"Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having."
- Mahatma Gandhi in Harijan, July 6, 1947
(Courtesy of mkgandhi.org)
- Mahatma Gandhi in Harijan, July 6, 1947
(Courtesy of mkgandhi.org)
Thesis
Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, embodiment of Ahimsa (non-violence), advocate of Satyagraha (adherence to truth), led India in her fight for Swaraj (political liberty-1947), social justice, and Swadeshi (self-reliance). To establish rights, Gandhi called for nationwide boycott of foreign goods and orchestrated the defiance of oppressive laws like the Rowlatt Act (1919) and the Salt Tax (1930). Likewise, to spur the nation towards its responsibilities, he championed the poor and the outcasts, strived for communal harmony, set an example for simple living, and ushered the concept of self-reliance through the Khadi (hand-spun cloth) and Swadeshi Movements. Thus, he validated that rights and responsibilities go hand in hand.
Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, embodiment of Ahimsa (non-violence), advocate of Satyagraha (adherence to truth), led India in her fight for Swaraj (political liberty-1947), social justice, and Swadeshi (self-reliance). To establish rights, Gandhi called for nationwide boycott of foreign goods and orchestrated the defiance of oppressive laws like the Rowlatt Act (1919) and the Salt Tax (1930). Likewise, to spur the nation towards its responsibilities, he championed the poor and the outcasts, strived for communal harmony, set an example for simple living, and ushered the concept of self-reliance through the Khadi (hand-spun cloth) and Swadeshi Movements. Thus, he validated that rights and responsibilities go hand in hand.
(The images in this mosaic are in the Gallery)
(Courtesy of You Tube)
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This ancient Indian hymn inspired Mahatma Gandhi. The lyrics mean: a conscientious person is one who feels others' pain and humbly serves others as his/her responsibility.
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"I learned from my illiterate but wise mother that all rights to be deserved and preserved came from duty well done. Thus, the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world. From this one fundamental statement, perhaps it is easy enough to define the duties of Man and Woman and correlate every right to some corresponding duty to be first performed."
- Mahatma Gandhi in a letter to the first Director-General of UNESCO regarding the ideas for a universal declaration of human rights, May 25, 1947
(Courtesy of doonething.org)
- Mahatma Gandhi in a letter to the first Director-General of UNESCO regarding the ideas for a universal declaration of human rights, May 25, 1947
(Courtesy of doonething.org)
Gandhi: The Philosophy of Non-Violence
[This video has a small lag in the middle, but it will still play.] (Courtesy of OVObio -Intellectuals and Mystics) |
While it is true that one's rights are inalienable, it is equally true that one's responsibilities to the society and to oneself are indisputable. While undertaking these, one should hold steadfastly to truth and non-violence. This was the message of Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired and united the Indian masses, and helped India gain her deserved rights responsibly.
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