“I have been in India for over two years and a half after
my return from South Africa. Over one quarter of that time I have passed on
Indian trains travelling 3rd class by choice,” wrote Gandhi in his
long letter to the editor of The Leader of Allahabad written from Ranchi on
Sept 25, 1917. He travelled across the length and breadth of India - from
Lahore to Madras and from Karachi to Calcutta. What was his 3rd
class travel experience like? Following excerpts from the book Mahatma
Gandhi and the railways by Dr. Y. P. Anand gives a clue. Note that none of
his peers, Jinnah, Motilal Nehru or even Gokhale dared to travel 3rd
class that time.
Indescribable filth: We
do not know the elementary laws of cleanliness. We spit anywhere on the
carriage floor, irrespective of the thought that it is often used as it; the
result is indescribable filth in the compartment.
Getting roasted: Sometimes
the compartments had no lights. From Saharanpur we were huddled into carriages
for goods or cattle. These had no roofs, and what with the blazing midday sun
overhead and the scorching iron floor beneath, we were all but roasted.
Ticket booking: (At
Burdwan) As soon as the ticket window opened, I went to purchase the tickets.
But it was no easy thing to get them. Might was right, and passengers who were
forward and indifferent to others, coming one after another, continued to push
me out. I was therefore about the last of the first crowd to get a ticket.
Getting shoved in from a window: My
bitterest experience was from Lahore to Delhi. It was impossible to find a
place in the train. It was full, and those who could get in did so by sheer
force, often sneaking through windows if the doors were locked… I had almost
given up when a porter discovering my plight said, “Give me twelve annas and
I’ll get you a seat.” “Yes,” said I. The young man went from carriage to
carriage entreating passengers but no one heeded him. As the train was about to
start, some passengers said, “There is no room here, but you can shove him in
if you like. He will have to stand…” I readily agreed and he shoved me in
bodily through the window. Thus I got in and the porter earned his twelve
annas.
Gandhi concludes, “Is it any wonder that plague has
become endemic in India. Any other result is impossible where passengers always
leave some dirt where they go and take more on leaving.”
Amazing, how can you understand plight of people without experiencing it? Great reason of being grounded whatever you are doing. There is another great lesson here. Many grass root leaders tend to believe thing can't change. They are steeped into old way of doing things. Gandhiji, while experiencing common man plight, believed changed can be made and it has to be internal as much as external. Great article thanks Dabby.
ReplyDeleteIt begins with 'Empathy' and for that a person needs humility and courage to show Empathy to experience any situation.
ReplyDeletePlease check here - http://realizingempathy.com/
Rain Man is a good example to show the change from 'apathy' to 'empathy'. There were sound reasons from our age old culture (which is of course questionable today) of Gurukula form of education. Respect to elders and to the context promotes empathy.