manianviews

Why Gandhi is important?     Here I have tried to summarize some points which are uniquely Gandhian. These are the reasons why I admire Gandhi the most among the political leaders past and present.  I had Gandhi on my WhatsApp DP some time ago. I remember someone asked, Why Gandhi ?   I came up with some reasoning for that and seemingly he was not impressed. So then I thought of writing down some of the aspects of Gandhi which I consider his unique contribution to humanity as a whole.  Ahimsa and violence  First time in history a major struggle was launched based on Non violent methods which eventually succeeded.  It paved the way for using the method for resolving conflicts. Until then violence was the only option. Gandhi proved and gave another highly successful, viable and less destructive for humanity to follow. It is not that the method will always work. It may not. But it is an option to explore in bigger and even smaller disputes between gr...

      கொடைமடம் நாவல்: சில எண்ணங்கள் (Kodaimadam Novel: Some Thoughts) வாசிப்பு அனுபவம் (The Reading Experience) சாம்ராஜ் எழுதிய கொடைமடம்,  நான் மிக விரைவாகப் படித்து முடித்த புத்தகங்களில் ஒன்று. இரண்டே தினங்களில் 600 பக்கங்களைக் கடப்பது என்பது எனக்கு ஒரு சாதனைதான். சமீபகாலமாக பத்து பக்கம் வாசித்தாலே தூக்கம் கண்களைத் தழுவும் சூழலில், இந்தப் புத்தகம் என்னை முழுமையாக ஆக்கிரமித்துக் கொண்டது. வாசித்த மூன்று நாட்களும் எனக்குள் வேறு எண்ணங்களே இல்லை; கதை மாந்தர்கள் மனதை முழுவதுமாக ஆக்கிரமித்திருந்தனர். சந்தேகமே இல்லாமல், இது ஒரு மிகச்சிறந்த வாசிப்பு அனுபவத்தைத் தரும் நூல். கதைக்களம் மற்றும் கட்டமைப்பு (Setting and Structure) 80-கள் மற்றும் 90-களின் பின்னணியில், இடதுசாரி இயக்கத் தலைவர்கள் மற்றும் தொண்டர்களை மையமாக வைத்து கதை நகர்கிறது. ஜென்னி மற்றும் முகுந்தன் ஆகியோரின் வழியே கதை சென்றாலும், ஏராளமான கிளைக்கதைகள் இதில் விரவிக்கிடக்கின்றன. இந்தத் துணைக் கதைகள் அனைத்தும் ஏதோ ஒரு வகையில் முதன்மைக் கதையுடன் (Common thread) பிணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. இதில் பொதுவான அம்சமாக இருப்பது இடதுசார...

Why I always would say that I am not a "believer" of Marxist ideas?         At the outset I must confess that I only have a simple and basic understanding of Marxist principles. I am no way qualified to write exhaustive critique on Marxist school of thought. I make this attempt to highlight the areas of Marxism where I do have major differences in my limited understanding. This article is meant only to enhance my knowledge on the subject. Not to downgrade or belittle or to find faults in it.         Majority of "believers" of today's Marxists  are people who fell into Marxism controlled organisations due to some circumstances in their lives. They also may have been attracted to it due to the personality of some charismatic left leaders.  Some might be into it because of their association with Marxists dominated trade unions and some might be due to benefits which they received at some point. Many of them do not think beyond the 'bel...

Gandhi and Karl Marx: A New Perspective ​Based on the Essays of Akeel Bilgrami ​It is a widely accepted view that Mahatma Gandhi and Karl Marx represent polar opposites. Common understanding suggests that Marxist scholars and Gandhians occupy entirely different worlds, with many many adamant that there is no possible point of convergence between the two. ​However, according to Akeel Bilgrami , a philosopher and professor at Columbia University, there are profound areas of agreement. While they may appear to have no similarities on the surface, Bilgrami establishes a connection through specific philosophical interpretations. ​The Leftist Critique of Gandhi ​Left-wing scholars, both in India and globally, have historically leveled harsh criticisms against Gandhi. Yet, there is a growing insistence that a serious, original "left-leaning" essence should be extracted from his writings and actions to foster new debates. ​Bilgrami acknowledges that Gandhi did not use the trad...