Singh 3

Shailendra Kumar SinghProfessor Prasanta ChakravartyM.A. (F) English16 March 2013Reconciling The Asymmetry Between The Focus And The Frame: Eclecticism And Counter-Intuitive Efficacy In Gandhi In his illuminating essay No Politics Without Religion: Of Secularism And Gandhi, Ajay Skaria refers to Gandhis response to the 1934 earthquake in Bihar; which for the latter, was a divine chastisement [saja] sent by God for our sins particularly the sin of untouchability (18). However, what perhaps renders greater valency to this is the qualifying remark that somewhat subdues its affirmative intonation by construing it as guess work, though not without the assertive supplement That my guess may be wrong does not affect the results named by me (19). This reveals an asymmetry between the focus and the frame or the intended end and the pursued means, in this case because, for a quintessential Progressive, a disjunction between choosing a regressive (backward at least in the Progressives understanding) modus operandi to arrive at a progressive outcome will be unreservedly disconcerting for it may defeat their paradigms of pedagogy, within which, both the undertaken process as well as the desired consequence are uniformly significant. Nevertheless, this discrepancy can not only be reconciled by the clichd understanding that for Gandhi, achieving the intended end was more important than the pursued means or to put it proverbially, the end justifies the means, but also through a slightly more nuanced investigation which is predicated upon the idiom, a means to an end. Ostensibly, both the expressions may seem to connote similar meanings. Nonetheless, in the proverb, the end justifies the means, the word end is the scope-bearing term of the scope means and hence this overarching category subsumes within the subset of its modus operandi, even acts of manipulation, dexterity and subterfuge. Thus, the literary, cultural and historical associations with this proverb also invariably include instances of Machiavellian means deployed to accomplish various outcomes. As opposed to this, in the idiom, a means to an end, the word means becomes the scope-bearing term of the scope end and hence the focus is now deflected from the undertaken process to more important questions of motive and efficacy. It is true that both, the proverb as well as the idiom, are alternatively used even in the context of describing a Machiavellian process used to arrive at a certain consequence. However, the incongruity between the focus and the frame in Gandhis case cannot be easily redressed using the proverb since it is very difficult to extricate the aphorism from the literary, cultural and historical associations attached to it, from which, in turn, acts of manipulation, dexterity and subterfuge cannot be subtracted. Contrary to this, because the idiom allows for an unmistakable deflection in focus from the means to the motive and its efficacy, the asymmetry can be reconciled by keeping it far removed from value judgements and instead simply appreciating the intention and the incentive behind the desired end (to do away with untouchability, in this case). Besides, Professor K.T.S. Sarao, in his book, The Decline of Buddhism in India, demonstrates how lack of mass-base, social aloofness, and lack of interest in cultivating loyal supporters proved to be pivotal factors responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India (263). He also delineates how these drawbacks rather became the advantages for Bhakti movement, which acted as a unifying force for the common masses (260). This may provide us an insight in to Gandhis own eclecticism and counter-intuitive efficacy because his concept of daya comes very close to the Buddhist understanding of karuna and even his principles of truth and non-violence are reminiscent of its Buddhist antecedents. However, Gandhis sense of reaching out and connecting to people through travelling in the hinterlands of the country and his bhajans bear striking resemblances to the performative aspect of Bhakti movement that was characterised by singing, dancing and more importantly by wandering mendicants. So, this eclecticism in Gandhi also becomes the eclaircissement for his counter-intuitive efficacy. This is so because notwithstanding the fact that for him ahimsa became the vehicle in order to achieve his purposes, it still precipitated a counter-intuitive efficacy; something that I would call as the consolidation of power through group solidarity. Laconically then, we can conclude by discerning not only Gandhis eclecticism and counter-intuitive efficacy but also by appreciating the way it acquired its own Gandhian idiosyncrasy since it resisted not only subsidence(a phenomenon that Buddhism experienced), but also any attempts of co-optation(as it transpired in the case of the Bhakti saints).

Works CitedSkaria, Ajay. No Politics Without Religion: Of Secularism and Gandhi. Political Hinduism: The Religious Imagination in Public Spheres. Ed- Vinay Lal. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009.Sarao, K.T.S. The Decline of Buddhism in India. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2012.