E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

2Is There an Alternative toA Non-violent Revolution? *I am deeply grateful to Dr Vivekanandan for theopportunity that he has given me to pay my respectful tribute tothe memory of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan and to speak afew words on a subject that occupied his mind for many years.For many of us who belong to the generation thatentered public life during the last decade of struggle forindependence, J.P. was a legendary hero. It is only with thedeepest of emotions that we can recall the many landmarks ofhis eventful life-his escape from the Hazaribagh Jail, the torturethat was inflicted on him in the Lahore Fort the suffering thathe had to undergo during the last days of his life, during theEmergency. He was a man of indomitable courage anddetermination. His devotion to the cause, of social justice wastotal. He was transparently selfless. For a man who was knownas a revolutionary, he was full of gentleness and concern. Hehad no personal ambition; his only ambition was to work forthe emergence of a new society which would be free fromexploitation and misery. He knew that one who wanted to workfor the creation of such a society had to be ready to keep alonely vigil, to pay the price that is demanded of those whoresist injustice and evil. He was a man of action who led manystruggles and built up many organisations. But he was also athinker who rose above orthodoxy and conformism, who hadthe courage and humility to evolve, and to testify to hisevolution through speech and action. He held nothing higherthan the interests of humanity, of people,-whether they lived inIndia or Tibet or Bangladesh or Pakistan or any other part ofthe globe.