The UN's International Day of Non-Violence in Honour of the Apostle of Peace and Non-Violence The Mahatma Gandhi's Relevance to the Contemporary World

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Tyrone Burns
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1 The UN's International Day of Non-Violence in Honour of the Apostle of Peace and Non-Violence The Mahatma Gandhi's Relevance to the Contemporary World Address by the Hon. Wade Mark, MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Thursday October 2 nd, 2014 His Excellency the Indian High Commissioner Mr. Gauri Shankar Honorable. Ministers of Government; Mayor of Port of-spain, Your Worship Mr. Rayrnond Tim Kee Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Members of the Media; and Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning! Mine today is an easy task. Amidst the warring noises throughout the world, we reach out to honour and embrace the wisdom of Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi. His legacy, through his experience and teachings, seems all that is left in order to return mankind to a semblance of sanity and reason. Every century throws up its outstanding sons. But the twentieth century was unique. In moral and spiritual terms, the century gave us Bapu, the one for all centuries. Without doubt, Gandhi remains one of the few most accomplished, most sincere, most honourable, most revered and most influential persons of the twentieth or any other century. It is said that when there are

2 many men without honour, there is always one person who demonstrates the honour of many men. Such a person was our dear and beloved Bapu. It has been said that wisdom comes to us at a point in life when it is no longer of any use. Let us today reject that thesis...for Gandhi has left the world enough of his wisdom which has stood the test of time if only we would take the time to listen. One writer says, "I often look to Mahatma Gandhi for wisdom. His gentle approach to life is testament to the fact that strength does not equal physical capacity". Thus, the Mahatma says, "In a gentle way, we can shake the world What a truly inspiring and effective message! Here, today, it is important to define this wisdom with which Gandhi affected us all. This wisdom also served to protect many of his followers. Gandhi's wisdom is best reflected...and remembered...during many episodes of his anti-colonial struggle for India's independence against British domination. That is well documented. The incidents are varied and majestic in nature. Whether we refer to his inclusion of women in the struggle for independence, his opposition to child marriage, untouchability, the extreme oppression of Hindu widows or the inclusion of women in the salt campaigns, the stature of Bapu rings supreme. What, however, is less well-documented has been his influence on the two other great moral personages of the 20 th century... Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. These two embraced the true Spirit of Gandhi...and what an outcome they achieved! Gandhi wrote in 1936: "I have simply tried in my own way to apply the eternal truths to our daily life and problems...the opinions I have formed and the conclusions I have arrived at are not final. I may change them tomorrow. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills...there must be no impatience, no barbarity, no insolence, no undue pressure. If we want to cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant. Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause"... And if we choose to judge the conduct of these two men on the basis of the wisdom that Gandhi 2

3 left us, we see an interconnectedness that, while easy to define...is difficult to dispute. "A man,' Gandhi writes, "is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. Be the change that you want to see in the world". How remarkable that Both Mandela and King understood his thinking and experience and forged a whole new epoch around them...and that in spite of the oppression, racism, imprisonment and hate which they endured so heroically. It was Martin Luther himself who wrote: Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics. And, as one writer stated: "Mandela completed what Gandhi started". No less a person than Albert Einstein had a very portentous commentary on Gandhi's influence and work: "Mahatma Gandhi's life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come. Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth flesh and blood." Distinguished guests, I ask that you look the world today. Where is the moral authority the moral compass?? In departing from the lessons of BAPU, are we the richer, the wiser, the more democratic, for having strayed from the message and example of this simple but fearless man of unmatched intelligence, vision and wisdom? We may ask, too, quite correctly, would South Africa be as manageable today without the wisdom of Mandela...ably influenced by the thinking of our dear Mahatma? Today, let us reset the moral compass to the message of this dominant, non-violent thinker and actor. It may be difficult at times; but as Gandhi says: In a gentle way, you can shake the world!!! 3

4 This day is the anniversary, began in 2007, of the United Nations International Day of Non-violence. And, annually, the government of India awards the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to the most distinguished persons. It is therefore not by accident that Mandela was a prominent recipient. That Gandhi himself never received the Nobel Prize will forever remain a blot on that Committee's otherwise distinguished work. We do acknowledge, however, that decades later, the Nobel Committee publicly indicated its remorse as regards that most serious error. We note, also, on the occasion of the award in 1989 to the Dalai Lama, the Nobel Committee stated openly that it was in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. Awards apart...and awards would have meant little to Bapu he was always set to show that he has simply tried in his own way to apply the eternal truths to our daily life and problems The opinions I have formed, he warns, and the conclusions I have arrived at are not final. I may change them tomorrow. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. Such was the absolute humility of the Mahatma. And this humility is, perhaps, nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in his service to the women of India, many of whom were disadvantaged. Thus, he has said, the women have come to look upon me as one of themselves. What a tribute for such times in his beloved India! So that we honour today this man of exquisite human sensitivity, a man for all times and for all the peoples everywhere. We can never say that he refused to practise what he preached...an important legacy! As he himself said: One thing took deep root in me -the conviction that morality is the basis of things, and that truth is the substance of all morality. Truth became my sole objective. It began to grow in magnitude every day, and my definition of it has also been ever-widening. So many readings and experiences formed Bapu. His eclectic past helped form him. Listen to him once more: I regard untouchability as the greatest blot on Hinduism. This idea was not brought home to me by my bitter experiences in South Africa. It is equally wrong to say that I 4

5 have taken my views from my study of Christian religious literature. Gandhi affirms that his views date to the time when his mother told him not to touch the scavenger because he came to clean the latrine!! Distinguished guests, I commend Gandhi's experience to all on this day. He truly saw himself as no greater than the least among him. Thank you. 5

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