08-26-2007, 09:16 PM
So, what is the Gandhian way of fighting terror? I think the Gandhian way is by means of appeasement. If we give each Jihadi 72 virgins in earth itself, probably they will not seek martyrdom!! <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo--> Unfortunately the Italian does not spell it out!
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Fight terror the Gandhian way'
25 Aug 2007, 2336 hrs IST,TNN
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NEW DELHI: While recognising terrorism as the worst form of conflict propelled in the name of religion and ethnicity, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said the civilised world could by no means lower its yardsticks in combating the menace.
Delivering the inaugural Mahatma Gandhi Lecture Series at Cape Town University on the continuing relevance of Gandhian philosophy earlier this week, Sonia Gandhi delineated the risk posed by terrorism, saying that it had inflicted "untold suffering on innocent women, men and children".
She, however, cautioned against attempting extra-legal measures. "If democracies are going to wage a war against terrorism, the measures that are adopted should be consistent with and not contrary to the values of democracy," she said. She pointed out that the essence of the Gandhian value-system lay in the coherence of ends and means.
"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for, but no causes that I am prepared to kill for," she quoted the Mahatma as having said.
Her note of caution coincides with the intense debate in democracies on how to combat terrorists without violating the fundamental rights of citizens. In an oblique critique of the Westâs war on terror, she said in the Gandhian worldview there was no space for a so-called clash of civilisations. "Actually, Mahatma Gandhi would straightway and summarily reject the very idea of such a clash; he never accepted the exclusivist approach to religion, culture or civilisation," Sonia Gandhi said.
Explaining the Mahatmaâs understanding of religion, she said, "Mahatma Gandhi fervently believed in the pivotal role of religion in every-day life; he saw it as an ethical and moral mooring to all our actions â private and public â but his was a faith that drew from every religion, a faith that was all-inclusive." She said that confronted with a host of intractable problems one would perhaps wonder at the validity of Gandhian ideology in the 21st century. "Whichever challenge we confront, you can be sure that the Gandhian way is a real, live option, an option that informs and illuminates," she said.
Sonia Gandhi even added that though colonialism and racial discrimination of Gandhiâs time had been effectively fought and overpowered, the 21st century faced a new specturm of conflicts. "Whether it is ethnic nationalism or religious chauvinism, economic inequality or military might â all of them have powerful drivers of conflict in todayâs world," she said.
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo--> Unfortunately the Italian does not spell it out!<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Fight terror the Gandhian way'
25 Aug 2007, 2336 hrs IST,TNN
 Print Save EMail Write to Editor
NEW DELHI: While recognising terrorism as the worst form of conflict propelled in the name of religion and ethnicity, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said the civilised world could by no means lower its yardsticks in combating the menace.
Delivering the inaugural Mahatma Gandhi Lecture Series at Cape Town University on the continuing relevance of Gandhian philosophy earlier this week, Sonia Gandhi delineated the risk posed by terrorism, saying that it had inflicted "untold suffering on innocent women, men and children".
She, however, cautioned against attempting extra-legal measures. "If democracies are going to wage a war against terrorism, the measures that are adopted should be consistent with and not contrary to the values of democracy," she said. She pointed out that the essence of the Gandhian value-system lay in the coherence of ends and means.
"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for, but no causes that I am prepared to kill for," she quoted the Mahatma as having said.
Her note of caution coincides with the intense debate in democracies on how to combat terrorists without violating the fundamental rights of citizens. In an oblique critique of the Westâs war on terror, she said in the Gandhian worldview there was no space for a so-called clash of civilisations. "Actually, Mahatma Gandhi would straightway and summarily reject the very idea of such a clash; he never accepted the exclusivist approach to religion, culture or civilisation," Sonia Gandhi said.
Explaining the Mahatmaâs understanding of religion, she said, "Mahatma Gandhi fervently believed in the pivotal role of religion in every-day life; he saw it as an ethical and moral mooring to all our actions â private and public â but his was a faith that drew from every religion, a faith that was all-inclusive." She said that confronted with a host of intractable problems one would perhaps wonder at the validity of Gandhian ideology in the 21st century. "Whichever challenge we confront, you can be sure that the Gandhian way is a real, live option, an option that informs and illuminates," she said.
Sonia Gandhi even added that though colonialism and racial discrimination of Gandhiâs time had been effectively fought and overpowered, the 21st century faced a new specturm of conflicts. "Whether it is ethnic nationalism or religious chauvinism, economic inequality or military might â all of them have powerful drivers of conflict in todayâs world," she said.
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