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"We have frozen Gandhi into history"

Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR: For Satish Kumar, the India-born editor of Resurgence, small is still beautiful but the magazine's growing popularity is a cause for great satisfaction. Resurgence magazine, which Satish Kumar -- variously described as monk, peace marcher and ecological campaigner -- took over in 1973 from his friend, political activist John Papworth, has completed 40 years now.

There was a gathering of about 600 persons from 20 leading environment-friendly groups at Oxford in September this year to celebrate the 40th birthday of the magazine, which the Schumacher school of thought founded.

"We have crossed 15,000 copies and 10,000 of them are paid copies. Resurgence has been self-sustaining ever since it crossed the 10,000 mark," said Satish Kumar, now on his annual trip to India, talking to this correspondent here this week. Resurgence, which combines ecology, spirituality and beauty, has been a pioneer publication in the field of ecological protection and sustainable living. "Resurgence has been the first environmental and ecological magazine integrating the sustainability agenda," said Satish Kumar, who was born in Rajasthan's Sri Dungargarh in 1936. "The key to its success is that it integrates spirituality giving political and environmental dimension to thought. It is a literary vehicle with holistic thinking."

What are the chances of a Hindi or any other vernacular version of Resurgence? "We thought about it on several occasions. I feel integrating the contents of Resurgence with any existing magazine of a similar kind -- such as Satyagrah Meemansa, founded by the late Siddhraj Dhadda, in Hindi -- would be a better idea as and when we could do it," he observed. One problem with India was that there had been no systematic attempt in the past to develop Gandhian art, Gandhian poetry and the like, he said.

Satish Kumar founded the Small School in Hartland (UK) where he lives editing the magazine and growing food in the fields. In 1991 Schumacher College, a residential international centre for the study of ecological and spiritual values came up with Satish Kumar as its programme director. Bija Vidhapeeth in the Doon Valley is a sister institution to Schumacher College, named after Fritz Schumacher, who propounded the dictum, "Small is Beautiful". Every December he visits Bija Vidyapeeth to take classes on Gandhi.

Asked about the renewed interest on Mahatma Gandhi among the youth, triggered off by a recent Hindi film, which brought in the expression, "Gandhigiri", Satish Kumar, unlike some Gandhians who abhorred the phrase, reacted rather positively. "Sometimes we have to put new meaning into old words. It is welcome if it is better understood that way," he said.

"We have frozen Gandhi into history. We did it with the Buddha, Jesus and Mahavir. We worship them without giving much thought to their ideology," he observed. He termed institutionalised religion a "burden for people".

Visiting Jaipur first time after the death of Siddhraj Dhadda, his mentor, Satish Kumar did not attend any public programmes in the city. After paying a visit to the Chaura Rasta residence of the Dhaddas in the Walled City, he chose to meet his friends and acquaintances at the Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj near Rajasthan University before leaving for Tilonia.

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