The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said
that independent India is a faithful reflection of the legacy of our national
movement. He was delivering the Lecture at the University of Lagos, Nigeria,
today. The Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof. Rahamon A. Bello, the
Acting Governor of the State of Lagos, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule and other
dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The Vice President said that the image of the modern Indian
nation and the values that shape and continue inform it today, were cast in the
crucible of our struggle for independence from colonial rule or what we now
call the Indian National Movement. Much of the gain from the movement is
enshrined in our Constitution and continues to enlighten the political and
judicial discourse in India, he added.
The Vice President said that our national movement was more
than a struggle for independence - it was an exercise in building a nation. It
was not just a movement to replace a colonial regime and deliver political
power to Indians but was aimed at using that power to secure social and
economic justice, and dignity, for every Indian, he pointed out. The movement
is perhaps one of the best examples of the creation of an extremely wide
movement with a common aim in which diverse political and ideological currents
could co-exist and work, and simultaneously continue to contend for overall
ideological and political hegemony over it, he added.
The Vice President said that India was blessed that a set of
people of incredible talent and wisdom graced the period marking our struggle.
They possessed moral integrity of the highest order; the tallest among them was
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose singular efforts transformed the struggle
from a campaign by the elites into a true mass movement, he added.
The Vice President said that a defining feature of the
movement were the values and modern ideals on which it was based and the broad
socio-economic and political vision of its leadership - a vision of a
democratic, civil libertarian and secular India, based on a self –reliant,
egalitarian social order and an independent foreign policy. He further said
that an aspect of its commitment to the creation of an egalitarian society was
the national movement’s opposition to all forms of inequality, discrimination
and oppression based on gender and caste. From its early days, the national
movement was committed to secularism, he added.
The Vice President said that our National Movement developed
a broad international outlook based on opposition to colonialism and sympathy
and support for people fighting for their independence. One of the lasting
legacies of the national movement was the rise of Indian nationalism and the
creation of an Indian identity, he pointed out. He further said that the youth
should have a sense of history - and know that the present environment that
encourages their aspirations was built on the sacrifice and toil of others
before them. Nigeria and India, as large developing countries with
multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies, have enormous
responsibilities within their countries and in shaping the future of their
region and beyond, he added.
Following
is the text of Vice President's address:
"I am delighted to be in Lagos. It is a privilege to
interact with the students of this prestigious University. I bring to you the
greetings of the people of India.
India, the largest democracy in the world rejoices at the
gains made by Nigerian democracy, the largest democracy in Africa, in the past
18 years. Our shared struggle against the colonial rule provides the
foundations of India-Africa friendship. This mutually beneficial engagement
continues to inspire and strengthen as we embark on elevating this partnership
to a strategic level for the benefit the peoples of Africa and India. For this
reason, a closer look at how perceptions developed is of relevance.
Each country and people shape their destiny in their own
unique way, informed by their own historical experience and their own genius.
Independent India is a faithful reflection of the legacy of our national
movement. The image of the modern Indian nation and the values that shape and
continue inform it today, were cast in the crucible of our struggle for
independence from colonial rule or what we now call the Indian National
Movement. Much of the gain from the movement is enshrined in our Constitution
and continues to enlighten the political and judicial discourse in India. Our
people have tended to use this legacy as the yardstick to judge the performance
of governments, political parties and institutions.
Thus our national movement was more than a
struggle for independence. It was an exercise in building a nation. It was not
just a movement to replace a colonial regime and deliver political power to
Indians but was aimed at using that power to secure social and economic
justice, and dignity, for every Indian.
The Indian national movement provides one of
the few instances of a colonial, exploitive and tyrannical political system
being successfully and peacefully replaced and transformed. It offers the only
valid case where state power was not seized in a single historical
movement of revolution, but through prolonged popular struggle on a moral,
political and ideological level; where reserve of counter–hegemony were built
up over the years through progressive stages; where the phases of struggle
alternated with ‘passive’ phases.
The Indian national movement is also an
example of how the constitutional space offered by the existing structure could
be used without getting co-opted by it. It did not completely reject this
space- but entered and used it effectively in combination with political
mobilization to overthrow the existing structure.
