Blog 11: Media Midterm

Mahatma Gandhi:

Peerless Communicator of All Time

Mass media was originated in the 1920’s with the initiation of national radio networks and the circulation of newspapers and magazines. Nevertheless, some other forms of mass media such as books as well as manuscripts had already been originated and utilized over centuries. Mass media has evolved significantly over periods of time due to technology as its current saturated status has not always existed. It has become into a versatile entity that is a crucial part of our daily lives.  As of today, the media has reached rising achievable sources towards its spectators and has even exploited events and news by expressing biased broadcasting. For this reason, it’s certainly canny to revisit Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and principle of journalism during his times of constant political struggle caused by discrimination towards his people. Gandhi, throughout his life, has replicated inspiring prominence and also influenced the history of mass media to a great extent as he used journalism in order to portray his views about peace which involved non-violence, civil disobedience and morality to be the most effective ways in order to attain social and economical goals.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar; a coastal city in the state of India Gujarat. He was well-known as Mahatma Gandhi, which the Indian people called him, meaning Great Soul. He studied law in London and completed his training as a lawyer in 1891. Later, he went to South Africa In 1893 on his first appointment as a visitor. He began his political career and accepted a one year contract to do legal work there, which was controlled by the British at that time. When he tried to claim his rights as a British entity, he was mistreated and soon realized that all Indians suffered the same treatment of racial discrimination. Discrimination against the Indians was massive and had a considerable struggle for them as well. During Gandhi’s 22 years in this country, direct contact of racial discrimination suffered by the Indians changed the reserved lawyer into a convinced activist. He stayed during that time in order to dutifully accomplish secure rights for the Indian people. Thus, he developed a method called Satyagraha which consisted on societal resistance that portrayed the principles of courage, nonviolence and truth. Gandhi’s point of view was unique and outstanding believing that people’s behavior was much more important than what they achieve. Accordingly, one of the major impacts of Gandhi relied upon his exceptional devotion towards peace seeking.

Gandhi’s instinctive pacifying and non-violent aspirations were the key to the development of his resistance movement for Indian independence. This can be relevant as stated by Thomas Merton in his book Gandhi on Non-violence, “Non-violence is for Gandhi the basic law of our being. That is why it can be used as the most effective principle for social action since it is in deep accord with the truth of man’s nature and corresponds to his innate desire for peace, justice, order, freedom, and personal dignity.” (36) On the other hand, violence promotes brutality causing more disorder and deviating from the main purpose rather than focusing on it. Generally, violence upholds more power and ambition before accomplishing the intended goal. This was probably the reason by which Gandhi always portrayed and promoted enduring non-violence throughout his political movement as well as through his innate writings, causing numerous impacts in the course of history. In effect, Gandhi returned to India in 1896 with the ideal of explaining the situation of the Indians in South Africa and presenting his thoughts to the public in order to fight for the Indian’s rights. He realized the need to inform the community about the issue through his reports which gained global awareness shaping him into a prominent journalist. The letters he sent to the editors of South African daily newspapers portrayed his views becoming a significant lesson to others. Through his reports Gandhi showed the process of fighting injustice in a nation where laws are mostly against a group of people, without providing offence to the rulers themselves. A perfect example of this aspect was his letter to the Times of Natal dated October 25, 1894 titled “Rammysammy”; it expressed disagreement among the leader’s treatment to the Indians but with wise and proper wording. Gandhi wrote:

“You would not allow the Indian or the native the precious privilege (of voting) under any circumstances, because they have a dark skin. You would look the exterior only. So long as the skin is white it would not matter to you whether it conceals beneath it poison or nectar…” (Gandhi)

After 10 years of constant struggle, Gandhi realized that in order to mobilize public opinion and influence on official decisions a regular newspaper was definitely required. Therefore, Indian Opinion was created on June 1903, newspaper in which the content was pure and natural. It didn’t contain advertisements nor was its goal to attain money; but instead, to support his concept in Satyagraha. Indian Opinion became an important tool of education as through the columns of the newspaper, Gandhi tried to teach the public about sanitation, self-discipline and good citizenship. This newspaper played an important role to the community as much as to Gandhi himself since in his own statement in his biography My Experiments with Truth this is clearly pointed out:

“Indian Opinion... was a part of my life. Week after week I poured out my soul in its columns and expounded the principles and practice of Satyagraha as I understood it… I cannot recall a word in these articles set down without thought or deliberation or word of conscious exaggeration, or anything merely to please. Indeed the journal became for me a training in self restraint and for friends a medium through which to keep in touch with my thoughts."

Indian Opinion effectively forced the South African government to modify their despotic laws against Indians; it lasted for 11 years.

