Day 10 Human Values Great Ljjneaders - 1686976276

Unit 1: Human Values – Lessons from the Lives and Teachings of
Great Leaders, Reformers and Administrators
1. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
In January 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to his homeland after two decades in South Africa. At that time,
despite of the diversities in faith, languages, caste, class and gender, the idea of India as one nation was born,
but was naive. But it was Gandhi who nurtured this idea of India as a nation with his teachings and values.
While other leaders possessed conceptions of what India could be, Gandhi was able to put forward a notion
of the good where political freedom was sought after spiritual liberation. In this light, he sought to transform
the nation and those who were in it. He was one of the few leaders who had a vision for how the nation of
India should function.
Gandhism
Gandhism that we often talk about today is a body of ideas and principles that describes the inspiration, vision
and the life work of Mahatma Gandhi. The term "Gandhism" also encompasses what Gandhi's ideas, words
and actions mean to people around the world, and how they used them for guidance in building their own
future. Gandhism also permeates into the realm of the individual human being, non-political and non-social.
However, Gandhi did not approve of 'Gandhism'. He

never tried to give any message but always maintained
that his life is a message. A person should be known
by his actions rather than his thoughts and should
always keep on applying and experimenting with his
belief structure through his action. This will help in
real internalization and integration of morality with
the behaviour. The sense of morality and the substance
of ethics are never frozen, and one should keep on
experimenting in order to test his morals and thus
becoming better in the process. He had a self-based
approach. He once said:
“There is no such thing as "Gandhism," and I do not

want to leave any sect after me. I do not claim to have
originated any new principle or doctrine. I have
simply tried in my own way to apply the eternal truths
to our daily life and problems...The opinions I have
formed and the conclusions I have arrived at are not
final. I may change them tomorrow. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old
as the hills.”
Concept of God
The fundamental basis of Gandhism is the conception of God who is self-existent all-knowing living force
which inherits every other force known to the world. He believed in a god who is kind and responsive to the
prayers of the devotee. He equated God with truth which can be realized by spiritual experience, pure and
(1) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg
disciplined holy life and by the persistent endeavour to concretize the norm of ahimsa in one’s action and
motivation.
Gandhi though believed in spiritual experience never negate rational arguments and practical observation. He
claimed to be a true scientist in the sense that he constantly experimented with truth and tried to make his
propositions sounder by the repeated observation. All the movements and agitations initiated by him from
Champaran to Quit India were the experiments in which the norms of faith in God, truth and non-violence
were tested through the techniques of fasting, civil resistance (non-violent resistance) and prayers.
Truth
Of all the moral principles, Gandhi placed truth as the first and foremost. He called it “the sovereign principle”,
which included numerous other principles. It did not merely imply truthfulness in speech, but in thought also
“and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the absolute truth, the eternal principle, that is God”. He
equated God with truth, as he says, “I worship God as truth only. I have not yet found him, but I am seeking
after him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest…. Often in my progress,
I have had faint glimpses of the absolute truth, God, and daily the conviction is growing upon me that the
above is real and all else is unreal.”
Means-End Relationship
Values are attached both to the process as well as to the result. It is not only important that we have achieved
the goal, but it is also important that how we have achieved it. Gandhi advocated the purity not only of ends
but also of means.
It was Gandhi who made us realized that means are also important. For him, if independence is achieved
through violence and killing then there is no reason to become independent. The whole process of Satyagraha
was based on sanctity of means. He always said that the end of every human endeavour should be absolute
truth that is God. We don’t know what absolute truth is, but purity and truthfulness of means is of utmost
importance. He once said:
“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is
wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?”
In fact, all his experiments and movements were based on a strong value system. For him, ends must be
achieved but not at the cost of values. If a person has the value of welfare, then it must be achieved through
truth only i.e. peace and non-violence.
There is a very old principle of jurisprudence that "Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be
done."
If someone has committed a crime, then justice is to be done by punishing him. But it is also necessary that
process must be followed in a right way. It should be proved in front of everyone that the person has committed
a crime and according to set procedures equal for all, he should be punished.
In today’s world where people are ready to do anything for fulfilling their materialistic need, it is important
that we remember Gandhi who never compromised with the means even when he was fighting for such a big
and noble objective of national independence.
Sarvodaya

