On the 103rd anniversary of the return of Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi after his epoch making political activism in South Africa, on 9th January 1915, when we look back, we can see a gigantic change in India itself as well as some 25 to 30 million of Indian origin people living abroad. These Non Resident Indians have a very proud ancestry who have left a resounding legacy.
When Attorney M K Gandhi reached South Africa he was treated as a coolie and thrown outside a railway compartment, the only reason was the colour of his skin and racial origin.
Gandhi believed in resisting racial discrimination and exploitation. In a short time, his weapon of Peaceful and Non Violent protest sent a message all over the world in 1893 that the indentured labourers from India could not be ignored.
Gandhi mobilised the Indians of various backgrounds in South Africa, faced tremendous hardships and problems but never surrendered. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the towering personality of the Indian emancipation and one of the top leaders of the Indian National Congress invited M K Gandhi to return to India, begin galvanising people to throw away the shackles of colonialism and exploitation.
Indian National Congress was formed with the inspiration and encouragement of some noble British souls serving in various capacities in India. In the initial stage it focussed on the demand of Home Rule in India. Though potentially a powerful organisation, it did not reach the masses whose support was crucial. That was the first priority for attorney M K Gandhi. After travelling for one year through India, as per the instructions from his political guru, Gokhale, Gandhi settled at Ahmedabad and established his first Ashram at Kochrab.
Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar were privileged to organise the centenary of that historic event just 3 years ago there, where as most of the attention was focussed on the world famous Sabarmati Ashram.
While at Kochrab Ashram, Gandhi assembled a group of committed people who believed in independence of India through peaceful and non violent means. Incidentally the first successful experiment of Satyagraha was against the textile mill owners of Ahmedabad, whose labourers toiled in horrible conditions. And strange that it may sound, he was supported by the daughter and family members of the textile tycoon Sarabhai as well as many other mill owners.
The first national and as well as internationally eyecatching Satyagraha was in Chauri Chaura in northern Bihar against the indigo growers who were predominating British. The struggle took a nasty turn when a huge group of peaceful protesters were beaten by the British police, who in turned became blood thirsty and burnt several policemen in a police station.
Against advice from most of his close disciples Gandhi, the man of peace and non violence, stopped the agitation. Subsequently he was jailed for six years, but all these developments made attorney M K Gandhi, a humble Atma into the world famous Mahatma.
Within 30 odd years of Mahatma’s return the British thought in their traditional wisdom to relinquish the power in India, to give power back to a huge subcontinent sized country, as they realised they could not prevail anymore.
The partition of India was very sad and disappointing for the Mahatma. But his nearest commorades like Nehru, Patel, Azad, even Rajagopalacharia and many had by then realised that Hindustan cannot survive through the religious bigotry and hatred culminating in violence through misguided elements. The partition was blood thirsty and painful. But the teaching and training of the Mahatma, coupled with the age old of tradition and values of India, enabled the Father of the Nation and others founders of the independence to form a Constitution ably presented by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Modi inaugurated the first ever PIO Parliamentary conference in Delhi on Tuesday. His message and also from other dignitaries is reported in the front page of Asian Voice. When we look back 150 years or so of the Indian migration abroad, we see, a great vista of the contribution and impact, the sons and daughter of mother India from Fiji to Malaysia to Mauritius, east, southern and other parts of Africa, and far corners of Canada, South America, Guyana, Surinam, Caribbean and in the recent years almost everywhere in the world especially in North America, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Middle East.
Indian diaspora has not only carved out the successful future in the countries they settled in, but far more than other migrating societies, both in integrating themselves fully into the country of adoption as well as reconnecting with their ancestral home land, Bharat that is India.
In Fiji independence movement Ambalal Patel, Mahendra Choudhury and many more were the leaders. In Singapore Malaysia there were several. In Southern Africa Nelson Mandela was supported by so many including Ahmed Kathrada. In East Africa Ali Dina Vishram, Karimjee Jivanjee, Nanji Kalidas Mehta, Meghjee Pethraj Shah, Muljibhai Madhvani, I C Chopra, Hon A B Patel, R B Pandya, first speaker of Uganda Narendra Patel, Pranlal Seth and many more not only contributed enormously through their own businesses, professions, as well as philanthropy, education and social developments, within the countries they lived in, they also helped and especially helped their brethren in India with their successes, management skill, willingness to take risks and embark in newer vistas. Many overseas Indians especially Nanji Kalidas Mehta, Meghraj Pethraj and others made substantial investments creating employments as well as import substitution and export oriented businesses.
NRI or OCI card holders have not only an unfinished job to perform but enormous scope as well. Elsewhere in this issue there is a whole page devoted to, the Golden Village Rafala. Savjibhai Vekaria from Rafala have been living and working in Surat for some 30 years. Surat is one of the fastest growing cities of India. Out of the population of some 4 million, there are approximately half million workers, from various parts of India, especially Bihar, UP, Punjab and Southern States who contribute a lot in the commerce and industry of Surat.
Some 300,000 are from Saurashtra especially from a triangle between Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Junagadh. These Kathiavadi Patels play a very important par in diamond, real estate and other sectors. During my regular visits to Surat and Saurashtra, I have seen many examples of several developments in Saurashtra initiated by their intellectual, managerial, entrepreneurial and financial contributions.
Let’s also remember that a barren land of Israel has become a thriving nation in 70 years with a huge support from the worldwide Jews. Quoting an old aged proverb: "Rome was not built in a day and it is still not finished."
Successful and far sighted NRIs everywhere should be inspired by the worldwide Jewish diaspora. Kith and kin back in India deserve our due attention and support. After all we live in the interdependent world today. That to me is a message of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Quoting a recent letter from Trevor Philips in The Times, “we are here because they were there” (this mainly refers to immigration, race and multiculturalism debate). But to slightly change the tone, let me put it this way, we are here, we are so successful and we are so much accepted, respected because we come from there.
Jai hind, Jai Britain, Jai Jagat
CB
