ગુજરાતી ડાયસ્પોરા, યાને ગુજરાત બહારના ગુજરાતી સમાજો, અાજે અાફ્રિકાથી લઈને અમેિરકા સુધીના અનેક નાનામોટા દેશોમાં અસ્તિત્વ ધરાવે છે. અા સમાજો તે ગુજરાતી પ્રજાના છે, જે ક્યાં તો અર્થોપાર્જન ખાતર યા માફકસરની નહીં એવી રાજકીય પરિસ્થિતિ તથા વિપરીત સંજોગોના કારણે દેશવટો કરી ગઈ હતી યા ઉખેડાઈને બીજા અને ત્યાંથી ત્રીજા દેશમાં ફેંકાઈ ગઈ હતી. અાજે એમની મોટી વસ્તી બ્રિટન, અમેિરકા, પાકિસ્તાન, અૉસ્ટૃલિયા તથા અાફ્રિકી દેશોમાં અાવેલી છે.
અામ તો છે એ ગુજરાતી ડાયસ્પોરા, પરંતુ તેમનું કોઈ ચોક્કસ રૂપસ્વરૂપ નથી. દેશે દેશે તથા ધર્મભેદે તેમની ભાત કંઈક નોખનોખી જોવા મળે છે. અા સમાજોને એક તરફ પોતાની મૂળ અોળખ જાળવી રાખવા યા એમ કહો કે તેને રક્ષવા માટે ભારે મથામણ કરવી પડી રહી હોવાનું જોઈ શકાય છે. તો બીજી તરફ તેમને સ્થાનિક પ્રવાહો સાથે પણ કદમ મિલાવવા અાવશ્યક હોય છે. અા સમાજોને ખાસ કરીને પશ્ચિમના દેશોમાં રંગભેદ, સેક્સ, શરાબ, લૂટ તથા અન્ય સામાજિક બદીઅોના નિરંકુશ થપેડાઅોનો પણ સામનો કરવો પડતો હોય છે, જે અનેક પ્રશ્નો ઊભા કરી જાય છે. અાવી વિષમતા વચ્ચે પોતાની મૂળ અોળખ યાને ગુજરાતીતા જાળવવા – રક્ષવાનું સહેલું હોઈ શકે નહીં. અામ માહોલ, પરિસ્થિતિ અને સંજોગોના કઠોર પ્રવાહોની પ્રબળ અસરો હેઠળ તેમના વિભિન્ન ઘાટો ઘડાતા જઈ રહ્યા છે. ગઈ કાલે જે રંગ હતો તે કદાચ અાજે ના પણ મળે. રીતભાત, ખાનપાન, ભાષા વગેરેમાં પણ ફેરફારો દૃશ્યમાન થઈ રહ્યા છે. લિબાસો ય બદલાઈ રહ્યા છે.
વિદેશોમાંના અાપણા સાહિત્યકારો જે તે દેશોમાંના ગુજરાતી ડાયસ્પોરાના જ સભ્યો છે. પોતાના સમાજ, માહોલ, પરિસ્થિતિ અને સંઘર્ષની નીપજ સમા અવનવા અનુભવો, અસરો તેમને અાગવી રીતે વિચારતા અને લખતા કરે એ સ્વાભાવિક છે. અાજે અમેરિકા, બ્રિટન વગેરે દેશોમાં જે ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય સર્જાઈ રહ્યું છે તેની અંદર ત્યાંના ગુજરાતી સમાજોના, તેમના માહોલના પ્રશ્નોની ચર્ચા હોઈ શકે છે. ઘબકાર પણ એ જ ધરતીનો હોવાનો. ઊડાનને તથા કલાતત્ત્વને લાગેવળગે છે ત્યાં સુધી કહી શકાય કે એનો સંબંધ અભ્યાસ અને સાધના સાથે હોય છે. અને એવી એંધાણી અાપણા અા સાહિત્યકારોની કૃતિઅોમાં અવશ્ય જોવા મળે છે. તેઅો કંઈક નોખી ઢબે, કંઈક નોખી વાત કરે છે. ભાષાની છાંટ પણ નોખી.
અા વિદેશવાસી ગુજરાતી લેખકોએ ઘણું લખ્યું છે, લખી રહ્યા છે. વાર્તા, લેખ, નિબંધ, નાટક, વિવેચન, પ્રવાસવર્ણન બધું તેમની કલમને સાધ્ય છે. તેમના પ્રમાણિક પ્રયાસોથી અાજે જ્યાં વિદેશી ભાષા-સાહિત્યના દરિયા ઘૂઘવાટા મારી રહ્યા છે ત્યાં ગુજરાતી ભાષાના ડાયરા પણ ઠાઠથી જામી રહ્યા છે. ગુજરાતી ગીત-ગઝલ તથા સંગીતની મહેફિલો પણ યોજાઈ રહી છે, અને નાટકોના પડદાયે ઉંચકાઈ રહ્યા છે. અા કંઈ નાનીસૂની વાત નથી. એક નોંધપાત્ર ઐતિહાસિક ઘટના છે.
 

