The UN's International Day of Non-Violence in Honour of
the Apostle of Peace and Non-Violence
The Mahatma Gandhi's Relevance to the Contemporary World
Address by the Hon. Wade Mark, MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Thursday October 2nd, 2014

His Excellency the Indian High Commissioner Mr. Gauri Shankar

Honorable. Ministers of Government;

Mayor of Port of-Spain, Your Worship Mr. Rayrnond Tim Kee

Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Members of the Media; and

Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good morning!
Mine today is an easy task. Amidst the warring noises throughout the world, we reach out to
honour and embrace the wisdom of Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi. His legacy, through his
experience and teachings, seems all that is left in order to return mankind to a semblance of
sanity and reason.
Every century throws up its outstanding sons. But the twentieth century was unique.
In moral and spiritual terms, the century gave us Bapu, the one for all centuries. Without doubt,
Gandhi remains one of the few most accomplished, most sincere, most honourable, most revered
and most influential persons of the twentieth or any other century. It is said that when there are
many men without honour, there is always one person who demonstrates the honour of many
men. Such a person was our dear and beloved Bapu.
It has been said that wisdom comes to us at a point in life when it is no longer of any use. Let us
today reject that thesis...for Gandhi has left the world enough of his wisdom which has stood the
test of time…if only we would take the time to listen. One writer says, "I often look to Mahatma
Gandhi for wisdom. His gentle approach to life is testament to the fact that strength does not
equal physical capacity". Thus, the Mahatma says, "In a gentle way, we can shake the world”
What a truly inspiring and effective message!
Here, today, it is important to define this wisdom with which Gandhi affected us all. This
wisdom also served to protect many of his followers. Gandhi's wisdom is best reflected....and
remembered....during many episodes of his anti-colonial struggle for India's independence
against British domination. That is well documented. The incidents are varied and majestic in
nature. Whether we refer to his inclusion of women in the struggle for independence, his
opposition to child marriage, untouchability, the extreme oppression of Hindu widows or the
inclusion of women in the salt campaigns, the stature of Bapu rings supreme.
What, however, is less well-documented has been his influence on the two other great moral
personages of the 20th century.... Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. These two
embraced the true Spirit of Gandhi...and what an outcome they achieved! Gandhi wrote in 1936:
"I have simply tried in my own way to apply the eternal truths to our daily life and
problems...The opinions I have formed and the conclusions I have arrived at are not final. I may
change them tomorrow. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old
as the hills...there must be no impatience, no barbarity, no insolence, no undue pressure. If we
want to cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant. Intolerance betrays
want of faith in one's cause"...
And if we choose to judge the conduct of these two men on the basis of the wisdom that Gandhi
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left us, we see an interconnectedness that, while easy to define...is difficult to dispute. "A man,'
Gandhi writes, "is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. Be the change that
you want to see in the world". How remarkable that Both Mandela and King understood his
thinking and experience and forged a whole new epoch around them...and that…in spite of the
oppression, racism, imprisonment and hate which they endured so heroically.
It was Martin Luther himself who wrote: Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the
tactics”. And, as one writer stated: "Mandela completed what Gandhi started". No less a person
than Albert Einstein had a very portentous commentary on Gandhi's influence and work:
"Mahatma Gandhi's life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a
completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised
it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking
human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in
our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of
such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their
example and educational works. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with
such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come. Generations to
come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth flesh and blood."
Distinguished guests, I ask that you look the world today. Where is the moral authority…the
moral compass?? In departing from the lessons of BAPU, are we the richer, the wiser, the more
democratic, for having strayed from the message and example of this simple but fearless man of
unmatched intelligence, vision and wisdom? We may ask, too, quite correctly, would South
Africa be as manageable today without the wisdom of Mandela...ably influenced by the thinking
of our dear Mahatma?
Today, let us reset the moral compass to the message of this dominant, non-violent thinker and
actor. It may be difficult at times; but as Gandhi says: “In a gentle way, you can shake the
world!!!”
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This day is the anniversary, began in 2007, of the United Nations International Day of
Non-violence. And, annually, the government of India awards the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to
the most distinguished persons. It is therefore not by accident that Mandela was a prominent
recipient.
That Gandhi himself never received the Nobel Prize will forever remain a blot on that
Committee's otherwise distinguished work. We do acknowledge, however, that decades later, the
Nobel Committee publicly indicated its remorse as regards that most serious error. We note, also,
on the occasion of the award in 1989 to the Dalai Lama, the Nobel Committee stated openly that
it “was in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi”.
Awards apart.....and awards would have meant little to Bapu…he was always set to show that he
has simply tried in his own way “to apply the eternal truths to our daily life and problems…The
opinions I have formed”, he warns, “and the conclusions I have arrived at are not final. I may
change them tomorrow. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old
as the hills.”
Such was the absolute humility of the Mahatma. And this humility is, perhaps, nowhere more
clearly demonstrated than in his service to the women of India, many of whom were
disadvantaged. Thus, he has said, “the women have come to look upon me as one of
themselves.” What a tribute for such times in his beloved India!
So that we honour today this man of exquisite human sensitivity, a man for all times and for all
the peoples everywhere. We can never say that he refused to practise what he preached...an
important legacy! As he himself said: “One thing took deep root in me -the conviction that
morality is the basis of things, and that truth is the substance of all morality. Truth became my
sole objective. It began to grow in magnitude every day, and my definition of it has also been
ever-widening”.
So many readings and experiences formed Bapu. His eclectic past helped form him. Listen to
him once more: “I regard untouchability as the greatest blot on Hinduism. This idea was not
brought home to me by my bitter experiences in South Africa. It is equally wrong to say that I
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have taken my views from my study of Christian religious literature.” Gandhi affirms that his
views date to the time when his mother told him not to touch the scavenger because he came to
clean the latrine!!
Distinguished guests, I commend Gandhi's experience to all on this day. He truly saw himself as
no greater than the least among him.
Thank you.
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