The movement is perhaps one of the best
examples of the creation of an extremely wide movement with a common aim in
which diverse political and ideological currents could co-exist and work, and
simultaneously continue to contend for overall ideological and political
hegemony over it.
While intense debate on all basic issues was
allowed, the diversity and tension did not weaken the cohesion and striking power
of the movement; on the contrary, this diversity and atmosphere of freedom and
debate became a major source of its strength.
The movement was built around the basic notion that the
people had to, and could play, an active role in politics and in their own
liberation. It succeeded in politicizing, and drawing into political action, a
large part of the Indian people. The movement was premised on the view that it
was the people and not leaders created a mass movement, whether for the
overthrow of the colonial regime or for social transformation. Although the
success or failure of a movement does indeed, depend on the quality of its
leadership.
India was blessed that a set of people of incredible talent
and wisdom graced the period marking our struggle. They possessed moral
integrity of the highest order; the tallest among them was Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, whose singular efforts transformed the struggle from a campaign by the
elites into a true mass movement.
Mahatma Gandhi, in employing satyagraha- the
non-violent insistence for truth and justice- also gave a political tool to the
masses seeing to oppose a tyrannical rule. Satyagraha, as a form of struggle,
was based on the active participation of the people and on the sympathy and
support of the non-participating millions. In fact, unlike a violent
revolution, which could be waged by a minority of committed cadres and
fighters, a non-violent revolution needed the political mobilization of
millions and the passive support of the vast majority. He was the moral and
ethical custodian of the movement, and a grateful nation rallied to his call,
bequeathing on him the honorific - father of the nation.
A defining feature of the movement were the
values and modern ideals on which it was based and the broad socio-economic and
political vision of its leadership - a vision of a democratic, civil
libertarian and secular India, based on a self –reliant, egalitarian social
order and an independent foreign policy. The
movement popularized democratic ideas and institutions among the people and
struggled for the introduction of parliamentary institutions on the basis of
popular elections.
From the very beginning, our leaders fought
against attacks by the state on the freedoms of the press, expression and
association, and made the struggle for these freedoms an integral part of the
national movement. Our national movement was fully committed to a polity based
on representative democracy and the full range of civil liberties for the
individual. It provided the experience through which these two could become an
integral part of Indian political thinking. Gandhi called civil liberty “the
breath of political and social life” and
“the foundation of freedom.” In a similar vein Nehru wrote
in 1936, that “if civil liberties are suppressed a nation loses all vitality
and becomes impotent for anything substantial.”
The consensus on the practice of non-violence
during the national movement also contributed to the creation of a temper of
democracy in the country. Discussion, debate and persuasion, backed by public
opinion, were emphasized for bringing about political and social change. The
ideology of violence was eschewed.
The national movement was also a struggle for
economic development. In time an economic ideology developed which was to
dominate the views of independent India. The national movement accepted, with
near unanimity, the need to develop India on the basis of
industrialization which in turn was to be independent of foreign capital and
was to rely on the indigenous capital goods sector. From the initial stages,
the movement adopted a pro-poor orientation which was strengthened with the advent
of Gandhi and the rise of a socialist outlook. The movement also increasingly
moved towards a programme of agrarian reform.
From its foundation in1885, the Indian National Congress-
the main political organ of the national movement- was organized on democratic
lines. It relied upon discussion at all levels as the chief mode for the
formation of its policies and arriving at political discussions. Its policies
and resolutions were publicly discussed and debated and then voted upon.
An aspect of its commitment to the creation of
an egalitarian society was the national movement’s opposition to all forms of
inequality, discrimination and oppression based on gender and caste. It allied
itself with and often subsumed movements and organizations for the social
liberation of women and the lower castes. The national movement brought
millions of women out of their homes into the political arena. Its reform
agenda included the improvement of their social position including the right to
work and education and to equal political rights. As part of its struggle
against caste inequality and caste oppression, abolition of untouchability
became one of its major political priorities after 1920.