Even though Gandhiji went through several turning points while becoming a mahatma from an ordinary Mohan, basically his life was like a straight line. The starting-point of the line was the faith in Rama instilled by the mantra of 'Ramanama' and given to the boy Mohan by Rambha, the maid servant. When the stick of Mir Alam hit his head during his middle age in South Africa, the name of Rama came out of Gandhiji’s lips, and when the three bullets pierced his chest 50 years ago, the same word, ‘Hey Rama’ and no other was uttered by Gandhi. The intense faith in Rama and in Ramayana, joined the three crucial points of his life―the beginning, the middle, and the end. This clearly indicates that his life was a straight line like a thread through which the faith passed.

When Gandhi came to India from South Africa, the words prevalent for politicians were ‘moderates’ and 'extremists’. Some wanted to attain ‘Swaraj’ by means of the bullet or the bomb. To others independence was not only political but also contained spiritual dimension. Gandhi synthesized in his ‘Satyagraha’, four different attitudes-the humility of the moderates, the intensity of the extremists, the readiness of persons like Bhagat Singh and Khudiram Bose to sacrifice themselves happily for the country and the superior ideology of Shri Aurobindo to raise patriotism to a higher level. His Satyagraha consisted of a humility of love even for those who considered Gandhi as their enemy; it was intense enough to enable Gandhi to tell his adversary, the British Government, that it was for their own good that they should give up India; his satyagraha contained the readiness to sacrifice one’s life with a smile and the name of Rama on one’s lips; and it had in it the spiritual fervour which could endow the 'Sattvika’; luster of purity to the people of India, just awakening into Rajas (activity) from its centuries old Tamas (darkness and inertia) these were the four basic principles of our country which found a synthesis in Gandhi.

Thus Gandhi has reassured us, saying: “I am not going to keep quiet even after I die."

A few days ago, I was in the village Vatva of Dehgam taluka. The people of these villages were demonstrating peacefully and fearlessly, with good will for the adversary to regain the land of their village, which had been snatched, from them in an unjust manner. This Satyagraha convinced me of the truth of Gandhi’s statement.

About seven or eight Sarvodaya workers travelled from Dandi to Sabarmati to bring to people’s notice, the unfairness behind the order of the government banning the sale of ordinary salt (as against iodised salt). That the Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal should be inspired to fight this injustice the way Gandhi did in 1930 is a proof that Gandhi refuses to silenced.

13,000 miles from here, is a city called Sao Paulo in Brazil. Out of it’s population of seventeen million, seven million people live in slums.

In the north western provinces of Brazil there is widespread hunger. Several hungry people left their province and headed for Sao Paulo. The citizens of this comfortable city were so scared that they wrote letters to editors, suggesting that shop-keepers of ration-shops selling grains be given licenses for guns to prevent the hungry mobs from ransacking grain shops. This crass inhumanity deeply pained Father Kuns, a clergyman residing in the slums. He went to the main Church of the area and commenced a fast for 21 days. Initially, most people laughed at him. Gradually, a few persons came and asked him if they could join him in his fast. The Father said, “No one should for more than one day as a mark of sympathy. What I would like you to do is something better. Those who feel real sympathy for the hunger-stricken refugees should put up a board in front of their own homes inviting them in. Tell them you are ready to share your bread with them till the food lasts. When there is no more food you will share your prayers with them." On the last day of the fast of Father Kuns, there were ten thousand homes in San Paulo ready to share their meals with the refugees. The idea of providing shop-keepers with guns had simply evaporated.

We should feel convinced that Gandhi goes on living today through persons like Father Kuns.

About 300 miles from the North Pole in Canada there lives a tribe of native Americans. When I was there, Charles, a representative of the Innus, was taking me in his car to a place where the Innus had organized a Satyagraha some time back. They were fishermen, and the fish on which they made their living was being destroyed. Air-force planes used to conduct practice–exercise in that snow-covered area. The planes would zoom up and then descend at great speed, stopping short only of the bombing. The noise pollution killed the fish living under the snow, and deprived the Innus of their food. The Innus made a human chain and surrounded about a mile-long airport area. Their Satyagraha succeed and the practice–exercise of the Nato planes was discontinued. Gandhi lived in this Satyagraha.