Gandhi always believed in the supremacy of ethical values and Sarvodaya (the good of all). Good for all is
good for everyone. One should think about others before thinking about himself. The good of the individual
is contained in the good of all. The philosophy of Sarvodaya is based on the concept of unity of existence i.e.
the entire universe is permeated by the supreme god. It implies a perpetual fight against cruelty on human
beings and animals. It teaches universal love as the only law of life. It refuses to be satisfied with the progress
and well-being of a class or a nation but advocates the emancipation and realization of the good of all living
beings.
It was Mahatma Gandhi only who first used the word Sarvodaya in modern times. Etymologically speaking,
Sarvodaya means ‘the rise or welfare of all’. Gandhiji borrowed this concept from John Ruskin’s Unto This
Last. The proper rendering of Unto This Last would be Antyodaya (uplift of the last) rather than Sarvodaya.
Vinobha Bhave rightly says: “Of course the last one’s uplift is included in the uplift of all, but in emphasizing
the last, the object is that work should begin from that end.” For Gandhiji, Sarvodaya is the true panacea for
all types of social or political problems experienced by Indian society.
Satyagraha
Satyagraha which means holding firmly to truth is the exercise of the purest spiritual force or truth force
against all injustice, oppression and exploitation. Suffering and trust are attributes of spiritual force. The active
non-violent resistance makes an immediate appeal to the heart. It wants not to endanger the opponent but to
overwhelmed him by the over flooding power of innocence.
When a person is truthful and non-violent, he will be able to generate love and guilt in the heart of those who
are involved in exploitation. It is their guilt which will change them rather than the violence shown by the
exploited. In fact, if you show violence, it will reinforce the government to use violence as a justified source
of curbing any kind of resistance. Satyagraha cannot be resorted to for personal gains. It is a love process, and
the appeal is to the heart and not to the sense of fear of the wrong doer. Thus, Satyagraha is based on personal
purification.
If the government does not represent the will of the people and if it begins to support the dishonesty and
terrorism, then it should be disobeyed but one who wants to vindicate his rights should be prepared to bear all
kinds of sufferings.
The Gandhian stress on purity and truth as criteria of political power is a great contribution to the political
thought. One cannot conceive people governing themselves rightly through a government imposed from
without. For him every ruler is alien that defies public opinion. A state which cannot assure the interest of
downtrodden, and starving must be is an anarchy that should be resisted peacefully.
Non-violence
According to Gandhi Ahimsa means infinite love and this in it turns means infinite capacity of sufferings.
Gandhi considered truth and non- violence as absolute binding. It is the duty of Satyagrahi to make endless
endeavours for the realization of truth through non- violence. The idea of non- violence should not be lowered
as a concession to one’s weakness. Non-violence is the strongest force known which can be used against the
most powerful governments.
Gandhi stressed that non-violence alone could lead to true democracy. As in this case only internal changes
will lead to external changes. First your heart, your soul will accept democracy and then external changes will
be made. And believe in democracy can only be achieved through non-violent and truthful methods.

