Happy Gandhi Jayanti 2019: How millennials are fulfilling Bapu’s dream
The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, wanted our countrymen to love their motherland like he did. He believed that a nation can thrive only if its citizens are aware and they work towards its holistic development.
Millennials are interested in talking about our nation’s economy, the climate, social issues and everything that concerns the well being of the nation and the world as a whole.
They are often regarded as the uncompromising generation which believes in doing things the right way no matter what. Just not ready to settle for anything less than what they deserve, millennials are adamant for all the right reasons and want to make things better for not only themselves but also the future generations.
The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, wanted our countrymen to love their motherland like he did. He believed that a nation can thrive only if its citizens are aware and they work towards its holistic development.
On Bapu’s 150th Jayanti, we analyse if millennials are proving to be the true followers of his words.
‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated’
This statement holds true. Animals have been our comrades since the beginning of our civilization. They should be treated with respect and cared for equally and millennials are putting in strong efforts to ensure this happens.
Posts on social media about avoiding crackers as they hurt animals and cause distress to them start to appear before Diwali. Not just this, rigorous awareness drives about opting for adoption instead of buying a pet, going vegan, promoting the downsides of non-vegetarianism and fearlessly calling out the government for not doing enough for animals, millennials have been actively criticizing any malpractice or irresponsible act which causes harm to animals.
Bapu used to practice Ahimsa and was an ardent lover of animals. Besides being actively involved in the freedom struggle, he on certain occasions also talked about animal rights.
Millennials by the way of their actions are just keeping up with Bapu’s beliefs.
‘It is easier to build a boy than to mend a man’
Toxic masculinity and male privilege are terms which have been coined recently in the last decade. Why? Well, because people starting speaking against the repercussions of bringing up boys the wrong way and making them believe that they are superior to females.
Millennials don’t fear expressing their dismay via marches, protests and boycotts if and when they feel women are not being treated with respect, as they should be. The society had to acknowledge the flaw and accept that raising empathetic boys is important.
Bapu used to preach about raising men the right way in an era when the feminist movement hadn’t even spread across the globe and millennials, today, are just taking his legacy forward.
‘No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive’
Millennials don’t back out from including people from different backgrounds and strongly condemn any discrimination. They respect Indian traditions and culture and also follow certain practices of the West.
All in all they believe in and understand the importance of inclusiveness.
Bapu used to be against the then British for the cruelties they practised towards Indians but always had respect for their culture and traditional practices.
‘Be the change you want to see in the world’
Millennials are ready to take on any challenge that comes their way. They have an attitude of ‘go and get it’ and do not believe in complaining. Serious issues like climate change and corruption are talked about openly today and many initiatives have been undertaken by these youngsters as they want to change the plight of our nation and the world altogether.
This indeed is in line with Bapu’s saying that one should try to change their habits before expecting the world to change.
