Light of Peace

Nelson Mandela was the person who led his people the freedom. He rose above his personal interests and always kept the interest of his nation as supreme. He was offered attractive incentives as a price of his loyalty and sincerity but he never scummed to those offers. He preferred a prolonged imprisonment over the freedom that was over shadowed with a tinge of slavery. He knew that if he spends his prime age in the prison, his people will have the taste of freedom, and he proved that. This was the forces of his character that carried him along despite heavy odds.

A leader of his unique standing, Nelson Mandela had a deep insight for the regional and global affairs. Many a times he would spread pearls of wisdom during his speeches and informal talks. He was a great proponent of African unity and its freedom. Once he said,” I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.

Apart from having a knowledge of geo-political scenario, Nelson Mandela had a thorough understanding of the human nature and psychology. He is quoted to have said.” I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. Realizing the importance of education for making progress in today’s world he says,” Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

After having achieved the fist phase of his objectives, Nelson Mandela did not cling to the power, as most of leaders do, rather he retired from active politics happily and handed over the reins of leadership to the younger generations. However despite taking a relief, the personality of Nelson Mandela serves as a beacon of knowledge, guidance and peace and will remain so for decades to come.

Mahatma Gandhi, a great leader of India requires no introduction. A simple soul with modest dress and posture, a man of the soil, is to be remembered by all for his marvelous contributions for the protection of human rights, civil liberties and global peace. One may differ with his political ideas, but no one has ever raised a finger on him as far as his patriotism and efforts to achieve peace are concerned. He was a symbol of peace and an example to be followed. His golden principles and sayings are still contemplative and worth considering. His teachings clearly lay down the foundations up on which the society should be build. These cover all the aspects of the society; political, economic and the religious.

The crux of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi is that if a person is void of spiritual value, he or she is of no use to the society or to the world even if that person reaches the zenith of material successes and gains. Man is a beautiful combination of matter and spirit and unless both the facets are not satisfied the aim of life is not achieved. Mahatma Gandhi was of the view that peace starts from within the person. Once a person finds peace within, the achievement of outer / global peace becomes very easy.

Mahatma Gandhi always denounced violence. He always fought with his enemies with the weapon of peace and non-violence. He achieved tremendous successes with bare hands which many of his adversaries could not achieve with arms and wealth. However when we look at the present profile of India, we find it at a total divergence from what their great leader preached. The religious, racial and linguistic extremism is on the increase, the violation of human rights is a matter of routine and the political spectrum is dotted with nepotism, corruption and ambiguity. No minority may be Muslims, Christians or Sikhs are not safe. People like Bal Thackeray and organizations like RSS are all out to victimize / harass the religious minorities. The desecration of Babri Mosque, the massacre of Muslim minority in Gujarat, the denial of the right of self determination to the people of Kashmir and their brutal suppression and burning of the Christians along with their churches are some of the black spots on the democratic and secular posture of India. Had Mahatma Gandhi been alive today, he would certainly have condemned his fellow countrymen for open violations of his axioms. The enlightened people of India would be better placed if they convince their government to shun all those policies that are in contravention to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, particularly the ones that deal with the rights of minorities, so that the passionate image of their great leader is not tarnished and the achievement of global peace is made easy.

The safeguarding of human rights was termed as a guarantee of peace. It was to be the starting point of social justice. But what has happened on ground? The powerful elite have been usurping the rights of the weak segments of society. The first casualty after the violation of human rights is always the peace. The military dictators have suppressed their citizens and have curbed the civil liberties, the bigger nations have occupied the lands of their weak neighbors, the strong economies of the world have prevailed over the weak countries with fewer resources and the super / regional powers have established their hegemony over the small states as a part of neo-colonization scheme. The result was obvious, wars and conflicts everywhere. Had there been no violations of human rights, the world would have been more secure and peaceful

It is matter of concern that when the people are exploited, when their freedom of expression is gagged, when they are denied their right of self-determination, and when they are made homeless, jobless, and at times landless within their own country, where the peace would come from? Usurping the basic human rights breeds frustration in the people who can then react in many ways. The underground organizations and the fifth columnists are invariably the outcome of violation of human rights. Even the present day phenomenon of terrorism has got its routes in the violation of human rights. Once these frustrated groups of people resort to violence against the established authorities of their countries, they are labeled as the rebels, the enemy agents, the terrorists and what not. Obviously the enemies of the state then find an opportunity to patronize these groups with weapons and funds and use them to fulfill their own agenda. Then the authorities get together and think over how to eliminate these rouge elements and how to establish peace. But unfortunately no one comes out with simplest of the solutions; return the usurped basic human rights back to the people. Once they do it, the results will be surprising. The outcome will be peace, that too without firing a bullet and without spending a single dollar.