Democracy not only requires democratic structure but also responsible citizens who can respect and follow
the ideals of democracy.
The true democracy in India can evolve only through decentralization of power, Satyagraha, growth of village
industries, primary education through handicrafts, removal of untouchability, communal harmony and non-
violent organization of labour. He regarded it holy wrong and undemocratic for the individuals to take the law
into their own hands.
Swaraj
To Gandhi Swaraj or self-governance or freedom from the colonial ruler consist not only national freedom as
emancipation from the bondage of alien rulers and exploiters but also moral freedom as emancipation from
the slavery of passions, and spiritual freedom as emancipation and realization of truth. According to Gandhi
Swaraj is a part of truth which is God. He also advocated freedom of speech and pen that is freedom of
expression and freedom of press.
Secularism
Gandhi described his religious beliefs as being rooted in Hinduism and, in particular, the Bhagavad
Gita. Though he was a Hindu, yet one can say that he was one of the best practicing secularists.
People often call themselves a secularist but when it comes to the application of this principle, Hindu and
Muslim hidden inside them wakes up. Every person cherishes and admires secularism but seldom practice it.
Secularism is not about practicing any religion, but it is about giving respect and showing tolerance towards
other religions while practicing one’s own religion.
For Gandhi, all religions contain truth and therefore are worthy of toleration and respect. Gandhi
believed that at the core of every religion was truth (Satya) and non-violence (Ahimsa). For Gandhi, it is the
religion which forms the basis of morality as religion and morality are synonymous with each other.
Despite his belief in Hinduism, Gandhi was also critical of many of the social practices of Hindus and sought
to reform the religion. For him, no religion is perfect and hence cannot be regarded as greatest. Untouchability,
caste and their sub-divisions, religious practices, Sati were all the creations of humans and must be destroyed
to purify the religion. Gandhi was critical of the hypocrisy in organized religion, rather than the principles on
which they were based. Later in his life when he was asked whether he was a Hindu, he replied:
"Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew".

Gandhi always accepted the creative force of religion in human history. Religion signified to him belief in the
ordered moral governance of the world. True religion according to Gandhi implied and emphasis on the moral
values of man. As soon as the moral basis is lost, one cannot claim to be religious. All religions are founded
on the same moral laws. Religion according to Gandhi was not merely a means of personal purification but it
was an immensely powerful social bond. The non-violent society of the future can be based on the religion
only. In his words:
“To try to root out religion it from society is a wild goose chase. And were such an attempt to succeed, it
would mean the destruction of society.”
"As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding
morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side.”

Gandhi said that he wanted to bring religion into politics. Politics bereft of religion are a death trap because
they kill the soul. But by this he did not mean the establishment of any theocracy. Religion in politics means
bringing morality in the politics. Hence the incorporation of religion in politics meant a progressive movement
towards justice and truth, because a man of religion will never tolerate any kind of suppression and
exploitation.
Oceanic circle
Oceanic circle describes Gandhi’s vision of social organization.

Gandhi ji believed that for a nonviolent society to achieve a
lasting peace, it must be organized in a decentralized
way. In Gandhi’s own words:
“Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village

will be a republic or panchayat having full powers. It follows,
therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capable
of managing its affairs even to the extent of defending
itself against the whole world. It will be trained and prepared to
perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught
from without.
Thus, ultimately, it is the individual who is the unit. This does not exclude dependence on and willing help
from neighbours’ or from the world. It will be free and voluntary play of mutual forces. Such a society is
necessarily highly cultured in which every man and woman knows what he or she wants and what is more,
knows that no one should want anything that others cannot have with equal labour.
In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever-widening, never-ascending circles. Life
will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will
be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till
at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever
humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units.
Therefore, the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to
all within and derive its own strength from it.”
Economic Views
Gandhi has always appeared to be a ruralist. He stood for safeguarding the integrity and foundation of villages.
He gave the slogan “back to the villages”. He accepted the concept of economic equality. All persons should
be supplied with the necessaries to satisfy their natural needs. For the concrete realization of economic
equality, it was essential that more emphasis should be given on village industries. He always opposed large
scale industrialization and mechanization and condemned western commercialization and imperialism as
disease. They believed in limitless expansion of capitalism and this result in exploitation of weaker sections.
“Industrialize and perish” was his slogan.
In Gandhian conception of socialism, the prince and the peasant, the poor and the rich, the employer and
employee were to be treated equally but this socialism was not to be attained by conquest of political power
by an organized party. It was of the utmost importance that socialist should be truthful, non-violent and pure
hearted. In this case, Gandhi was a little rigid but later on, he said that some basic industries are necessary but
major emphasis should be on the promotion of cottage industries.

