Migrants would not have suffered as they did recently if we had implemented in independent India the thought process of Mahatma Gandhiji that all villages must become self-sufficient and a large number of village industries should be established, said Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka.
“This is an area where I personally feel that those who are working in the field of economics must revisit the thought process of Mahatmaji,” he said on Friday while delivering a talk on ‘Relevance of Gandhi in 2020’ through a webinar organised by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and the Water Institute, Bangaluru University.
The Chief Justice said, “Though I am not an expert in the field of economy, in the present day context when we saw serious issue of migrant labourers [during COVID-19 lockdown], I personally feel that time has come for us to revisit the thought process adopted by Mahatmaji when he said we must give utmost importance to set up village industries.”
“After reading what Mahatmaji has written, I realised that tolerance is one of the qualities which all, the judicial officers and the judges must possess. May be due to pressure of work though we understand importance of tolerance we may not be able to practice it,” he said while pointing out that judicial officers work under enormous pressure.
