Today Guyana joins with the rest of the world in observing the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, who was considered a teacher of all mankind who has left the world with lessons of non-violence.
The message of non-violent struggle, or “Satyagraha”, was utilised by Mahatma Gandhi in his fight in India against the British between 1915 and 1948.
“Satya” means “truth” and “graha” means “force”, and it proposes an active “truth-force” that is deployed against the forces of oppression.
It is of more than passing interest that Gandhi invented Satyagraha in South Africa, where he spent 20 years before he returned to India in 1915. In South Africa, he was assailed by institutionalised racism that manifested itself most egregiously in segregation between the races in transportation and housing. As an Indian professional – he was a lawyer by profession – the South African authorities treated him identically to the indentured Indians who had been brought to work on the sugar plantations and coal mines. His “wake-up call” came when he was kicked off a train to make way for a white South African, even though he had purchased a first-class ticket.
Here, in Guyana, we have a monument erected in honour of the ‘Father of Peace’ in the Promenade Gardens on Middle Street, Georgetown. His message of non-violence is no strange theory to Guyanese. However, its application, even in the form of non-violent resistance, seems not to resonate with some of our politicians, who are assumed to be of the highest calibre, whom their supporters trust to address their interest. The recent unrest is a notable example of Gandhi’s non-violence message, which when applied in its truest form can achieve amicable outcomes. What started out as a protest for justice for teen cousins 16-year-old Isaiah Henry and 19-year-old Joel Henry, who were brutally murdered by barbaric criminals, quickly descended in a full-blown criminal enterprise.
How does unleashing violence – robbing, beating, extorting and destroying people’s property – constitute a call for justice for these boys? It is no secret that the entire unfortunate episode along the West Coast of Berbice started after very irresponsible words were uttered by two Opposition politicians to residents of Number 3 Village following the boys’ deaths. It is obvious that the cruel manner in which the boys were murdered would have sparked widespread public outrage, and both these politicians used that as an opportune moment to gain political mileage, causing Guyana to be plunged into its worst racial unrest in years. As this publication had previously said, such incitement by these two politicians led to hostility, violence, racial profiling and discrimination. Violence is a contagious killer of friendship and understanding.
Had the approach by these politicians been different, would the racism and xenophobia that had been directed towards on ethic group in Guyana been the same? The answer is rather simple – a resounding “No!” It was Gandhi who said, “I object to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
The evil which these two politicians incited along the West Coast of Berbice at first glance started as justice for the Henry teens, but ended with self-serving interest that has now left permanent damage to a community and its people who, by their own admission, said they have always lived in peace with each other.
As we commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi today, we should look at his non-violent approach which led to the defeat of injustice without humiliating his opponents.
“The future depends on what you do today” – Gandhi said; and for us here in Guyana, we must hold accountable those who incite hate and division within this multi-ethnic nation.
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty” – Mahatma Gandhi.