For Gandhi, the state of the villages in India was the true index of the state of the country – if the state of the
country was to be satisfactory, the state of its villages had to improve. Gandhi’s solution was the regeneration
of villages through a comprehensive programme of rural uplift covering all areas such as health, education
and employment. Village based industries had to be revived and a taste for their goods had to be created in
urban areas.
Internationalism
Gandhi always emphasized his role as a citizen of the world. The South African and Indian politics had been
the laboratory in which he experimented with his formulas of truth and non- violence. His conception of the
final victory of truth is in contrast to the conception of survival of the fittest. From 1893 to 1914 Gandhi
rendered great services to the cause of freedom and racial equality in South Africa. From 1915 to 1948 Gandhi
worked in India for the sake of the country’s freedom.
Untouchability
Gandhi played a memorable role in uplifting the untouchables. Gandhiji popularized the word “Harijan”
meaning “the people of God” who was adopted by him to reduce the usage of word Achoot or untouchables
which itself was derogatory and disrespectful. After the civil disobedience movement which came to an
undesirable end, Gandhi announced his retirement from INC in 1934 and started devoting his time to remove
evil practices of Indian society. He made it his life’s mission to wipe out untouchability and to uplift the
depressed and the downtrodden people. He said that:
“If untouchability is not wrong, then nothing in the world is wrong.”
He always maintained that the practice of untouchability is a leper wound in the whole-body of Hindu politic.
He always regarded it as “the hate fullest expression of caste”. As a servant of mankind, he preached that all
human beings are equal and hence the Harijans too have a right for social life along with other caste groups.
However, Gandhi believed in the four-fold division of the Hindu society into four varnas which is based on
hereditary occupations. He regarded untouchables as Shudras and not as the Panchamas or fifth Varna. Varnas
are four to mark four universal occupations- imparting knowledge, defending the defenceless, carrying on
agriculture and commerce, and performing service through physical labour. These occupations are common
to all mankind, but Hinduism, having recognized them as the law of our being, has made use of it in regulating
social relations and conduct.
Varna ensures hereditary skills, and it may lead to specialization in particular fields. It leads to limited
competition. For him, they are just labels and there is nothing derogatory if someone is called Shudra or it’s
not a complement if someone calls you a kshatriya.
It is a wrong to destroy caste because of the outcaste, as it would be to destroy a body because of an ugly
growth in it or of a crop because of the weeds. Untouchability is the product, therefore, not of the caste system,
but of the distinction of high and low that has crept into Hinduism and is corroding it. The attack on
untouchability is thus an attack upon this 'high-and-low' ness.
He was of the opinion that the practice of untouchability was a moral crime. He said that “if untouchability is
not wrong, then nothing in the world is wrong.” He believed that a change of heart on the part of the Hindus
was essential to enable the social and cultural assimilation of Harijans. He was very much moved by their
social distress and started a nationwide movement to remove their disabilities.

