Mainstream Weekly

The Mahatma Who Suffered

Upasana Pandey — 2013-10-09T06:28:45Z

There is an old maxim that says: “Do not judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.” It means one should be judged through one's capacity of suffering. Suffering prepares us to be compassionate to others. Suffering contains a particle of truth. Suffering enhances our ability to pray effectively. Praying is an instinctive human response to severe hardship. But effective prayer is a learned exercise. A song suggests: Pray when you are happy, pray when in sorrow. One should pray (…)

- 2013

Men, Machines and Mahatma

Upasana Pandey — 2012-10-02T19:18:52Z

[On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's one hundred and fortythird birth anniversary on October 2, 2012, we are carrying the following article and reproducing N.C.'s piece that appeared in Mainstream (October 1, 1994) and an article by Mohit Sen that was published in this journal's Gandhi birth centenary issue]
(October 4, 1969).
Machines have always been an essential instrument of human life. It is almost impossible for men to imagine life without an active presence of machines. Whatever (…)

- 2012

Politics of Identity and Gandhi

Upasana Pandey — 2011-10-05T15:43:37Z

It is the irony of the day that most of the thinkers are assuming that change in the system will automatically bring about change in the individual. But we have witnessed that the more we are laying stress on having good governance and a democratic system, the more corrupt, unconscious and undemocratic individuals we are producing. Opposing this, Gandhi said it is not the system which will bring about change but it is the conscious and self-realised individual who will ensure all change. (…)

- 2011

Mahatma Gandhi and Modern Civilisation

Upasana Pandey — 2010-10-06T15:02:25Z

In his own way, Gandhi had been a critic of modern civilisation. He criticised almost each and every aspect of modern civilisation. Whether it was the machine, profession of doctors lawyers or various political structures like State/Parliament, Gandhi could never confirm his appreciation of these signifiers of modernity. This shows that to some extent for Gandhi everything was wrong with modern civilisation. However, interestingly Gandhi's life was highly influenced by these modern (…)

- 2010

Contesting Postmodern Notion of Truth through Gandhian Vision of Satya

Upasana Pandey — 2008-10-08T12:02:37Z

“Instead of pursuing the truth we should try to pave the way for construction of the truth.” F.W. Nietzsche1
“Truth is not something which might be found or discovered, but something that must be created”. F.W. Nietzsche2
“We have to live today by what we can get today, and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood”. William James3
“It has no relevance for saying or judging what is truth or just”. Jean Francois Lyotard4
With the postmodern turn, Truth became a dirty word, and (…)

- October 4, 2008

Problem with Postmodern Gandhi

Upasana Pandey — 2007-10-05T14:47:05Z

The postmodern winds, which have been blowing since the 1920s, are influencing every branch of knowledge. As a result, now we have postmodern art and architecture, postmodern music and dance, postmodern philosophy and science and so on and so forth. Gandhian thinkers are also equally keen to evaluate their philosophy in this changing postmodernist scenario. Several new works in the field of Gandhian thought have emerged. Nicholas F. Gier wrote an article “Gandhi: Premodern, Modern or (…)

- September 29, 2007