My last post, for this month. Catch you in November.
I have always been a Gandhi Lover, Munnabhai or no Munnabhai. He is an inspiration, an idea that should come to every mind. It is Gandhi's Birthday, I just went through a question on another blog ,"Do you think Gandhi's principles would work with the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation ?
And I ask myself, can Gandhi's principles work with the Palestinian struggle? For one, non-violence has not always worked. Probably because of the lack of the leadership abilities that a man like Gandhi possessed. He is a part of a crowd whose numbers can be counted on the fingers of my right hand. Second, this is not about an occupation about money and power, it is about religion and power. Thirdly, the British left India for a whole lot of other reasons too (not trying to belittle the non-violence movement here), they weren't afraid, they just couldn't control such a huge population stretched out on a huge land mass, profitably. The Palestinians are far less in number, and it’s not a huge territory, for example Gaza is only 150 sq.kms.
The task can't be worked out unless Israel stops occupying. That is easier said than done. The problem is Fear. The Jews need a place of their own. Nothing wrong in that. They want security from what they faced earlier at the hands of the Nazis. But it is their fear that makes them violent. And it is the oppression of the Palestinians that makes them violent. It is a cycle that keeps going on. No easy solutions to it. It just cannot be done, unless of course, a systematic teaching of non-violence is spread over Israel and Palestine, over a series of Leaderships. What we need is not one Gandhi. We need plenty of Gandhis who would turn it around in about a few decades. What we need is complete change in the educational system, which teaches peace and harmony. What we need is not one side to just insist on the other to stop first. They need to do it together. What we need is to also understand a few people who disturb peace are not representative of the complete population on either side. The styreotypical image the people on both sides have about each other, stops them from envisaging a better future.
I have always been a Gandhi Lover, Munnabhai or no Munnabhai. He is an inspiration, an idea that should come to every mind. It is Gandhi's Birthday, I just went through a question on another blog ,"Do you think Gandhi's principles would work with the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation ?
And I ask myself, can Gandhi's principles work with the Palestinian struggle? For one, non-violence has not always worked. Probably because of the lack of the leadership abilities that a man like Gandhi possessed. He is a part of a crowd whose numbers can be counted on the fingers of my right hand. Second, this is not about an occupation about money and power, it is about religion and power. Thirdly, the British left India for a whole lot of other reasons too (not trying to belittle the non-violence movement here), they weren't afraid, they just couldn't control such a huge population stretched out on a huge land mass, profitably. The Palestinians are far less in number, and it’s not a huge territory, for example Gaza is only 150 sq.kms.
The task can't be worked out unless Israel stops occupying. That is easier said than done. The problem is Fear. The Jews need a place of their own. Nothing wrong in that. They want security from what they faced earlier at the hands of the Nazis. But it is their fear that makes them violent. And it is the oppression of the Palestinians that makes them violent. It is a cycle that keeps going on. No easy solutions to it. It just cannot be done, unless of course, a systematic teaching of non-violence is spread over Israel and Palestine, over a series of Leaderships. What we need is not one Gandhi. We need plenty of Gandhis who would turn it around in about a few decades. What we need is complete change in the educational system, which teaches peace and harmony. What we need is not one side to just insist on the other to stop first. They need to do it together. What we need is to also understand a few people who disturb peace are not representative of the complete population on either side. The styreotypical image the people on both sides have about each other, stops them from envisaging a better future.
But then how can we forget History? Jerusalem is probably the most conquered city on the planet. The balance has always shifted. Can we just ignore History? Can it be that History would repeat itself as it has countless number of times in this city revered by the bulk of the population on the planet?