Hence, he sincerely felt the need for bringing about a basic change in the caste structure by uplifting the
untouchables and not by abolishing the caste as such. He appealed to the conscience of the people to realize
the historical necessity of accommodating the “Harijans” by providing them a rightful place in the society.
Gandhi had much compassion for the Harijans. He said:
“I do not want to be reborn. But if I am to be born, I would like to be born an untouchable, so that I may
share their sorrows and sufferings.”
Gandhiji was not just a preacher. He practiced what he preached. He could win the hearts of millions of
Harijans because of his sincere approach to solve their problems. Gandhi lived with the Harijans and shared
their dis-tress by indicating in them the ideas of better social adjustment with the rest of the Indian community.
He advocated equal opportunities of education and intermingling of Harijan students with those of the upper
castes. He fought for various legal protections against several kinds of injustices done to them. As a result of
his sincere efforts and strong recommendations, untouchability was declared illegal under the Indian
Constitution. At his behest an opportunity was given to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, leader of the depressed classes,
to join the Central Cabinet and to be the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
Seven Deadly Sins
As per Mahatma Gandhi, there are seven things which destroy us. They are:
1. Wealth Without Work: our tendency to earn more by doing less. Such tendency forces us to
compromise with our morals.
2. Pleasure Without Conscience: acting without the sense of responsibility that how it will affect others
and the society. putting a high-powered sports car in the hands of a teenager who is high on drugs.
3. Knowledge Without Character: you are a doctor, but instead of curing patients, you are involved in
taking out their kidney. Knowledge in wrong hands is very dangerous.
4. Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics)
5. Science Without Humanity: human touch should always be there. All creations and innovations in
sciences should be for the development of the society rather than for the destruction of humanity.
6. Religion Without Sacrifice: religion teaches us tolerance and sacrifice.
7. Politics Without Principles
Empowering women
Gandhi ji was of the opinion that women were superior to men in their moral and spiritual strength. They had
greater powers of self-sacrifice and suffering. On this account, women were capable of infinite strength, which
they only needed to realize and channel.
Women had a key role to play in the family, in Gandhi’s opinion. The family was the crucible of society where
future citizens, leaders and lawgivers were nurtured. Hence, it was here that the mother could mould the values
and traits of her children in a direction that could lead to social progress. The ultimate aim was to teach children
to be self-reliant and not keep them dependent on the family’s resources.
Gandhi strongly favoured the emancipation of women and opposed Purdah, child marriage, untouchability,
and the extreme oppression of Hindu widows including Sati. He especially recruited women to participate in
the salt tax campaigns and the boycott of foreign products. Gandhi's success in enlisting women in his

campaigns, including the salt tax campaign, anti-untouchability campaign and the peasant movement, gave
many women a new self-confidence and dignity in the mainstream of Indian public life.
Education System
Gandhiji closely aligned morality with education. He believed that knowledge without morality is evil, it can
erode the society like a malicious worm. Also incorporating Plato’s conception in this theme, Gandhiji opined
that education should be the stepping stone to knowledge and wisdom that ultimately help the seeker to move
on the spiritual path. Education was not a narrow means of making careers and achieving social status, but
also seeking a larger role for self and society. Thus, it transpired that education should not only produce learned
minds, but enlightened souls too. Gandhiji also adhered to Hindu scriptures which propagated strict discipline
and self-restraint, including observance of celibacy during student life.
In Gandhi’s opinion, the education system instituted by the British in India functioned as a major instrument
for consolidating their hold over the country. A direct consequence of this was the strengthening and widening
of the fissures in Indian society. He believed that the ancient system of education, though not very efficient,
worked to provide the rudiments of learning to most people.
But with the coming of the British, administrative concern shifted to cities and rural areas were left to fend for
themselves. The result of this was a gross imbalance in the education structure and village institutions were
either closed down or lagged miserably behind their city counterparts. Education became almost non-existent
in the villages, while the educated class of the cities drifted away with no perception of the problems of
villagers. Education, thus, merely widened the rural-urban gulf and offered no values for the cohesion and
advancement of society.
In Gandhi’s view, a significant social dimension of the British system of education was that it tended to subdue
the mental faculties of those receiving it. They lost their imaginative and creative abilities in an attempt to
master the intricacies of a foreign language and foreign culture.
Gandhi uses the word, “denationalized”, for them and says that they were deluded into thinking that everything
indigenous was bad and all things British were superior to their own. To quote him, “The result has been that
we function like blotting paper before western civili-zation, instead of imbibing the best from it, we have
become its superficial imitators.”
Free primary education: Gandhiji advocated for free and compulsory education for all-boys and girls
between 7 and 14 years. Education should be imparted in primary level in the student's mother tongue. A free
primary universal education is to be imparted to all the children in the village. This will make the backbone
of a country strong.
Place of vocational education: A love for manual work will be injected in the mind of children. This is not a
compulsion but the child will learn it by doing. Being free from mere bookish knowledge, a student should
resort to manual work. He, thus, put emphasis on vocational and functional education. “Earning while
learning” was the motto of this education. This will increase the creativity in a student. As Gandhi wanted to
make Indian village’s self-sufficient units, he emphasised that vocational education should increase the
efficiency within the students who will make the village as self-sufficient units.
Non-participation in politics: Gandhiji wanted to keep the students away from politics. If students will
participate in politics, they will be pawn at the hands of the politicians who will utilize them for fulfilling their

desire. This will hamper the development of a student and his education will suffer a setback. So, he advised
the students to keep themselves completely away from politics.
Capital and Labour
According to Gandhi, the general erosion of human values in Indian society was also reflected in the relations
between capital and labour. He believed that capital and labour were mutually complementary forces. But he
noted that a work ethic had not evolved and wrote, “The masters care only for the service they get. What
becomes of the labourers does not concern them.
All their endeavours are generally confined to obtaining maximum service with minimum payment. The
labourer, on the other hand, tries to hit upon all the tricks whereby he can get maximum pay with minimum
work. The result is that although the labourers get an increment, there is no improvement in the work turned
out. The relations between the two parties are not purified and the labourers do not make proper use of the
increment they get.”
The living conditions of the labourers, he felt, were a great shame to the industrialists. He knew of labourers
in Mumbai who lived in boxes, literally, though they were called houses.
Public Service
As per Gandhi, Service cannot be a spectacle. It cannot be done unless one derives deep satisfaction from it.
He says: “Service can have no meaning unless one takes pleasure in it. When it is done for show or for fear of
public opinion, it stunts the man and crushes his spirit. Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the
servant nor the served.” That is the idea of shramdaan.
The central message of Vedanta is that of oneness and divinity. Every being, every particle in the universe is
divine and linked to each other. Therefore, when we do service and help a poor person, we are doing no act of
kindness. Since we are linked with each other, helping the needy is tantamount to helping oneself. Charity is
not service in the true sense. The recipient of a charitable deed is not inferior to the giver. Service has to be
done with humility otherwise it is not service.
Norms for public worker: A very important aspect of Gandhi’s thought, which had significant social
consequences, was the norms he set for a ‘public worker’. These were formulated according to his high moral
standards without which, he felt; there could be no wholesome public life. He set the example in 1899 in the
following manner.
In recognition of his public service in South Africa, the Indian community there bestowed on him many costly
gifts, including diamonds, silver and a heavy gold chain for his wife. This weighed him down with a sense of
guilt as he had declared previously that such work was done without remuneration.
Moreover, he was preparing himself and his family for a life of selfless service and he had publicly exhorted
people to conquer their infatuation for jewellery. Keeping all this in mind, he decided not to keep these gifts
as personal possessions, despite the protestations of his wife. He created a trust of the gifts to benefit the
community and appointed some leading Indians as its trustees. He was definitely of the opinion that a public
worker should accept no costly gifts.
Gandhi lays down another important guideline for public service. This is that a public worker should not take
upon himself too many burdens, but should devote himself to a few chosen fields. This would lead to the best

