Gandhi and Globalisation

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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is considered as a citizen of the planet earth. He is a person characterised by integral and coherent thought not segmented much less fragmented. He is a Yuga Purush. Amartya Sen also postulated that development should focus on the humanist dimension instead of on the economic growth. In the 21st Century almost all nations are suffering from the virus of conflict and violence. State terrorism has emerged as a consequence. It is debated that extremism is the cause of mal- development in the human society. Human society is in need of a spiritual bend in order to resolve the social fault lines. Gen. Dwyer told Mr. Churchill: "Gandhi is a man of God". People lamented that he was a hundred years ahead of his time.

Gandhi preached and practised that love that suffered was more powerful than the force that inflicted pain and suffering. Gandhi is one with Thoreau's principle that "Government is best which governs the least". Gandhi looks forward to the emergence of a world where "no state has the military. Regarding happiness, once Gandhi said that "All land belongs to God. What is true of land is also true of all other forms of property". Gandhi took the challenge and went for localised economy "swadeshi" i.e.. self-sufficiency. Gandhi considered all religions as branches of the same tree, Iswar. Villages to be developed as village republics. Peaceful World Order cannot emerge from a world of inequalities. There is no way to peace. Peace is the way. Gandhi spent his whole life for truth and non-violence. Finally, the destiny of India is far safer in women's hands.

A. RANGA REDDY (b. 1948) is working in the Department of Economics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (AP) as a Professor. He had a distinguished academic record. He has published more than 100 research papers and articles in leading dailies, magazines and journals. He has attended and presented above 180 papers in national seminars, and international conferences. He has 34 years of fruitful teaching and 26 years of research experience. He is a life member of ten national and international professional bodies. He conducted 13 regional and national Seminars funded by national research institutions like ICSSR, UGC, RBI, NABARD, CSIR, etc. On research assignments, and for paper presentation, he visited Malaysia, France, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius. He has published 10 books on different subjects like Ethics, Corruption, Women, Health, Credit, etc. He completed and submitted 3 Major Research Projects to UGC and ICSSR, New Delhi. He has evaluated more than 120 Ph.D. theses, and awarded Ph.D. degrees to 40 scholars. Under him, six scholars got Ph.Ds. and 3 M.Phils. Further, he attended and promoted many assignments of administrative, academic, development and examination activities. Last but not least, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati awarded a meritorious teacher award in 2000 and Friendship Forum of India, New Delhi awarded rising personality of India and academic excellence awards on April 16, 2008.

Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat but was brought up in England and South Africa, where trained up with agitated mind and agitations as action for new bold world. Gandhi's life's gospel was Satyagraha, as a philosophy of life. Louis Fisher remarked that "the British beat the Indians with batons and rifle butts. The Indians neither cringed nor complained nor retreated. That made England powerless and India invisible." Gandhi saw in the spinning wheel an economic tool for the restoration of the glories of Indian handicrafts and symbol of challenge to western civilization. Gandhi realized that the reason for the global crisis was unsustainable use of world resources. A sustainable development is one that can be achieved without using up the earth's resources. Gandhi's cardinal principle was simple living and high thinking. He openly considered "Truth is God" Economic globalization without spiritual globalization is blind and spiritual globalization without economic globalization is lame. Harmony between the two is visualized in Gandhian model of economics.

The papers are the outcome of a National seminar on "Impact of Gandhian Thought on Globalisation" held in the Centre for Peace and Non-violence, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati during March 29-30, 2006 on the same theme.

The editor is highly grateful to all authors of papers for bringing revised version of papers with content and quality. The editor is extremely indebtful to B. Sudhakara, Research Assistant, Scholars, Faculty of Economics, Administrators of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and well wishers. Infact, we are ever thankful to the concerned Administrators of University Grants Commission, New Delhi for sanctioning a Centre for Gandhian Studies to the University and in it a component of Seminar in the budget, under which we organized it. Further, we are exceedingly grateful to Prof. N. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Council of Gandhian Studies, New Delhi for writing effective "Foreword" to this volume.

t is over six decades since Gandhi was assassinated and there are all kinds of discussions both in India and abroad on what Gandhi left for humanity and whether his teachings would survive the test of time. What even the passionate critics of Gandhi cannot miss is the string of activities along Gandhian lines one can see in almost all countries of the world now. If not in very significant measure, there are very few countries in the world where something or other in the name of Gandhi is not being organised. In short, there is a global nonviolent awakening after Gandhi.

The fast-emerging global socio-political and economic scenario is an eloquent reminder of the speed with which the forces released by science and technology and aided by human greed has dismantled almost at one stroke all humanity hitherto believed invincible. Nothing is sacrosanct now. The geopolitical compulsions and the mad frenzy of both developed and developing nations, to appropriate for themselves all what they can lay their hands on, reminds us of the haste and anxiety seen among the nocturnal thieves to plunder completely and decamp with the booty before anyone wakes up in the house. It appears that a kind of colonial instinct also guides modern man in all his activities. Only the label changes the bottle and the decoction continue to be the same.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages