Gandhi : Man of Action

As we all know that today is the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and it is not very surprising that he still seems to be present by his words and his actions. Isn't it what being timeless means! This often compels us to ask few questions. What made Gandhiji so famous? Why he's denoted as the Father of Nation and no one else? What made people follow him and his not-so-conventional way of nonviolence?

 

Everyone among us has written a ten-sentence essay on Gandhiji. Knowing him back then was just a matter of few marks. While growing up, talking about truth and nonviolence seemed to be very vague. Now, when we are legally adults the mere realization of the fact that how much courage you need to leave your comfortable life for the sake of the nation is enough. Today, we appreciate him even more not just for what he has done for the nation but what he had said back then still makes a lot of sense.

At the time when Gandhiji came back to India, it wasn't that there was a lack of leaders but the leadership was missing. What made him so popular was his tendency not to take the conventional way. At the time when moderates were on the verge of losing their ground, even talking about nonviolence needs a lot of courage. At the time when mass killing and torturing were so common and nonviolence was used to be seen as inaction, Gandhiji proved how it could be the most efficient weapon against the British. He is undisputedly the Father of Nation, what made him so is the mere fact that he practiced what he preached. At this time when our leader's words never match with their actions, they must learn something from him. His honesty and rigidity towards his thoughts and himself made him so charismatic that cannot be ignored. People must have seen that honesty in him and that's what made him someone who could be looked upon. Staying so active in politics yet having a sense of detachment from positions must have earned him the tag of Mahatma.

 

Being unconventional and different have a huge price to pay. Along with a large number of followers, Gandhiji has an equal share of haters. But what remains constant among all these is that he's still alive in our hearts. Every time when we praise him when we criticize him or we write on him, we keep his thoughts ignited. He was never bothered by criticism and neither should we. Apart from that, mere words would have never been enough to move such a huge crowd. Gandhiji indeed was a man of action. And we still have a lot to learn from him.

Abhilasha Kumari