results, he feels. In a letter to a friend, he expresses this view, “Surely God has not laid on us the burden of
ending all that suffering (of the world).
Leadership
Gandhi was one of the greatest leaders ever born. His ability to rally thousands of common citizens towards
the cause of Indian independence against the state was stupendous. He was a reformer as he was aware of the
problems of Indian society. In fact, his concept of Satyagraha was not only against the alien ruler but also
against the evil practices of Indian society. He was focused on women empowerment and always put great
emphasis on education. Gandhi had a great sense of mass psychology. The way he used to dress like a saint,
symbolism like charkha, khadi etc increased his popularity to an unprecedented level.
Thus, Gandhi was saint and a moral revolutionary who believed that peaceful solution of our problems was
not only possible but was the only way to have a real solution. He had achieved a calmness of spirit and an
integration of personality which are reserved for the blessed few.
He absolutely stuck to the cardinal concepts of truth, non-violence and non- accumulation. Gandhism is not
merely a political creed, it is a message. It is a philosophy of life. His teachings of non-violence are greatly
relevant to the modern world infected with lust and power politics.
Gandhi ji quotes
1. “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
2. “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of
the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.”
3. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”
4. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
5. “An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
6. “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
7. “I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have
humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”
8. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
9. “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.”
10. “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”
11. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
12. “Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your
thoughts and everything will be well.”
13. “Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to
appear consistent drives himself into a false position.”
14. “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.”
15. “Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance and appreciation.”
16. “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your
actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your
destiny.”
17. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
18. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
19. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
20. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
21. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
22. “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is
permanent.”
23. “You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.”
24. “I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one’s self-respect.”
25. “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty,
the ocean does not become dirty.”
26. “My life is my message.”
27. “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.”
28. “Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.”
29. “Live simply so that others may simply live.”
30. “Truth is one, paths are many.”
31. “Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God’s hands.”
32. “Nothing has saddened me so much in life as the hardness of heart of educated people.”
33. “The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience”
34. “Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.”
35. “If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.”
36. “The golden rule of conduct is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think alike and we shall
always see Truth in fragment and from different points of vision.”
37. “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a
certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it.”
38. “When you are right, you have no need to be angry. When you are wrong, you have no right to be
angry.”
39. “Hatred ever kills, love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love
is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred.”
40. “Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.”

2. Jawaharlal Nehru
If Gandhi ji is regarded as the father of the nation, then Nehru is regarded as the architect of modern India.
Son of Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was one of the chief figures
who brought independence struggle to a successful termination. Among Gandhi’s great lieutenants in the
struggle for freedom, Jawaharlal has a pre-eminent place. Nehru was elected by the Congress to assume office
as independent India's first Prime Minister although the question of leadership had been settled as far back in
1941, when Gandhi acknowledged Nehru as his political heir and successor. As Prime Minister, Nehru set out
to realize his vision of India. The Constitution of India was enacted in 1950, after which he embarked on an
ambitious program of economic, social and political reforms.
Nehru is considered to be the architect of the modern Indian state as he oversaw India's transition from a
monarchy to a republic, while nurturing a plural, multi-party democracy. In foreign policy, Nehru took a
leading role in Non-Alignment while projecting India as a regional hegemony in South Asia. He was an
undisputed leader who had an enormous influence over the politics of India for nearly two decades.
Complete Independence
Nehru’s main contribution in the pre independence era was that he stood for the ideal of complete
independence for India. Nehru was one of the first leaders to demand that the Congress Party should resolve
to make a complete and explicit break from all ties with the British Empire. He introduced a resolution
demanding "Complete National Independence" in 1927, which was rejected because of Gandhi's opposition.
He was the president of INC’s Lahore session which passed historic independence resolution on the midnight
of December 31, 1929. After the Lahore session of the Congress in 1929, Gandhi stepped back into a more
spiritual role and Nehru gradually emerged as the paramount leader of the Indian independence movement.
He suffered nearly three years of imprisonment in 1942 movement.
Ideal of Democracy
Many countries which became independent along with India fall into the trap of dictatorship in their initial
years only, but Nehru never led this happen with India. Influenced by Gandhi’s moral approach of non-
violence and peace to politics, Nehru always stuck to the democratic style of leadership. With the kind of
authority Nehru had, he could have shaped India’s polity in any way, but he remained adhered to the principle
of democracy.
Nehru firmly believed in the theory and practice of parliamentary democracy. He wanted India to catch up
with advanced industrial nations of the west but not at the cost of democracy. He never wanted dictatorial
mechanized violence which is associated with Nazism and totalitarian states. The long and painful years of
the freedom struggle against British imperialism contributed to his love and deep attachment to civil liberties.
Democratic Institutions
Nehru played an important role in shaping many institutions which are still considered as the pillars of
democracy. Many constitutional bodies like Supreme Court and Election Commission of India though draw
their power from the constitution derive respect from the people because of the precedent set by Jawaharlal
Nehru.

