Page 200 - BEATS Secondary School

Against

the Motion

By Anushhka Thakur, MYP 4

I believe, just like floppy disks and mixtapes, the Gandhian philosophies
are irrelevant in this modern world.

Let’s begin by outlining the key principles of “Gandhism”. The three
pillars that hold up the same are Truth, Satyagraha and Sarvodaya.
These three pillars, though morally upright, are very high ‘ideals’.
We must remember that these “ideologies” can only be implied in an
“ideal” world and that these ideologies are not compatible with the fact
that humankind is undergoing a gradual shift in moral standards. In a
modern world that runs with a nihilistic approach and feeds off greed
and hunger for more, Gandhi ji’s philosophies are rendered irrelevant.

To begin with, Gandhi Ji believed in a world where “truth” and only the
absolute truth were of utmost importance, the true face of reality. In this
capitalist world, lying is one of the most common business strategies.
From the marketing to real estate…we’re all promising more than we
can give, we lie by omission. One of the most common examples are
Subway’s foot-long sandwiches- if measured with a scale- they aren’t
really ever a foot long! However, these promises, these lies result in
profit- necessary to survive- rendering honesty irrelevant in today’s
society that has adjusted its moral compass.

Secondly, the act of nonviolence is one of Gandhi’s more prominent
ideologies. Gandhi Ji suggested that through the practice of
“satyagraha” we must overcome all civil battles. We must remind
ourselves that the act of “satyagraha” engages in self-suffering, be it
in any form, with Gandhi specifically - starvation. Satyagraha is self-
contradictory to its core. Gandhi, a man who preached Ahisma- which
he translated as Love also believed in self-sacrifice. How must one love
others if they cannot love themselves first?

Dr Deborah Koshabah- a highly acclaimed psychologist states that
“Self-love is important to living well. It influences whom you pick for
a mate, the image you project at work, and how you cope with the
problems in your life. It is so important to your welfare that one must
know how to bring more of it into your life.” In a society that preaches
self-love before any other form of it, self-sacrifice or destruction which is
the core of satyagraha will never be accepted as a form of rebellion.