Gandhians in Karnataka re-enact 'satyagraha' to promote sacred economy

Bengaluru, Oct 3: Calling for job creation and protecting the natural ecosystem to promote a sacred economy, Gandhians on Wednesday re-enacted Mahatma Gandhi's famous 'satyagraha'  in Bengaluru on his sesquicentennial.

"By sacred economy, we mean a production system which creates maximum jobs with least investment and zero damage to the environment," said noted Gandhian SR Hiremath on the occasion..

With another Gandhian Prasanna, 75-year-old Hiremath revived the non-violent political resistance (satyagraha) Gandhiji initiated against the British rule across the country at Vallab Niketan, an orphanage social reformer Vinobha Bhave had set up to prevent bright people from increasing wealth and consumerism and imbibe Bapu's values.

Hiremath returned from the US to lead an austere life, upholding Gandhian values and settled at Dharwad, a hub of Indian culture, about 430 kms northwest of this tech hub.

As part of the satyagraha, Prasanna, a 68-year-old social activist and theatre personality, will embark on a fast to draw the attention of the industry leaders, eminent people and the state to achieve a sacred economy.

"In the prevailing situation, the Indian economy is on the verge of collapse, as evident from the loss of over 3 lakh jobs during the last three months in the organised sector alone and many more in the unorganized sector," Prasanna told IANS.

Urging the government to focus also on farmers, small traders, vendors, handicrafts and small businesses in the unorganized sector than only on corporates and industry, Prassana said in the worsening automobile sector, the ancillary units are the sacred economy as they are job intensive.

"It's a blatant lie to say the auto sector in India constitutes 48 per cent of the workforce in the organized sector, which is largely automated," asserted Prasanna.

Using satyagraha as a platform, the Gandhians called on the youth to question the government on being mindful only of the rich and not the poor.

"The government should give tax discounts to small sectors and producers of handicrafts, not corporates or India Inc alone," said Prasanna.

Expressing disenchantment on incumbent governments, Prasanna said whether it is the BJP or the Congress rule, their governments are going to be mindful of the big businesses.

Both the Gandhians professed faith in the teachings of Gandhi.