While Charles was driving the car in which I was travelling, he asked me about my life. Naturally, I talked about my childhood. The Sabarmati Ashram and Gandhiji’s residence Hridaya Kunj came before my eyes. I told Charles how we, as children walked with Gandhiji’s hands on our shoulders; how we would go up to the Sabarmati prison touch the gates and return to the Ashram. Suddenly the speeding car showed down. I asked Charles “ What happened"? He replied, “A miracle, that’s what happened". I was confused. Charles continued “Never had I even dreamt that I shall ever meet a man who had lived with Gandhi, that a man on whose shoulder Gandhi had leaned would be sitting in my car! If this is not a miracle, what is it?"

So Gandhi lives on, not only amongst Sarvodaya workers, but in every corner of the world!

In India as also in so many countries of the world, women have woken up to the injustice meted out to them and are seen fighting that injustice in nonviolent demonstrations. The Dalits are also found to be demonstrating against injustice in a disciplined and non-violent manner. I believe that Gandhi lives on in all these.

If we are under the impression that the Gandhian age is over because 50 years have passed since Gandhi's assassination, we are wrong. It is quite likely that the Gandhian era is just commencing, that what we see are the first indications of that new beginning. Tomorrow belongs to Gandhi. Wherever there is resistance against the forces of death, Gandhi is present. About this, we must firmly convince ourselves.

Swaraj (self-rule) is normally understood as the rule of self. Gandhi said, it meant not rule of self but rule over self. When one talks of ‘self-rule’, one should be able to control his own self. The first meaning represents the culture of the senses and of consumerism. The second meaning represents the culture of sacrifice, of the soul.

Gandhi had first presented this idea in 1909. The conflict between the two cultures that of enjoyment and that of sacrifice is far more clear today in our lives, in our families, in our daily happenings. This self-centered culture deserves a careful analysis. Man today has stopped worrying about others and keeps emitting poisonous gases and poisonous chemicals. He just does not think of tomorrow. He is leading humanity towards a mass suicide. Thinkers all over the world are warning the human race against this inevitable danger. And, I feel that the Gandhi of tomorrow will speak to us in the language of the environmentalist.

While the horrific rape of Damini, Nirbhaya (December16, 2012) has shaken the whole nation, and the country is gripped with the fear of this phenomenon, many an ideologues and political leaders are not only making their ideologies clear, some of them are regularly putting their foots in mouths also. Surely they do retract their statements soon enough. Kailash Vijayvargiya, a senior BJP minister in MP’s statement that women must not cross Laxman Rekha to prevent crimes against them, was disowned by the BJP Central leadership and he was thereby quick enough to apologize to the activists for his statement. But does it change his ideology or the ideologies of his fellow travellers? There are many more in the list from Abhijit Mukherjee, to Mamata Bannerji, Asaram Bapu and many more. 

The statement of RSS supremo, Mohan Bhagwat, was on a different tract as he said that rape is a phenomenon which takes place in India not in Bharat. For India the substitute for him is urban areas and Bharat is rural India for him. As per him it is the “Western” lifestyle adopted by people in urban areas due to which there is an increase in the crime against women. “You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang rape or sex crimes”, he said on 4th January. Further he implied that while urban areas are influenced by Western culture, the rural areas are nurturing Indian ethos, glorious Indian traditions. As per him ancient Indian traditions gave great respect to women, and it is due to these values of Indian tradition, that villages are free from crimes against women.

The statistics from India fly in the face of Bhagawat. In a significant statistical observation and study of rape cases Mrinal Satish, faculty member of National Law University, Delhi, tells us another tale. He has used the court data and observes that 75% of rape cases take place in rural India. His observations are based on the cases reported in Criminal Law Journal from 1983 to 2009.

The cases of rape in villages, like that of Khairlanji and rape against Adivasi women may not be on the radar of the Hindutva boss, Bhagwat, but those engaged with the issues of dalits, Adivasis and gender issues cannot buy the simplified rural versus urban divide. One knows that patriarchy which looks at women as secondary beings, primarily as sister, mother or daughter, rather than a person in her own right. She is not a being with swayam (selfhood) of her own. As for as RSS ideology is concerned only men have swayam (selfhood). The full form of RSS, the male organization is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh while its women’s organization is Rashtrasevika Samiti, do note that the word swayam is missing here, in the name of women’s organization.  

The myth that women had a place of honour in ancient Indian period is a well constructed one. During the long span of ancient Indian period the status of women kept changing, but women being subordinate beings was the running theme. During the Aryan period of pastoral life the women were supposed to commit symbolic self immolation after the death of husband, later this got converted to actual burning of the widows. It is probably around this period that two great epics were written, Ramayan and Mahabharat.

