Avatar photo

Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

Part of UK in India

15th October 2012

The Power of We – Mahatma Gandhi

No-one in India exemplifies ‘The Power of We’ more than Mahatma Gandhi, even over 60 years after his death. He sought to improve the conditions of the poorest and to lead one of the world’s first non-violent mass movements, first in South Africa and then in India.

Hundreds of books have been written about his influence on the world’s second largest country. Since I came to Mumbai nearly three years ago I can recall at least three: an absorbing, albeit controversial biography ‘Great Soul‘ by distinguished New York Times editor Joseph Lelyveld, a more intimate account  of his life, with anecdotes from his grandchildren,  by British writer Graham Turner, and most recently a book comparing Gandhi’s famous spinning wheel with the Internet.

So there is no need for me to add even more words than necessary about Gandhi. But his power still resonates, not only by books about him, but in other ways of  which I am sure he would approve. I had the good fortune to take part in an event this month to mark his birth anniversary on 2 October.

For the second year running Footsteps4Good took place in Mumbai, the first having been inaugurated personally by Gandhi’s great grandson Tushar.

Walkers and runners, who all made a donation to an NGO of their choice, took part in a 10 km event around Mumbai’s new business district, the Bandra Kurla Complex.

Footsteps was inspired by a 360 km trek that my wife, with huge support from the Association of British Scholars in Baroda,  undertook in November 2010 to follow the route identical to that of Gandhi’s famous Salt March to Dandi in Gujarat in 1930, which was one of the turning points in his movement against the British authorities. The trek raised over £100,000 for NGOs in Mumbai and Gujarat, and many people requested an opportunity  to take part in something similar but on a smaller scale.

Footsteps4GoodIn its own modest way Footsteps, which jumped from 700 to 2700 participants this year, is demonstrating vividly ‘The Power of We’. Sponsored principally by the ever generous Tata Group, who brought alone over 800 people  to raise funds for their cancer hospital in Kolkata, as well as Reliance Industries, Cox and Kings, HSBC, GSK and Aava Water, in one morning Footsteps raised over £60,000 for charities ranging from a shelter for the children of Mumbai’s sex workers to Magic Bus, providing recreation for slum dwellers.

As Boman Irani, one of Mumbai’s most famous Bollywood stars said when he inaugurated Footsteps  this year, it demonstrates how a movement can capture the imagination of people, and allow them to be a small contributor to improving people’s lives – a  vivid and telling example on the streets of Mumbai of ‘The Power of We’.

2 comments on “The Power of We – Mahatma Gandhi

  1. Gandhi…and let us get the spelling of his name right has inspired countless others who struggle for freedom for their people. He had a natural enormous wisdom and determination and I believe were he to be alive now given the media outlets he would move masses…but his legacy to others speaks for itself. I just wish that all young Indians would appreciate what Bapu achieved; I visited the Sabarmati Ashram earlier this year in Ahmedabad and was deeply moved….I grew up in newly independent India but now when I visit I am sad to see that young people are not totally in tune with his higher ideals. The world moves on but his words: ‘We must teach the rich to live more simply so that the poor might simply live’ should be a mantra for modern India.

  2. Ghandhi no doubt was a good man. He was fortunate that 1) his satyagraha was against the most sensible people in the world (meaning people who believed in construction and not destruction) & 2) in those days there were no means of mass entertainment for eg. Cricket, Bollywood and TV.

    If Ghandhi was alive today, trust me he couldn’t have moved a whisker with his satyagraha approach.

    @wisebanyantree

Comments are closed.

About Peter Beckingham

Peter was the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 2013 to 2016. Before this, he was British Deputy High Commissioner to India, based in Mumbai, the commercial capital,…

Peter was the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands from
2013 to 2016. Before this, he was British Deputy High Commissioner to India, based in Mumbai, the commercial capital, where he had a responsibility for developing UK-India trade and investment. His earlier appointments have
included Consul-General and Director-General of Trade and Investment in
Sydney, and British Ambassador to the Philippines, where he initiated
the UK Government’s involvement in a peace process with the Philippine
Government and Muslim rebel groups.
Peter is married to Jill, a teacher of special needs, and they have
two grown up children. His outside interests include cricket, golf and
running.