The retroactive Southasian Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi was an ‘Indian’ before 1947. That
makes him retroactively a Southasian, and his thoughts
and deeds should be able to provide a roadmap for Southasia’s
political and civil society. Our region as a whole has
failed to grasp the Mahatma’s legacy as we seek
national heroes rather than civilisational path-breakers.
In this issue, Himal delves into the phenomenon of Gandhi,
and seek out areas where Gandhian thought may motivate
the people even if not articulated as such – from
the ongoing people’s movement in Nepal to the
Narmada Bachao Andolan. We also present the views of
two Gandhian Southasians, the Dalai Lama of Lhasa/Dharamshala
and A T Ariyaratne of Colombo. Lastly, how memory of
the Mahatma has evaporated in Bangladesh.
