Was Gandhi the Great Communicator?

Was Gandhi the Great Communicator?

Off course, the great communicators should have a good knowledge of Law, besides other things, which they can use as a tool of protection at the time of speech. Now it is very important to note what were the specialities in Gandhi’s communication, which made him great communicator were; that is the truth or satya, the non-violence or Ahimsa, and the non-profession or Aparigraha. These things create trusteeship among masses. When Gandhi led labor movement in South Africa, he became very popular among labour community around the world. Consequently, he was called by peasant- leader in champaran as a good advocate because peasants were being exploited by planters and he was the only reliable alternate who could mediate the case of peasants and government. When Gandhi was about to come at Motihari Railway station(champaran) thousands of people were desperately waiting for their Messiah. Thus, Gandhi won the trust of labour class people first, then highlighted issues of the emancipation of women and farmers such movements kept helping him to develop good leadership quality. Gandhi started campaign against British ever since he get insulted by white English in Africa. He accepted the challenge that Angrez felt in 1947.
Truth occupies the first place and non-violence the second. In the course of his pursuit of truth, he discovered Ahimsa. His goal was to search truth and he wanted to realize truth through Ahimsa. To him truth is harmony of thoughts with words and of words with actions. To Gandhi, the statement, “god is truth, is only partial. The statement ‘truth is god’ is all-inclusive and pervasive. Gandhi says wife, children, friends and professions- to be held subservient to truth. Each one of these should be sacrificed in search of truth.” Gandhi’s experiment with truth became very popular among masses.
The idea of trusteeship was inherent in the ideology of Ahimsa, “non-violence is the law of the human race and is infinitely greater than and superior to brute force.” For him trusteeship was an increasable stage in the methodology of a non-violence revolution. It was not transitional. It is a stage that yields the result that one was seeking in that sense, therefore, it was both a ‘means’ and an ‘end. Hence, Gandhi claimed, “no other theory is compatible with non-violence.” While acquisition stands for violence, non-violence stands for non-acquisition. A votary of non-violence keeps away from procession. Every kind of procession is based on exploitation, which is a form of violence. A non- violent society is a non-exploitative society. It can be non-violent only when it assumes economic equality.
Aprigraha or non-profession is the ethical idea of non-possession: of the renunciation of ownership, of liberation from the subtle as well as the course bond those processions forge for one. It is hoary ideal sanctified by every religion. According to Gandhi, “non possession means non-dependence on material things. It implies total abolition of private property of all kinds of belongings, a view more radical that of extreme communist”. He says, I suggest that we are thieves in the way if I take anything that I do not need for my own immediate use and keep it. I thieve it from somebody else. I suggest it is fundamental law of nature, without exception that nature produces enough for our wants from day to day and if only everyone took enough from himself and nothing more, there would be no pauperism in this world. For Gandhi, politics and personal life are not two different things but are inseparable to each other, therefore, it created trust among the masses on Gandhi to forge a powerful protests like Non-Cooperation, Civil-Disobedience against the British. This shows the popularity of the ‘Mahatma’ and makes him ‘the great communicator’.

Syed Taqui Asgar Rizvi
Mass Communication