On the importance and the role of youth, Gandhiji asserted, “Youth are life of the nation. They must be ready to discharge responsibility as it will prepare them to become mature and worthy…They have their duties towards society and the nation….they are needed always.” (Youth and Politics, pg. 26). Calling upon the youth, the Mahatma urged, “Young men…claiming…to be the father of tomorrow, should be the salt of the nation. If salt loses it’s flavor, wherewith shall it be salted?” And, “You go forth as messengers of God carrying balm for the wounded soul…” (Young India, Dec. 22, 1927).
Also, declaring a woman the shaper and moulder of society and the nation in the same measure as the man, Gandhiji wrote, “Man and women are of equal rank….they are a peerless pair being supplementary to one another; each helps the other, so that without one the existence of the other cannot be conceived, and therefore it follows as a necessary corollary from these facts that anything that will impair the status of either of them will involve the equal ruin of them both.” (Harijan, Feb. 27, 1927).
The distinctiveness of the Gandhian approach lies in the fact that it incorporates high human values – especially the supreme value of Ahimsa (non-violence). It ordains carrying out day-to-day activities on the basis of morality and ethics. It is capable of giving appropriate direction to youth on the one hand and on the other, to bring women on the same platform as men, making their contribution to the building of society, nation and humanity as a whole transparent and appreciable.
The manner in which Gandhiji prepared the ground for active participation of youth and women in the national liberation movement of India and simultaneously engaged them in constructive work for enhancement of their own self-sufficiency, was astonishing, and remains unparalleled. From every part of the country, youth in their thousands came to join the national liberation movement under the leadership of Gandhiji. They played a vital role in the fight for freedom and by way of multifarious constructive programmes they worked for self-sufficiency and uplift of common man, and in the building of society and the nation during the freedom struggle and in the post-independence India. Almost all of them emerged as public figures and exemplary social workers.
Gandhiji urged for social reforms so that men could realize the importance of women’s role in their time space. He desired men to change their mentality towards women. He longed for women’s equality in the socio-political and economic fields and surety of their participation in the system. Until and unless the role and contribution of youth and women are not acknowledged, men do not proactively work for this taking it as their moral responsibility; welfaristic state cannot become a reality. This is the call and message of the Mahatma to the youth and women of India.
