The North Eastern Region (NER) consists of eight States – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. From all of these states, the youth of these north-eastern states are highly influenced by Gandhi’s ideas. Most of them were inspired by Gandhi’s ideals and means. There was a time during the freedom movement when Irabot, the most prominent of the leaders, burnt all his foreign clothing before the Chirap court in Imphal with the shouts of “Vande Matram” and vowed that he would henceforth wear only Manipuri khadi. Even during the 1938 movement, volunteers wore khadi caps during public meetings and raised slogans like Vande Mataram, Jai Manipur, Govindji ki Jai, etc.
They also organized mass spinning demonstrations. It was also Gandhi’s follower who led the formation of the Manipur State Congress Party before independence. They were following Gandhi’s ideal when Maharaja of Manipur and the British governments were taking all possible measures to discourage them.
The youth of North-East India strive to promote development and peace in the society through mutual cooperation and economic development on the lines of Gandhi’s ideals.
Mahatma Gandhi was the figure who led a successful nonviolent movement to liberate India from British colonial rule. While inspiring his countrymen to unite against a foreign power i.e. British that had dominated for 190 years, he also fought a heroic and tireless battle on the home front to give swaraj to the people of India. He fought fiercely to liberate Indian society from old and entrenched prejudices against untouchability.
Two Padma Shri awardees and Gandhians, Natwar Thakkar and his wife Lentina AO Thakkar said that Gandhian philosophy was relevant to the solution of problems in the Northeast.
Gopinath Bardoloi from Assam was a northeastern Indian freedom fighter. He was a follower of Gandhi’s theory. In 1921, he joined the Indian National Congress as a volunteer. In 1922, inspired by Gandhiji, he took an active part in the non-cooperation movement. Due to this, he had to be arrested and kept in jail for 1 year. He also participated in the Quit India Movement in August 1942. At that time the Congress party was outlawed and all the leaders were arrested.
Bhogeswari Phukanani was from nagaon of Assam. Phukanani was greatly influenced by Gandhi’s ideology. During the British Raj, she was an activist of the Indian independence movement. In 1930, she participated in a non-violent march in the form of Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Gandhiji against the British authorities and was arrested for holding a dharna. She continued to participate in non-violent marches against the British Raj till 1942.
Kushal Konwar was highly inspired by Gandhiji’s call for non-cooperation movement in 1921. The spirit of freedom and the call of Mahatma Gandhi insist him to sincerely devote himself for the freedom movement. Gandhiji’s ideology of swaraj, truth, and peacefulness inspired him and he drove the individuals of Sarupathar district in Satyagraha and non-cooperation movement against the British. Kaushal went under the impact of Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 which shifted the direction of his life. From that point, he chose to stay a veggie lover and acknowledged Shrimad Bhagavad Gita as his true friend. Beginning with the Salt Satyagraha under the influence of Gandhiji in 1931, Konwar additionally quit taking salt. He kept these promises till the last breathe of his life. He additionally took an interest in Quit India Movement in August 1942. The British responded this movement by capturing Mahatma and all the Congress chiefs and placing them in prison. Individuals of Assam joined this movement of 1942. Gopinath Bordoloi and Siddhinath Sarma were captured by the British in Dhubri. Bishnuram Medhi, Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Omeo Kumar Das, Debeshwar Sarmah and so on were also following Gandhi’s teachings. The supporters of Gandhiji were captured by British for the charge of violence. Kushal Konwar was indicted in the court of CM Humphrey, despite the fact that there was no single proof against him. Kushal was condemned to death. He accepts the decision with pride. He spent his remaining days in the death row cell of Jorhat Jail reading the Gita. Kushal Konwar was hanged in Jorhat Jail at 4:30 am on 15 June 1943. He sacrificed his life realizing that Mahatma Gandhi said that he alone was a true Satyagrahi who knew the art of living and dying with pride.