            Another of Gandhi’s groundbreaking reports was after he received a call from Bihar where the Indian farmers of Champaran (a district in the state of Bihar) were mistreated and exploited the same way as the laborers in South Africa. Gandhi, in no time, went there to investigate the issue settling a detailed study and survey of the towns. With this, he provided a report describing the massacres, awful events of suffering and the status of deteriorated living becoming probably the envy of any grand investigative journalist in the world. The villagers began gaining confidence as Gandhi started leading the cleaning of towns, building schools and hospitals persuading the government to undo purdah (system of keeping women isolated), untouchability which consisted on the social practice of excluding a “minority” ethnic group by separating them from the mainstream by social practice or legal permission,  and the abolition of women. He was joined by various nationalists from all over India. It was no doubt that after this incident, Gandhi applied journalism as his most valuable weapon to portray his point of view. Gandhi was later convinced to take over the editorship of Young India and Navajivan newspapers as well as a Gujarati monthly. He encompassed various aspects of journalism which were to him the three paramount considerations for journalism which included: editorial independence, loyalty and self-restraints.

Gandhi being associated with six journals, for two of which he was the editor, stated that the purpose of a newspaper was to understand the well-known emotion and express it, provoke assured desirable feelings amongst people and boldly to describe popular flaws. That was certain through his publications written in a simple, passionate but indignant way. His newspapers’ main goal was to serve the public. They were strictly without ambitions as they didn’t contain advertisements nor was it to earn him his livelihood; it was just for the function of service and to deeply inform the people of his cause. Gandhi was solely devoted to his love for the welfare of the community and fighting for independence through newspaper writing. Therefore, his appraisal of the daily newspapers weren’t approving since they were commercial, afraid of the government and dishonest in reporting.  His message of audacity and sacrifice gave a new motivation to the development of the media as a weapon of Satyagraha. In his own statement Gandhi’s aspect of journalism is shown: “The true function of journalism is to educate the public mind, not to stock it with wanted and unwanted impressions.” (M. K. Gandhi)

The Mahatma campaign was later established by Gandhi in order to abolish the Press Act of 1910. It prevented the British government from passing a bill that would stop Indians from speaking up against the government. Social group disagreements and elements involving social deficit such as exclusion and untouchability were the targets of The Mahatma movement. During The Mahatma movement, later in between 1933 and 1940 Harijan (English), Harijan Sevak (Hindi), and Harijan Bandu (Gujarati) became the Mahatma’s powerful “vehicle” for carrying his message and major influence to the people of India. In these newspapers, The Mahatma campaign was focused mostly on the social and economic problems. Gandhi had become the holder of the key to his people’s future of liberty finally India attaining complete independence on the midnight of august 15, 1947.  

Because of Gandhi’s outstanding philosophy on peace, an influence on the U.S. peace movement felt on the early 1920s is relevant. John Haynes Holmes, a prominent Unitarian minister and reformer, and an honest pacifist in World War I was an effective supporter of Gandhi’s ideals. Holmes’s description of Gandhi in a sermon called “Who is the Greatest Man in the World Today?”  amazed many listeners. Accounts of Gandhi’s movement for Indian independence and non-violent resistance were reported in the U.S. newspapers by journalists such as Negley Farson and Webb Miller. Idealists were heartened by the successful struggles throughout India. The Salt March was an inspirational example of that matter. Religious leaders who were also social idealists were fascinated by the religious approaches Gandhi applied to social and political issues. They were also impressed by his battle against social groups and untouchability.  

Likewise, Gandhi made an impression on various speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. He was coincidentally introduced to Gandhi through a sermon by Mordecai Johnson, president of Howard University. King was so moved that he read numerous books on the Indian nationalist leader. He read with fascination of the life of one who had successfully transformed the ethic of nonviolence into a political instrument against the British Empire. The impact caused on him is described on his own statement: "As I read, I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform." (King Jr.) Gandhi even caused major impact on former president Barack Obama as on one of his speeches he stated: “Throughout my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things. That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate Office: to remind me that real results will come not just from Washington - they will come from the people”. (Obama)

Apart from being one of the most influential political leaders of the twentieth century and social reformer, Gandhi was a peerless communicator. As a journalist, Gandhi taught brilliant lessons on mass communication. More than anyone else, he acknowledged that communication is the most effective tool in order to portray his outstanding peace methods and mobilize popular support. Gandhi used media to sway public opinion in the imperialist country that occupied India and utilized the power of media to promote a nation’s struggle for independence. He was successful because of his underlying skill in communication that blossomed in South Africa where he had gone initially to practice as a lawyer. Valiant, effective and eloquent with his words, Gandhi reached out to millions of people and convinced them of his cause. Nowadays, when there is an extensive concern over the growing influence of market forces on media, and lament of journalism no longer being a social service, Gandhi’s views on the principles of journalism sets on a position to bear on the profession of journalism the power of ethics and morality. On this aspect Gandhi stated: “It is often observed that newspapers published any matter that they have, just to fill in space. The reason is that most newspapers have their eyes on profits... At times, they produce bitterness and strife even between different families and communities. Thus, newspapers cannot escape criticism merely because they serve the people.” Gandhi is an icon to be respected as the man who inspired the Indian independence, and who achieved it with immense courage and proposal by portraying non-violence against all odds. His significant influence in the world was epic and can still contain the power to change societies to an improved place. His views and the power of media that he utilized were to be venerated everlastingly. Mohandas K. Gandhi died believing that his sole voice was unheard, but he was mistaken; the power of his message would certainly endure to progress the public and nations for all times to come.