It is mid-winter in north Bihar. An academic commitment has brought me to Champaran, the fabled land of many faces. Its rich history goes back to the Vedic era, attracting, over centuries, great saints, philosophers, kings, and, closer to our times, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.
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In the 18th century, it lured hordes of Europeans — traders, planters and fortune seekers, many of whom settled here and paved the way for the foundation of the British rule in India. But then, it was also the earliest to rise against them. This began with the satyagraha of Gandhi in 1917 culminating in the freedom of the country in 1947.
Yes, I am in its storm centre — Motihari. Spread along the Himalayan foothills, the region is a vast expanse of fertile flatland fed by river Gandak and its tributaries and endowed with rich flora and fauna. The town is blessed with an enormous lake called Moti Jheel.
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The bureaucratic zone of the town is spacious for a district; stately and clean, it exudes a feel of the colonial era. I visit the newly founded Mahatma Gandhi Central University, established to commemorate the memory of one of the greatest apostles of peace and an icon of our times. Since the university is still in the making, I cannot comprehend its full planning. But its central cluster is well-maintained, and the groups of youth enjoying the warmth of the winter sun offer a spectacle of hope.
At a seminar on science and society, I speak on the Gandhian perspective. As the leader of history’s greatest struggle against colonialism and oppression, Gandhi has left an unfolding legacy for humanity. Surprisingly, except for his statue and the name of the university, there is little here to evoke his memories. Some of its wings are named after people quite strangers to the Gandhian philosophy, but none of his associates are noticeable anywhere. Moreover, the history Gandhi shaped for half-a-century in this part of the world is not taught in this university, nor are taught many other disciplines in which he has left his seminal ideas. I am baffled!
May I hope the university would address this cruel paradox and endeavour to emerge as a nodal centre for developing an alternative model of progress for humanity that the Mahatma envisaged.
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Decades since Gandhi exited the scene, we live in a turbulent world. The life in Motihari is no exception: the traffic is chaotic, and dirt and filth pile up. The greatest shock is the famous Moti Jheel, situated almost in the heart of the town. A massive oxbow lake, it offers a relaxing panorama to the countless homes nesting on its bank. It could have been a great tourist attraction, but it is in a pathetic condition — full of weeds and garbage. Audacious encroachments into the lake make things worse. The people watch it with stoic indifference. The Mahatma would have felt deeply dismayed.
Such things are not the responsibility of the government alone, but also of society. Could we take a lesson from the Mahatma and solve such problems with his handy prescriptions — shramdan and satyagraha?
At the end of my visit, I deliver a lecture at the local Gandhi Museum. Its simple ambience is inspiring and I feel privileged to speak on Gandhi from the same table that he once used during the satyagraha days. The audience is small but inquisitive, and the media appears to be socially committed. The very elderly chairperson of the centre and a schoolgirl, with her curiosity to know about Gandhi, both reflect Gandhian values. I meet some academics and others in the town, who admire Gandhi and look for him in a new avatar to lead them to many freedoms yet to come in their lives.
The Mahatma Gandhi Central University is providentially ordained to carry forward this task, with an appropriate geocultural environment to experiment and innovate.
jnsinha@rediffmail.com