It was exactly 129 years ago on 07 Jun 1893 that a black man named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was thrown out of the train on a deserted railway station in South Africa because he was a black and blacks were not supposed to be travelling in First class.
He was new to the country and when he approached his friends in South Africa they said, oft repeated dialogue ;
“ It’s a system, which is like a wall , if you bang your head against a wall you will only end up breaking your head “.
We even now get to hear this dialogue from our friends whenever we decide to take on the corrupt and the dishonest. Indians have not changed, yet.
But this man, modestly built took up the challenge and decided to test the strength of the wall and shook that wall gently and forced the British to leave the building, that the British had built painstakingly.
It was a tedious and a long journey from 1893 to 1947, more than 50 years, it took to finally force the British to leave.
What do we learn from this ?
One. Whenever injustice is done , you do get angry , rather you should get angry and learn to NURTURE the ANGER… KRODH KO PALNA SEEKHO. Never accept injustice, it is a crime, Bapu said it many a times..
Two. Plan systematically by analyzing the weaknesses of the Opponent.
Three. Adapt the principles to the circumstances. But never compromise on the principles.
Four. Build a Team to achieve the Objectives, Execute your plan relentlessly - But never be in a hurry and take it to a Logical conclusion.
During this long journey many things had happened , he was criticized, he was mocked, he was doubted, his detractors tried tarnishing his character but all of them failed and All his detractors perished by the time he and his team members saw off the Britishers in 1947.
The entire episode can be aptly described by a popular saying of Armies world over.
“ After the Victory the tankman ( armoured corps) boasts about his mobility and firepower, the Gunner(Artillery) talks of the caliber of his long range guns , the Signaller( Corps of Signals) boasts about the effectiveness of his communication But the Infantryman smiles with Victory under his feet.
Like it or Not Gandhiji and his team just did that like an Infantryman does.