Gandhiji : "My Life is My Message"

• December 21, 2020
• By Arun Ramamurthy

Today, the world celebrates the 149th anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one of the greatest persons to have walked the face of the Earth.

Gandhi was a little man in a loincloth that was a giant amongst men. He single-handedly took on an empire, without casting a stone or firing a bullet - but by merely marching, fasting, and organising passive resistance. When the great tyrants of the 20th century are consigned to the dustbin of history many centuries from now, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi will be revered and remembered as a giant among humanity.

Gandhiji taught us a lot of things about non-violence, civil disobedience and self-governance but one of his most relevant teachings is perhaps the most enduring; especially in the times that we live in : that of the art of forgiving. What Gandhiji taught us was being able to forgive those who have wronged us is a mark of strength and confidence. Revenge destroys both the person who harmed, and the person who exacted the revenge. Forgiveness elevates both: the person who harmed is free, and the person who suffered ultimately has happiness.

After, India became a Republic in 1950, its coinage also underwent a change. The coins started to feature the Indian government's official emblem on the reverse. This emblem is taken from the top of the pillar installed by Emperor Ashoka at Sarnath and is a fitting tribute to a great Emperor who, at the peak of his rule, renounced war and violence. Indeed, it was the same principles of non-violence and ‘satyagraha’ that Gandhiji adopted more than 2000 years later, to unite Indians and free our country from British rule.

Gandhiji is commemorated in several coins of the Indian Republic apart from coins of Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritius, San Marino and South Africa.