Internet can drive new form of satyagraha: Kulkarni

The internet could propel a new form of Gandhian 'satyagraha', BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni has said.

The internet could propel a new form of Gandhian 'satyagraha', BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni has said.

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At a function for release of his book 'Music of the Spinning Wheel: Mahatma Gandhi's Manifesto for the Internet Age' here last night, Kulkarni found parallels between the spinning wheel and the internet.

"The development of internet and other technologies should be guided by Gandhi's philosophy of the spinning wheel and satyagraha," he said.

Mahatma Gandhi's philosophies could act as a powerful tool to help create a new just and peaceful world in the age of the internet, Kulkarni said, adding that he was inspired by the life of the Father of the Nation.

"Readers who believe even to some extent in the power of the internet and also in the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, can become 'internet satyagrahis'," Kulkarni said.

"The spinning wheel (charkha) of Mahatma was not merely a tool but a life transformative machine to propagate ideas and ideals - namely non-violence, justice, respect for nature, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development -and my study of the internet has made me realise that it has united the world into a single community living in a global village," he said.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi, however, expressed doubt if it was too early to declare the internet as the right partner to Gandhian thinking.

"The internet has led to a lot of impatience among people using it, so it will have to mature before it can be considered more constructive," Prasoon said.