I'm behind in my walking for January's challenge; I've only covered 15 of the 30 miles I pledged to do. Snow storms have created good reasons to procrastinate, but there's really no reason they couldn’t have been completed by now. I'll have to to work harder toward my goal.
Gandhi was a prodigious walker throughout his life. As a young man attending law school, he would walk six to ten miles a day through the streets of London. While practicing law in South Africa, he walked as many as fifty miles in a single day. Part of this was frugality, avoiding the costs of public transportation, but the health benefits were just as important.
In the winter of 1946-47, his walks added another aspect: penance. India was on the precipice of independence, and when the fall came, no one yet knew if it would break in two. Gandhi continued to advocate for a united India, but religious violence created political pressure for a separate Muslim nation. A Muslim riot in Kolkata in August 1946 had left thousands dead in the streets, followed by Hindu reprisals in Bihar, and more violence in Noakhali.
Gandhi knew that for India to remain whole, this would have to be addressed. He and his companions descended on Noakhali and spread out in small groups. Each walked from village to village with a message of peace, and were greeted with stories of the killings and forced religious conversions that had preceded them.
On January 24, 1947, Gandhi was in Muriyam, where he and his party were staying in a Muslim home. His prayer meeting that night was the largest so far, and he hoped it was a good sign. He encouraged the minority of Hindus there to remain in their ancestral homes, and the majority of Muslims to protect them. Gandhi believed if he could inspire them sufficiently, a true peace would serve as a beacon for the rest of India to follow and prevent further religious violence.
I'm headed out to walk three miles this afternoon, and make progress toward my own smaller goal. The streets and paths are slushy, but it's okay, I'm wearing boots. When Gandhi walked 116 miles through Noakhali that winter, he did it barefoot as penance for the bloodshed he felt he'd failed to prevent. He was 77 years old.
What has inspired you to be a better person?