Part II-Brand Gandhi- A Wacky Analysis of a Wacko Mahatma
Brand “Gandhigiri”: What are we selling?
It was dark. There was complete silence…the dark stage suddenly came alive with one spotlight, in the right corner. From the wings walked a man, a well built dignified African-American man in a suit. He walked to the center of the stage, to a podium, settled down, and began….
“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.
As some must’ve guessed, this was an actor “doing” the famous Martin Luther King Jr “I have a dream” speech. [full speech at : http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html ]
So, “what about it ?” as you may ask. Remember those sari clad “desi gospel singers” going “God our creator…peace as it was meant to be…” in Part 1 of this blog [Ref: prev entry ]
It was followed by this play. This play (among many others by well meaning, & quite competent desis) was about “Gandhi & ML King Jr’s lessons of non violence“. Trust desis to lecture their audiences even in a “dance-drama”, like the one I saw. The “story” of course was the well worn chain of events…Jalianwala bagh massacre….Gandhiji’s dandi march being followed by a breathless “world press”…scenes of dewey eyed innocents with charkhas spinning…smartly attired Brits & their desi Sepoys giving hell to these dewey eyed innocents….spinning into his assassination by a…xyz fanatic. Plenty of Bhangra/dandiya was thrown in for entertainment value, to show “we’re not just Goody two shoes, y’know! We cn dance! And how!”.
Desis in suits were in evidence, some explaining Gandhi (or India, I couldn’t tell, since it was the typically mixed up “khichdi” explanation of any thing Indian) to members of the press. What the press wrote, is anybody’s guess.
Got my Brand Vehicle- let’s drive!Desis in the US are thrashing about, trying to figure out how to be “relevant” to the “mainstream”. And (think they/we) have found a perfect “Brand identity” vehicle. “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai“. Look at the number of Gandhi related endowments & chairs & statues proliferating all over US universities & public places. They all happen due to fund collection drives by committed desis. Committed to “spreading Gandhiji’s message of love & tolerance, & above all, Non-Violence..” goes the mantra.
No vedic mantra this, for there is little vidya behind it, and whatever there is, has barely any connection to Indian culture or traditions. Except of course, as defined by Gandhi, his life & words.
In other words, Gandhi is being deiified, & put on a pedestal, & people are encouraged to queue up & offer worship. Nothing wrong, one would think, if a few people got together & worshipped him. Except for the odd & subliminal way in which the “faceless techie/doctor/cabbie/etc“..Indian gets identified with this one legendary figure. Nothing wrong with individual Gandhians, but the diversity of attitude & views gets pounded out of the desi when (s)he gets squeezed to “Gandhian” proportions.
Don’t take me too seriously, but Bhoil (you know, the imp inside my head) is meanwhile happily muttering…”Indians follow Gandhi…Gandhians follow Gandhi….Indians are Gandhians… Indians for Gandhi… Gandhians in the name of Gandhi….Christians for Christ….Gandhiji for Christ …Gandhiji..Indiraji…Rajivji..Soniaji..sab hai Gandhiji…Gandhiji ki jai!
[Shut up bhoil! I’m trying to be "intellectual" here!]
Meanwhile, there is a whole ocean of Indian Culture that Indian Americans could be promoting & raising money for, but which lies ignored & neglected, while they are busy trying to drink out of this little well of Gandhism. The water is probably sweet, but does it quench ? Is there enough of it…?
Where did I drive to (Brand Promoters ask – What’s in it for me?)So what is the desi expecting out of this “Brand Promotion? (S)he got this expensive statue installed, or the university endowment confirmed, so now what ? Is this investment of hard earned money & valuable time worth it? Will they ever get anything more from the average American than-
“Great job, You! Great man, that Gandhi, I didn’t know he was sooo like Martin Luther King Jr. you Indians had it pretty bad under the Brits, huh? Poor things! Thanks for letting America Understand. Thank God for America” One will have to forgive Americans for thinking that these “Gandhian values” are all we mean when we prattle on endlessly about the greatness of Indian culture. If our goals are really to promote non-violence, don’t we at least owe it to our culture to connect back from the individual Gandhi (& his improvised medley of philosophies, befitting a true “neo-hindu”) to the Vedantic concepts of real “Ahimsa” to the real life examples of Ashoka, Buddha, etc. To explain the life of Emperors & kings who renounced power in order to promote Ahimsa with “non-violent zeal” [an oxymoron, I know…]
The Powerful & the “Empowered” Powerless
After all, everyone will agree that both ML king Jr & Gandhi were attempting to speak across a vast power differential, to speak on behalf of an utterly demoralized & disempowered population. They were pretty much speaking to a White Christian ”leadership” or power structure who held all the cards. The only “card” they held was that of reminding these “leaders” was that they were violating their own “God’s Commandments” & “Biblical authority” in their oppressive rule. They used Heavily Improvised philosophies, no doubt due to the urgency of the situation & the abject absence of leadership, and definitely led bravely from the front, like a true “veer senapati” (brave general).
