Dear Bapu,
You gave the concept of truth and non-violence, not just to India, but to humanity at large.
With the amount of violence we see every day, there is an urgent need to revive it and sensitize people towards it. The use of violence in terms of wars and invasions for solving conflicts between nations has to be done away with.
The discovery and use of nuclear weapons has put the future of Earth in grave danger. The weapons of mass destruction (WMD) pose a great threat to the survival of the planet and human civilization. The intolerance of people towards one another has increased to such an extent that even the slightest issue in one part of the world can result in grave destruction.
Every country has allies who support it during war (even when the war has nothing to do with the other countries). This has resulted in some brutal wars in the recent past. Perhaps, one day, they may result in World War III as well, and thereby eradication of the human race with the help nuclear weapons. There is no end to such a greedy race: man is unable to satiate his thirst for power.
There is, therefore, an imminent need to use alternative methods for solving conflicts. One such way is Satyagraha (insistence on truth), which you used in all spheres in life.
We have to adapt the technique to the contemporary situations, and use it to deal with the challenges of the contemporary world, be it terrorism, despotic governments or poverty and unemployment.
You preached and practiced satyagraha, and believed it to be the force that can change the face of the Earth. Satyagraha preaches love and tolerance towards our fellow being, and is one of the important ways in which we can avoid all evil, especially war. You often said that satyagraha is the alternative to the violent, destructive way of fighting injustice, oppression and exploitation.
You believed that Satyagraha has infinite possibilities, and to avoid wars, we have to have the faith you had in it. The futility of wars is known to all, yet even in the 21st century, bloody wars have been fought.
As you said, we have to evolve ourselves, and set ourselves on the quest of truth. Only then will we find a reason to stop the barbaric activities and hope for a better tomorrow.
Yours truly,
Kunjika Rawat
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