From its early days, the national movement was
committed to secularism. Secularism was defined in a comprehensive manner which
meant the separation of religion from politics and the state, the treatment of
religion as a private matter for the individual, state neutrality towards or
equal respect for all religions, absence of discrimination between followers of
different religions, and active opposition to communalism. Gandhi expressed it
succinctly in 1942: “Religion is a personal matter which should have no
place in politics”. Other prominent leaders, including Nehru, saw
communalism as a form of fascism and spoke passionately and with deep
understanding on communalism.
Yet the dark forces of communalism were
powerful and led to the partition of India in 1947. That traumatic event
resulted in a wave of communal carnage. Despite it, the strong secular
commitment of the national movement enabled independent India to make
secularism a basic pillar of its Constitution, as also of its state and
society.
Our National Movement was not chauvinistic or
jingoistic, and looked beyond the shores of India as many of its leaders
developed a broad international outlook based on opposition to colonialism and
sympathy and support for people fighting for their independence. Gandhi’s
political strategy inspired many. The best known example is in South Africa
where Nelson Mandela was inspired by the Gandhian virtues of forgiveness and
compassion, values that served him and his country very well on his assumption
to power. In West Africa, nationalist leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah in the
British colony of the Gold Coast were inspired by Gandhi’s success. In Poland,
Lech Walessa consciously tried to incorporate elements of Gandhian strategy in
the Solidarity Movement.
One of Nigeria’s most celebrated novelists,
Chinua Achebe, in a pamphlet comparing the Nigerian leader Kano to Gandhi,
said:
“The importance to society of
people like Aminu Kano or Mahatma Gandhi is not that every politician can
become like them, for that would be an impossible and totally unrealistic
expectation. But the monumental fact which they underscore and which no one can
ignore again after they have walked among us is this: Gandhi was real; Aminu
Kano was real. They were not angels in heaven; they were human like the rest of
us, in India and Nigeria. Therefore, after their example, no one who reduces
the high purpose of politics which they exemplified down to a swinish scramble
can hope to do so without bringing a terrible judgment upon himself.”
One of the lasting legacies of the national
movement was the rise of Indian nationalism and the creation of an Indian
identity. This was a long process whose roots can be drawn from the ancient
era. But, it was only in the 19th century that the concept of a national
identity and national consciousness, in its modern sense, emerged. This growth
was intimately connected to the national movement. The social, economic and
political factors had inspired the people to define and achieve their national
identity. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle
against colonial rule.
For our leaders, the notion of a structured
nation did not contradict its unity. They not only acknowledged but also
appreciated India’s rich cultural, linguistic, religious, ethnic and regional
diversity. The emergence of a strong national identity and the flowering of
other narrower identities were seen as mutually reinforcing processes. The
diversity and multiple identities were not seen as obstacles to be overcome but
as positive features that were sources of strength to Indian culture,
civilization and the nation, and were integral to the emerging nationhood.
If free India could start and persist with a democratic
polity, it was because the national movement had already firmly established the
civil libertarian and democratic tradition among the Indian people. It was this
tradition which is reflected in the Indian Constitution. It belied the view
that democracy and civil liberties would not survive in a society so divided by
language, religion, caste and culture and in the absence of a minimum of
prosperity, economic development and literacy of the developed world.
An eminent British political scientist, Earnest Barker, put
the Preamble of the Constitution of India on the first page of his last book
because, as he put it, it states “in a brief and pithy form the argument of
much of the book” and serves “as a keynote.”
Legacies do endure but no legacy, however strong, can last
forever. It tends to erode and become irrelevant unless reinforced and developed
and at times transcended in a creative manner to suit changing circumstances.
It is for this reason alone that the youth should have a sense of history- and
know that the environment that encourages their aspirations was built on the
sacrifice and toil of others before them.
Our youth- with 60% Nigerians under the age of 25 years and
more than two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion population under the age of 35
years- are our strength. We have a great opportunity to work together to
channelize this demographic dividend.
Nigeria and India, as large developing countries with
multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies, have enormous
responsibilities within their countries and in shaping the future of their
region and beyond. National experiences can have relevance beyond borders in a
fast shrinking world.
I wish you a bright future and success in your chosen
calling in life. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to share some
thoughts with you.
Long live India- Nigeria friendship."
***
KSD/BK