The legacy of Gandhi

"An India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people, an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony."

That was the India Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi envisioned and worked for, a quest that would earn him the honorific of Mahatma, or "Great Soul."

An England-trained lawyer, Gandhi had worked in South Africa for the rights of Indians there. He returned to India in 1915 and began to take active part in the ongoing freedom movement.

Deeply spiritual, Gandhi advocated a philosophy of non-violent resistance to injustice. His message was simple: it was not British guns but the inequalities of society itself that was keeping the country in bondage.

He was a strong believer in the axiom "simple living, high thinking" and was convinced that India's future lay in the hands of its rural millions.

By late 1920, Gandhi was the dominant figure on India's political stage, and already an influence on revolutions worldwide against colonialism, racism and violence. His teachings would inspire non-violent movements everywhere, notably in the United States under the civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

India's democracy was just about five months old when Gandhi was gunned down by a Hindu fanatic. But his mantle of social justice would be incorporated into Indian government policy.

Now, 50 years after independence, as the drumroll of celebrations reverberates across the nation, many wonder about the relevance of Gandhi's legacy in India today.

India, a nation of 900 million people, churned by political, religious, and communal turmoil, is reassessing its place in the world, conscious that its identity exists within a kaleidoscope of contradictions.

Even within the framework of India's political corruption and the disparity of its people, the Indian economy continues to grow and its space and nuclear programs place India among the top industrial countries in the world.

Yet the superstructure of the rigid caste system remains in place, keeping the Dalits, formerly known as India's "untouchables," on the bottom of society's totem pole. Officially though, they have won special education and job quotas to help improve their socio-economic status, but the reality is something else. Gandhi called this group Harijans, or "children of God," a conscious effort to erase centuries of discrimination. Today, even the name Harijan has come to have pejorative connotations.

The elevation of a Dalit, K.R. Narayanan, as the country's 10th president may represent a major triumph for Gandhi's legacy. But the post of president is largely ceremonial and many say Narayanan's election will not dramatically alter the status of the Dalits, who make up an estimated 25 percent of India's population. Still, the symbolism in this event sends a powerful signal to the entire nation.

As India is poised on the edge of the new millennium and a still uncertain political and economic future, many of its age-old schisms and disparities threaten to tear open old wounds. Now, more than ever, Gandhi's message of tolerance and compassion has special meaning.

As Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal put it: "In a time of deepening crisis in the underdeveloped world, of social malaise in the affluent societies . . it seems likely that Gandhi's ideas and techniques will become increasingly relevant."