Great leader/politician, yes, but one whose “brahmastra” [That "one time-use-only Super weapon of the ancient Mahabharata & Purana stories ] was basically to shame the powerful into granting India Independence, and at no mean cost to the peoples’ (& later generations’) self-confidence. After all, to play this “brahmastra” once again would require once again the real (or imaginary) presence of an oppressive outsider’s rule!
While true Ahimsa is extremely relevant to today’s & tomorrow’s world, “Gandhian Satyagraha” is powerful, but limited in its relevance & use. It is especially limited as a “brand identity” to promote a meaningful notion of “Indian Culture” or “Indian values“. It smacks a bit too strongly of “pacifism” and a “martyr complex” for me. Our Indic culture, inspite of heavy assaults for the past 800+ years by inimical forces, has kept a general attitude refreshingly free of these complexes, we really do not have a long tradition of “celebrating” death, unless it is to acknowledge the notion of re-birth.
So we have self satisfied desis sitting back, a good day’s work done, having promoted Gandhism; and liberal Americans (& other Westerners) cheering & going home, & the rest of Indians muttering (their language equivalent of)…”sab bada sahab logon ka khela hai..is se kya milega” [All a game of the big people…what if anything will come out of it?]
Brand Monopoly?Monopoly is not good, since it breeds concentration of power, is the accepted wisdom. It is not especially good when a “so-so” brand is being so promoted that it is shutting out better products. Remember Microsoft, & it’s continued snuffing out of much more superior, but less powerful competition ?
I guess, at the risk of arousing the wrath of “Gandhivadis”(Gandhi-ists, if such a word exists!) I’d say there are a lot of “positive brands” specifically Indian that need to be promoted in the world, much more relevant to today, than the “Gandhi Brand”.
Especially more than a “free floating” brand not tied in clearly with Indian culture. In other words, it was not some freak accident that Gandhi & his message even worked in India, at such a mass scale. This kind of fertile ground is rare to find in most countries, witness other countries occupied by outsiders, & their responses.
Stupidity? – Promoting a co-opted brandPromoting a brand that has already been co-opted & not realizing it, is the height of stupidity. When desis use associations with ML King Jr & Gandhi, why would the typical Western mind, which has no background in Indian culture & values, not think “Gandhi…King…Chirst…all connected..I know Christ, I know King, this Gandhi seems similar, that’s cool, one more Good Guy. Great.“
Can desi promoters of the Gandhi “free floating” brand blame him/her for thinking so? What efforts did we put into laying out a proper context in “Gandhi appreciation”, leave alone India appreciation?
Also, with a historically well organized Intelligence & Marketing dept (my hint again towards the efficient & effective machinery of the Christian Church), does one think the “Competition” will not extract it’s “pound of flesh” by promoting an association of Gandhi with “Christian Values” ? It will be a “slam dunk” with not too many voices bothering about Gandhiji’s “hindu values”. It is not that “hinduism” has anything to offer as “competition” to this powerful machine, but the machine IS powerful mainly because it can co-opt & control any alternate voice it considers as “rival”.
Mainstream brand value comparison between “Christian values” & “Hindu values” is left for the reader to decide.
{Hint…you gotta be able to define “Hindu” first! Wait too long, & the “standard” dictionaries will do it for you. You may not agree, but that’s your problem….}
Concluding Remarks (ramblings?)Yeah…now for the big climax! (Got to wrap it all up, & I dunno how, cuz my head’s a spinning!)
I’ll let Bhoil (the imp in my head) do it for me.
Gandhiji is a cute & lovable “ajja” (dadaji or gramps). I sometimes find him iritating, sometimes even scary in his doings. But hey, he was “my” dadaji, & I accept that. But when we start making a statue of his in the front yard, my child mind (I’m Bhoil, the imp, remember ??) can’t help wondering- “Is there going to be pujas here now, like in the temple ? I hope not, cuz he’s just ‘dadaji’, not ‘Bhagwan’ “.
And when older people say “Be like dadaji, he was a great man” I think to myself ” But am I Colonized like he was? Do I have no power over my future? Didn’t the swamiji who taught Gita explain patiently, why Arjuna had to fight? I wonder what dadaji would have done in Arjun’s place?”
And I wonder.
Then I go out to play. The sun’s shining, Autumn is here, Bhoomidevi (yeah it’s the same Mother Earth everywhere) is stirring…Vayudev (wind) is blowing…leave the heavy thinking to others…like my host karigar!