The first Indian independence activist from Sikkim was Trilochan Pokhrel. In Sikkim and North Bengal, Pokhrel is known as Bande Pokhrel. He was so much influenced by Gandhiji that people call him the name of Gandhi Pokhrel. He was a Gorkha in Nepali. He was effectively associated with Gandhi’s developments like the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement. He had incredible confidence in the lessons of basic living under the initiative of Mahatma Gandhi. Pokhrel is known for spreading the idea of Swadeshi among the farmers of Sikkim. He was the first Sikkimese freedom fighter who battled against British.
Sachindra Lal Singh of Tripura played a significant part in the independence movement run by Gandhiji from 1924 to 1947 for Indian freedom. He was a one of well known famous political activist from east India. He was following Gandhi’s philosophy in all the development against of British government. Sachin da and his sibling Ananta Singh with Surya Sen were highly influenced by Gandhiji.
Kanaklata Barua was an Indian independence activist inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. She was also an AISF pioneer. She was shot by the British police in 1942 while driving a march waving the flag during the Quit India Movement. She died on 20 September 1942. During the Quit India Movement, Mrityu Bahini was joined by Kanaklata Barua. It was a group of youngsters from the Gohpur sub-division of Assam. On 20 September 1942, Bahini decided to hoist the flag at the neighborhood police headquarters. To do as such, Barua drove a parade of unarmed locals. The police, led by Rebati Mahan Som, cautioned the parade of critical results in the event that they proceeded with their arrangement. Disregarding the police, the parade proceeded with when the police started shooting at the march. Barua was shot and the flag was taken over by Mukunda Kakoti. Both of them were shotted. Barua was just 17 years of age at the time of her death.
After Gandhi’s martyrdom, the ashes of his mortal remains was brought from Delhi to Manipur by the then MLA of Manipur State Legislative Assembly, Khongbantam Ibetombi Singh. The ashes were sprinkled at the Gandhi Ghat on the Nambul River in the heart of Imphal city, so that they would merge with the soil of the state forever.
Mahatma’s ashes merger with the soil of the state led to the rise of several Gandhian organizations in the later years. The Gandhian society emerged in the same year. This was followed by the rise of many other organizations inspired by Gandhi’s ideals.
Some of the prominent among them are Sarvodaya Mandal (1963), Manipur Geeta Mandal (1958), Himalaya Seva Sangh (1976), Citizens’ Council for Peace and Harmony, Manipur (1993), Kasturba Gandhi Seva Ashram (1999), Kasturba Gandhi Center (2002), Kasturba Gandhi Development Institute (2007), etc.
However, many northeastern of the present generation consider Gandhi impractical. Due to corruption, lack of opportunities and underdevelopment youth is tending to direct action and use other violent means.
Gandhiji thoughts were to affect the British’s economy in order to fight with them. So he inspired people to grow their own food and make their own clothes in the loom in every household. The culture of the Northeast is where the consumer is right now are also dependent on rice and vegetables grown on their farms and clothes woven in their looms. But this culture is disappearing due to our increasingly fascination for consumerism. Youngsters are now looking for money to meet their growing demand. They are moving out of the region in the U.S. and in the process have infused a culture of self-reliance. They are now dependent on markets even for the vegetables they traditionally grow in their backyards.
Improper distribution of resources and threats to the local language and culture are the two biggest challenges facing the Northeast. Although the insurgency has subsided, it should be noted that the youth of the region took up arms primarily to counter the threat of indigenous culture and unequal distribution of natural resources.
Gandhi’s approach is still relevant. Gandhiji’s contributions against British gave us independence and his ideologies enlightened India and the world even today after so many years. Therefore, each individual must follow the most important Gandhian ideologies in his daily life to achieve a happy, prosperous, healthy, harmonious and sustainable future. Even the youth should develop the philosophy of Gandhian economics to protect the culture of self-reliance among their younger generation. Gandhiji is even more relevant today, as the problems of society have taken on greater dimensions. Mahatma Gandhi’s principles are valid and timeless. Not all principles are valid today, but many of them are still followed and valued by most people.