Cool, calm, poised, bristling with mellow autumnal wisdom and overflowing with the milk of human kindness and sympathy, with charity to all and malice to none, he is a noted Gandhian of our times. Possessed with the creative imagination of a poet and the impulse of a diehard revolutionary, together fusing into a strange unflinching theist who sets out since his university days to see Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj descending on this country, then steadily spreading to four corners of the earth, eradicating evils that are eating into the vitals of human society. Widely fan-based for his poems across the State and including discernible readers from university intellectuals to common men, he modestly declined to accept a State Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002 conferred on him for his poems. A devotee of Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave and a disciple of former saint Chief Minister late Nabakrusna Choudhury and Malati Devi, he could resist the lure and glare of being a civil servant after his post-graduation in Sociology in order to be a human rights activist spearheading mass movements against neocolonialism and a moribund system in which condition of common man is getting precarious day by day. A gentle and affable man with grey hair, meditative posture, commonly featured with an unkempt bearded face and with beady eyes, Saileja Rabi accompanied by his ardent follower young professor Sukanta Rout welcomed this writer (Sugyan Choudhury) at his Khan Nagar parental house in Cuttack in an unpretentious and unassuming manner while giving an interview to The Pioneer.
How do you assess the relevance of Gandhian philosophy todayIJ
It is the only alternative we can turn to in our desperation to revamp our rotting system. The present political structure and economic policy offer a dismal picture that is leading us towards an abyss from where we can never get back. Politics and economy undergo redemption when they merge with the conception envisaged in Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj. The saint father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi envisioned a political structure and economic programme which is flavoured with a fresh spiritual nuance. He dreamed of dismantling the regimented society where bureaucrats under the aegis of their political bosses dole out freebies to public, no matter, they want it or not, only for temporary gratification of voters. The so-called panchayati raj we have adopted are just post offices delivering to denizens what a pro-corporate Government decides. We have not yet come out of the hangover of colonialism. Gandhi envisioned a decentralised community-centred society where the common man plays a pivotal role to uplift his condition as well as that of the country. His concept is the result of his interaction with ancient Hindu religious thoughts, the Bhagbat Gita, and reign of lord Rama.
What’s your considered opinion about so-called political leaders today observing Gandhi Jayanti, chanting Gandhi’s hymn and donning Gandhi cap over their headsIJ
(He stands up instantly and speaks his heart out in overwhelming excitement while tear well up in his eyes) They are all impostors using Gandhi’s costume to conceal themselves. They are concerned more with their vested interests than welfare of the country. They carry an adrenaline in their veins which could be characterised as feudal. They hook up with their corporate cronies as if to keep countrymen hungry perpetually.
As some detractors believe, is Gandhism the philosophy of the cowardIJ What will be your take on itIJ
Who is a brave heartIJ How do they reach at this conclusion I cannot comprehend. Is it having a tendency to reacting violently that will characterise a man as courageousIJ It’s a misnomer to judge anybody with. Only a brave and consistent man could rage war against such a mighty and brutal force like the British without wielding a weapon. Gandhian philosophy is succinctly clear from Gandhiji’s own statement which he wrote in the ‘Young India’: “When there is a choice between cowardice and violence, I would rather advise violence. I would rather advise India to resort to arms and ammunitions than she should remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.”
You have been involved in so many mass movements in your long career.
Yes, starting from the Sarvodaya Andolan, protest against Emergency to liquor prohibition movement. I have courted jail and faced police brutality for the cause I fight for.
How far is a total ban on consumption of spirit viable in a State like Odisha that faces crunch of fundIJ
Why notIJ It has been possible in Gujarat, Bihar and Kerala. And is it conscientious to boost booze business to garner profitIJ It’s a myth that the State exchequer is replenished with revenues from excise duty. The lion’s share is plundered by politicians and law enforcing agencies. It’s the corruption that cripples our country and stands in the way of progress. Besides, alcohol wrecks havoc in families, ruins individuals, especially women and children who are utterly dependent on the males for their sustenance and support. They are vulnerable. Alcohol abuse imperils their lives. Addiction to alcohol turns a man into a monster. Women feel insecure within four walls of their homes. Is it scrupulous to raise revenue at the cost of sanctity and modesty of our mothers and sisters and daughtersIJ
Why did you decline to accept the Akademi Award that was conferred on you in appreciation of lovely poems penned by youIJ
I find it ludicrous to receive it from the chief guest who hardly recognises Odia letters. It had been a great humiliation to whole Odia-loving denizens.