January’s challenge is coming to an end; it closes out with a 24-hour fast on the 30th day. This month also marks the end of Gandhi’s life 75 years ago (more on that tomorrow), and the optional 3-day commemorative fast stretches into February 2. Our Zoom discussions on the 1st and 15th fall on Wednesday this month; we’ll meet at 7pm ET to share experiences and results from our experiments. Hope to see you then!
The day before he died, January 29, 1948, Gandhi was polishing up a draft Constitution. He was concerned about the emergence of political factions in the new nation, and so proposed dissolving the Indian National Congress, which had served “as a propaganda vehicle and parliamentary machine” since 1885. With the country now independent, a new manner of organization was needed.
Gandhi proposed the formation of “a Lok Sevak Sangh,” or, a union of servants of the people. This union would be made up of small groups of men and women who would work to improve their communities. Each working group of ten would elect a “first-grade leader,” fifty of these leaders choosing a “second-grade leader,” with this pattern spreading out until the entire nation was covered.
The servants of the people were expected to lead by example, so a number of qualifications were detailed. External characteristics such as living a sober life and “habitually” wearing clothes from home-spun cloth were included, along with internal ones. Each of them, Gandhi wrote, “must be a believer in the ideal of inter-communal unity, equal respect and regard for all religions and equality of opportunity and status for all irrespective of race, creed or sex.” However, the organization itself would be strictly secular.
Gandhi had given extensive thought to how best to address the interrelated problems faced by India’s hundreds of thousands of villages, and the workers duties reflected many of them. Self-sufficiency was highly prized, along with education, and promotion of good health, hygiene, and sanitation. And in the new nation, participation in the political sphere was important as well; these organizers were to help people register to vote. Financial support should be developed locally, with all contributing; Gandhi said special emphasis should be given to the “poor man’s pice” — one sixty-fourth of a rupee.
There are many parallels between Gandhi’s final proposal and the American Union. The 30-day Gandhi challenge serves as a qualifier for those willing to take on different roles in the organization, whereby a national program of improvements may be implemented in the 2024 election. By serving the people in an organized way, Gandhi recognized, the union could transform the nation. (The next cohort begins February 15.)
Do you think it’s more important for community workers to teach practical matters or principled ones?