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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Preserving Gandhi’s enduring legacy by Melanie P Kumar

Preserving Gandhi’s enduring legacy by Melanie P Kumar

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published Published on Oct 3, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 3, 2010

For me, stepping into the simple precincts of Bapu Kutir in Sevagram and seeing Gandhiji’s personal belongings was indeed a lesson in humility.  The charkha holds pride of place in the small mud dwelling even as Gandhians take turns to spin the wheel. One gentleman told us that a national shift to khadi would provide employment to thousands of people.

The greatest thing about visiting Sevagram is to find that the place is not just thriving on its historical past but is doing its utmost to keep alive Gandhian values by service to humanity.  Apart from those who live in the Ashram, Sevagram throws its doors open to one and all.  Visitors need to follow the rules of the Ashram during their stay there including Shramdan and spinning.

Wardha is the sister-city of Sevagram and both these cities played a great role in India’s independence movement with Wardha acting as the headquarters of the Indian National Congress for their annual meet in 1934.  But this is not Wardha’s only claim to fame as many institutions still continue to flourish there including the Centre of Science for Villages.  The most impressive work done by this Centre is in the area of Rural Housing and Sanitation.  In a country, which is hurtling towards development even as its villages are deprived of basic amenities, it was heartening to see how cheap housing could be made available to the poor with local materials.  Even more interesting were the various models of toilets on display, all of them designed to use a minimal amount of water.

Very close to the Sevagram Ashram is the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences.  Its greatest claim to fame is that it is the first medical institution to be placed in a rural setting.  It was started in 1944 after the death of Kasturba Gandhi by  Gandhiji himself.  Students who are admitted through merit on the basis of an exam have to live in the Sevagram for 15 days as part of an orientation to the Gandhian way of life.

The Kasturba Medical College has initiatives to its credit, which have stood the test of time. Each batch of new students is required to adopt a village and spend at least a fortnight educating the villagers on health issues and tending to them.  An additional component of this course is that the students are trained as family physicians so that they can provide basic primary care at the rural level.  For the post-graduate courses, there is a mandatory criterion of two years service in a rural set-up.  It is heartening to see how this college has not forgotten the idealism of Gandhi and his concern for the poor and helpless.

Gandhiji’s spirit of service influenced those around him and Vinoba Bhave started the Bhoodan Movement traversing the length of breadth of India asking people to give away their land to the landless.  Some distance away from Wardha is Paunar where Vinoba Bhave came to live and practise Gandhian values.

A two-hour ride from Wardha takes one to Anandvan where Baba Amte inspired by Gandhi set up his rehabilitation programme for leprosy patients. After he passed away, his widow, Shalini Tai took over the running of the Ashram with the help of her two sons.  The rehabilitation programme for those cured of the disease has to be seen to be believed.  There is a section devoted to the physically-handicapped too and the work that they have been trained to do can put the able-bodied to shame.

A visit to Wardha, Sevagram and Anandvan is enough to make one realise that the legacy of Gandhi is safe in the hands of those who have followed his words, “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj or the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.”



The Deccan Herald, 3 October, 2010, http://www.deccanherald.com/content/101398/preserving-gandhis-enduring-legacy.html


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