of postmodernity (boasting to have conquered disease, etc.) but also its scourge of criminal injustice in view of the all-pervasive glaring social and economic disparity is exposed as the killer virus's³ onslaught threatens the lives of unsuspecting millions living in abysmal conditions.

Confronted with this apocalyptic scenario, let us recall Gandhiji's powerful allegorical premonition which reads as follows: "When the moth approaches its doom it whirls round faster and faster till it is burnt up. It is possible that India will not be able to escape this moth-like circling. It is my duty to try, till my last breath, to save India and through it the world from such a fate."⁴

Gandhiji's forebodings, though having an all-too-poignant ring, rather than deepening our despondency, should indeed summon us to urgently adopt a new mind-set: guided by his inspirational example, we are called upon to chart out a viable alternative model of polity that could extricate us from the contemporary impasse. Thereby, his envisioned road-map of integrating economics, politics and technology with ethics (all the while foregrounding Daridranarayan's well-being) can function as our sheet anchor in these precarious times.

And more immediately, to mitigate the rapid spread of the virus, for which - ironically - allopathic medicine offers no cure, we should model ourselves on Gandhiji, the indomitable experimenter in naturopathy, to use effective preventive treatment (and household remedies), practise excellent personal hygiene, promote and ensure community sanitation, and restrict ourselves to our localities, avoiding long-distant travel and reducing attendance at public assemblies: in short, the Gandhian principles of swadeshi, swachchhata and sarvodaya should be our guidelines. Indeed in following his dictum "Be the change you want to see in the world", through "simple living and high thinking" each and every one of us can make our contribution towards redeeming humanity and Planet Earth and thereby pay homage to the Mahatma in his 150th birth anniversary.

Notes and References:

1. Notably, he underscored the fact that railways were carriers and spreaders of epidemic diseases;
2. We should recall Gandhiji's warning in Hind Swaraj that through modernity humanity was becoming morally and physically weaker;
3. COVID 19 is now scientifically proven to have originated in Wuhan through breeding wild animals (in particular exotic varieties such as bats and pangolins) in captivity, for instance in so-called wet markets, for commercial purposes and intended for human consumption, thus creating ideal conditions for the spill-over of pathogens from one species to another, including to humans;
4. Extract from Mahatma Gandhi's letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, dated 5th October, 1945

Courtesy: Khoj Gandhiji ki, April 2020

* Prof. Gita Dharmapal, is a Dean of Research, Gandhi Research Foundation. Email: gitadh@gmail.com