In Ramayan Lord Ram banishes his pregnant wife Sita, because of the rumours about her character amongst the subjects of Ayodhya. In Mahabharat, the Panadavas use their common wife Draupadi as a ‘thing’ and use her as a bet in gamble. Not to be left behind their cousins try to disrobe her in the court in front of the King Dhritrashtra! So much for the glorious place of women in ancient India! Later period’s values are well reflected in Manusmiriti, where the women were explicitly denied education and serving the husband and household chores were regarded as equivalent of education for the women. Manusmriti gives the detailed code for women and it leaves no doubt about women being subordinate or the property of men. The Gupta period (3rd to 7thCentury), which is regarded as the Golden Period of Ancient India, the women were having limited access to education and barring few names which are dished out to prove the glorious condition of Hindu women, mostly the women were having limited access to education. Their participation in Yagnas was secondary to husband, the Yajman, who was the primary being who had solicited the priest for the Yagnas. Yajnman word interestingly has no female equivalent.

The ideologues of the Mohan Bhagwat parivar attribute all the prevalent ills to the coming in of Muslims. This is a very clever ploy to externalize the internal suppression of women, and also of dalits. It’s not too long ago in history that during British rule, the continuation of this religiously sanctioned Hindu norm, Sati, had to be fought against by social reformers. The ghastly sati system, occasionally surfacing even now, and supported subtly by conservatives has not been easy to eradicate as religion was cited as the argument for preserving it. In the wake of sati of Roopkanwar in 1986, BJP’s Vice President Vijaya Raje Scindia, not only defended the sati system but also took out a morcha to oppose passing of the bill against sati. BJP of is the political child of RSS.

The travails of Raja Ram Mohan Roy in struggling against Sati system are a legend. The child marriage was/ is another such evil. While British wanted to bring in the law in early twentieth century to abolish child marriage, the argument to oppose it came from the sources of Hindu religion. It was asserted that as per Hindu norms the girl must be married before her first menses, Garbhadhan. It was argued that our religion’s norm about early marriage cannot be violated. The introduction of widow remarriage, the struggle to abolish Devadasi system, each of these has a long and painful story to tell about the status of women in India, in Ancient India, not influenced by modernization.

The education is the key to the empowerment of women and an integral part of democratization process. It was a painful journey and the efforts of Savitri bai Phule in this direction are revolutionary in the true sense of the word. These efforts were downright opposed on various grounds, the main obstacle being the Hindu traditions.

As such what is being criticized by Bhagwat as modernization is basically the process of democratization of society. This gentleman is stuck in the feudal mode thinking and is upholding feudal of social relationships in the garb of Hindu glorious traditions. As per these traditions; caste and gender hierarchy rules the roost. The atrocities against women are not due to democratization, which this worthy is calling modernization or westernization. The core of modernization is caste and gender equality. The essence of modernization is abolition of hierarchy, based on birth-the hierarchy of caste and gender. The process of democratization is the march of society from formal values of equality to substantive equality, and this the march has to be the agenda of social movements. The roots of oppression of women lie in the patriarchal values, which is the carry forward of ancient and medieval values, related to feudal society, society with the rule of kings, where woman was regarded as the one whose arena is the domestic work. The condition of widows and the women who were burnt alive as sati reflects the glorious ancient tradition to which Mr. Bhagwat wants to push back the Indian society, undoing all what Indian society has been able to achieve through the struggle for Independence, which was not merely a struggle to throw away the British rule but also a struggle to do away with caste and gender hierarchy.

For Bhagwat, the ancient glory is a cover to hide the gender inequality. Modernization is seen in a superficial way by many. Here the ancient traditions are glorified without going to the core of the social relationships. One is not criticizing the past, but understanding it in the context of the social milieu, the system of production, the level of education etc. is what is needed.  Blind glorification of the past or blind condemnation of the past, both take the conclusions off the mark. To look down upon modernization as a crass process is a deliberate one, to try to bring in social equations, the epitome of which in a way is Manusmriti.

Here even the facts of statistics are being put upside down to prove a political point which is retrograde but covered in the cloak of ancient glory. The borderline between India and Bharat is not an iron wall, it is a fluctuating zone, merging and separating in a very fluid way. The need of the hour is to look deeper into the issue of violence against women. While all needs to be done to create a safe atmosphere, women’s safety and space for their work and creativity, we need to give a look at the social movements to overcome the chains of patriarchy, which is at the root of violence against women.