Page 61 - Kerala calling OCTOBER 2020

multidimensionally, structurally, accumulate record wealth and have truthful resistance, and to create
and essentially violent. For Gandhi, made a financial killing during the positive, Gandhi-informed,
the current dominant hatred, coronavirus pandemic. contemporary alternatives.
divisiveness, and dehumanization of
others as essentially other is violent; Who suffers the most and dies the In this regard, Gandhi not only
economic and social inequality most from COVID-19? As Gandhi challenges modern Indians,
between the haves and have-nots repeatedly emphasizes, it is the poor, but he also challenges many
is essentially violent; humanly the exploited workers, the oppressed traditional admirers and devotees
created and maintained poverty minorities, and others who are the who view him as an idealized,
is violent; the construction of the most disadvantaged, the have-nots, extolled, hopeful, and comforting
immoral and untruthful modern those with the least material, moral, Bapu, Mahatma, and perfected
ego-defined individual, with its and spiritual swaraj, freedom, and exemplary presence. As during
ego-desires and attachments and self-determinism in modern India. his lifetime, Gandhi’s legacy today
possessiveness is essentially violent; is to serve as a catalyst, to make
xenophobic state nationalism is In summarizing Gandhi’s concept us deeply uncomfortable with
violent; the dominant, hierarchical, of modern India, he would interpret dominant modern life, so that
institutionalized economic, political, the dominant non-Gandhian we are motivated to reimagine,
social, cultural, media, religious, and anti-Gandhian expressions reconceptualize, recontextualize,
class, caste, gendered, educational as those of the corporate and creatively and selectively
systems are multidimensionally financial capitalist elite, modern reformulate and reapply how to live
and structurally violent. They reject scientists and engineers and nonviolently, morally, truthfully,
the inclusivist, interconnected, medical experts, those promoting and sustainably in India and the
egalitarian, decentralized, fossil fuels and military and nuclear world of 2020 and the future.
substantively-democratic, domination, and those with the
multisided-tolerant, dharma- power shaping mass media and
based, moral, and truthful basis the dominant culture. Today As in the USA and as
of Gandhi’s vision, teachings, and these modern human beings revealed by Gandhi’s
practices for 2020. identify with neo-liberal corporate insightful perspectives,
capitalism, profit maximization,
As this article is being written in globalization, ego-driven COVID-19 renders
the first half of September, the materialism and consumerism, transparently clear the
coronavirus pandemic is raging in worship of technology, militarism, relational
India, as the number of reported multidimensional forms of nature and functioning
COVID-19 cases in India is now violence, and the exploitation and inequalities of the modern
second in the world and growing at domination of nature. For them and healthcare system
an alarming rate. As in the USA and their worldview, Gandhi is at most
as revealed by Gandhi’s insightful a minor irritant, can occasionally
perspectives, COVID-19 renders be used (misused) for their modern
transparently clear the relational purposes, and is basically irrelevant
nature and functioning inequalities in their modern world.
of the modern healthcare system, Gandhi not only
modern medical technologies and Gandhi not only offers a theoretical challenges modern
access to available treatments, and analysis and critique of such Indians, but he also
the social, economic, political, and a dominant modern India. challenges many
other contexts of modern India. As In his dynamic, open-ended,
in the USA, the super-rich live in contextualized, action-oriented traditional admirers and
safe environments, have access to approach, Gandhi challenges devotees who view him
the most advanced modern medical us to raise our transformative as an idealized, extolled,
resources, and the billionaires and consciousness about Indian and hopeful, and comforting
the insurance, pharmaceutical, global modernism, to mobilize Bapu
and other huge corporations unifying nonviolent, moral, and

prd.kerala.gov.in/publication/keralacalling/OCTOBER 2020 61 KERALA CALLING