Essay by my (then) 11 year old daughter that won prize at the Hindu Young World Competition in Jan 30, 2003

1. Does Gandhiji Matter?
When Mother India herself was crying out to the heavens about her miserable plight, one
man stood up and decided to take action and fight for his rights. He was Gandhi.
Gandhi. The very name brings tears to my eyes. Gandhi. He signifies greatness. Gandhi. One
single man who led a whole country to gain its freedom.
Take a minute to think about him. He not only got us our freedom, but did so through
exemplary means. He introduced the essence of a satyagrahi to us. He showed us that to
love our fellow humans is a value of importance. He was our country’s greatest leader, but
gained leadership not through force. The countrymen themselves hailed him as a leader!
Isn’t that a lot to achieve in a lifespan of the same length as so many people who haven’t
achieved anything at all!
Gandhiji taught us the principle of Satyagraha, and it is something that everyone should
follow. It involves truth and non-violence in thought, action and speech. He managed to
spread this message amongst to many people! In fact, he has influenced people generations
after his – us, for instance!
Have you ever told a lie of any kind? It might have been a small one, but the guilt it brought
would continue haunting you for a long time. It was Gandhiji who implied this message in
our lives; it was he who made us realize the importance of truthfulness.
Non-violence is also an important value that we ought to learn. If everything we do involves
getting our way, and getting it through force, we will never have a peaceful moment, all our
time would be getting stressed, losing tempers and feeling lonely.
Bapu brought his country a most important gift – freedom. If not for him, the British might
still have ruled us! (But by Tony Blair, not Queen Victoria of course, he he!) Gandiji is
remembered mainly because of this feat. The decency of this man was illustrated well, when,
after doing such miracles, he actually refused the honored position of prime minister!
‘Mahatma’ is a title given only to the most amazing of people, and seeing that Gandhiji has
gained this title, is something even more respectable!
‘If you would not be forgotten,
As soon as you’re dead and rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
Or do things worth writing.’
These words, quoted by Benjamin Franklin, are just what Bapu achieved.
The Father of our nation may have passed away in 1948, but is still respected 55 years later.
On witnessing the death of our beloved Bapu, Jawaharlal Nehru stated that the light had
gone out of our lives. He then corrected himself, saying that he was probably wrong. The
light would illuminate this country for years to come. What a true statement! Gandhiji may
not physically be a part of our lives any longer, but his words, his influence will remain in
our hearts forever. Great people like him remain immortal.
Mahatma Gandhi was just a normal man like you or me, but he managed to gain Indian
independence, spread the message of Satyagraha, inspire millions of Indians, and even

2. influence Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for Black equalities! (Phew…just reading this list is
hard work, forget actually doing that much!)
Which just goes to show that anyone can be great, even someone normal, like you or me.
Today, our country is suffering for different reasons – poverty, illiteracy etc. But if Bapu
could conquer the British at a time when Indians were hopeless, divided against themselves,
and had only non violence as a weapon, surely we, who reside in much more advanced
periods of time, can link hands together to fight these problems! To find solutions to them,
let us follow the example of the man who was straight from the heavens to Hindustan to
inspire us, teach us to be like him.
Thanks, Bapu!
By
Tanya Sen
Oct 2, 2003