As economic woes pile up, look to Gandhi…again

Tomorrow, as the nation celebrates the birth of the greatest legend of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi, one can’t help feeling a sense of irony on how concepts pioneered by him, are ringing true as the world faces  new-age capitalism being trumpeted by US President Donald Trump. In his feverish pitch to ‘Make America Great Again’, Trump has gone on a tariff frenzy, jacking up rates to an absurd 50 per cent on India and Brazil and more recently imposing a crazy 100 per cent tariff on pharma products which the US imports in ample measure from India, and on foreign-made films.

While every nation is entitled to frame its taxation policies to match its domestic interests, the intent of Trump’s  tariff measure seems to go beyond that - he has spoken about India buying oil in abundance from Russia and the need to stop that which our leaders have politely declined to heed and rightly so. And so the US has decided to resort to tactics for which it is known best - bullying of the worst kind making developing countries trying to catch up on the growth graph, stumbling back.

So how does the Mahatma’s philosophy come to our rescue in these troubled times, with markets plunging and industrial and business units which heavily rely on exports, facing difficult times and rushing in panic to secure alternative markets? ‘’My nationalism is as broad as my swadeshi, I want India’s rise so that the whole world may benefit.’’ said Gandhi, as he fought British imperialism exhorting khadi-clad Congressmen to brave the lathis in a unique show of passive resistance. His attack on capitalism was unsparing; he criticised it for its inherent tendency toward exploitation, greed, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, which he believed led to human suffering and inequality.

Today, as India faces a huge economic backlash from the unfair tariff imposition, leaders are harping on the need to build on swadeshi products and domestic markets so that our native industry can have a buffer against the uncertainty in the global markets, triggered by Trump’s maverick policies. They are swearing by self-reliance, again a concept which the Mahatma stressed on again and again. For he had witnessed his nation’s hapless millions being bled while by the British rulers’ plunder, which were focused on protecting the interests of their industry and trade. Our native trade and economy, build painstakingly through the centuries, took a near-fatal blow due to colonial exploitation and now, as Tump lords over the world’s destiny, the frightening prospects of a repeat look pretty real. 

In a world where dictatorial trends are tending to overwhelm the democratic spirit, Gandhi had this to say about tyrants, “When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants……., and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Think of it — always.” Bapu remains as relevant to us as he was about a hundred years ago. And there is no better time than now to study his pristine thoughts and reaffirm our faith in this epitome of simplicity, who made the greatest power on Earth bend to his will.