Nehru always gave due respect to the judicial arm of the government thus playing an important role in
maintaining the cordial relationships. We often learn it from our elders only that how much respect and priority
should be given to a particular person or event. If Nehru had not given due importance and respect to the
judicial and parliamentary process, it was very much possible that judiciary and parliament had lost their value.
Thus, one can say that it was Nehru who always tried to maintained balance between different organs of the
government even when majority was with him, and he could have led to the establishment of more powerful
executive.
Consensus Building
Nehru always believed in consensus building and deliberations even when it was not essential for him. Nehru
was very much aware of the sensitive relations between centre and state governments especially in the context
where power balance was skewed in the favour of centre. Centre could have gained credibility and trust of
states only when decisions were taken on the basis of discussions and consensus building. Soon after
independence, he inaugurated the practice of writing every fortnight to those in charge of running state
governments. This practice ran continuously from 1947 till December 1963.
He explained the first amendment of the constitution in 1951 on the grounds of situational exigencies. The
absence of vital opposition capable of forming an alternative government was a serious gap in the democratic
framework. Nehru was also aware of this gap in the evaluation of Indian democracy. Therefore, he always
gave pivotal importance to disclosures and initiating discussion as strong opposition was not there in the
legislature to do this job. Thus, Nehru’s commitment to democracy was borne out by the respect he showed
to the opposition, state governments, the Press and those with whom he disagreed.
Institution Building
Nehru not only shaped democratic institutions but was also involved in institution building. The strength of
determination and the capacity to take risk has always been in the character of Nehru as he initiated reforms
to promote science and technology, planning and management, industrial sector and higher education in India.
The establishment of
• IIMs
• IITs
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMSs)
• Atomic Energy Commission of India
• Planning Commission
• University Grants Commission,
• the Atomic Energy Commission and
• The Defence Science Organisation.
• Basic and strategic industries
showed his commitment to create new institutions to meet the challenging demands of speedy development.
In this regard Nehru’s leadership was dynamic and innovative. Most of the institutions established by him
struck roots despite lack of adequate resources and lack of trained personnel.
Nehru envisioned the developing of nuclear weapons and established the Atomic Energy Commission of India
(AEC) in 1948. Nehru also called Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, a nuclear physicist, who was entrusted with complete
authority over all nuclear related affairs and programs and answered only to Nehru himself. Indian nuclear
policy was set by unwritten personal understanding between Nehru and Bhabha. Nehru famously said to
Bhabha, "Professor Bhabha take care of Physics, leave international relation to me".

From the outset in 1948, Nehru had high ambition to develop this program to stand against the industrialized
states and the basis of this program was to establish an Indian nuclear weapons capability as part of India's
regional superiority to other South-Asian states, most particularly Pakistan. The basic idea behind this
intention was not to accumulate nuclear power for overpowering other states but to become equal so that he
can negotiate with others on equal terms.
Building heavy industries and accelerating the pace of development on the farm and in the factory received
top priority. He felt that “it is on the basis of steel and power that countries are industrialised and advanced.”
Simultaneously he worked for ‘trained personnel’ to effectively implement the policy. The growth of the
public sector was vital though the acceptance of mixed economy underlined the importance of the private
sector.
Socialism
Under his leadership, the INC accepted the ideal of a socialistic pattern of society at the Avadi session in
January 1955. The socialistic pattern connoted social ownership or control of the principal means of
production, acceleration of national production and the equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation. In a
speech to Lok Sabha, he pointed out that equality; removal of disparities and the possibility for everyone to
live a good life constitute a socialist pattern of society.
Secularism
Nehru fabricated the secular structure of India at a time when India was very fragile and Communal sensitivity
was there. Nehru was an agnostic, rationalist and a realist as he was not emotionally involved in religious
disputations. Hence, he was acceptable even to Mohammad Ali and had deep friendship with Abdul Kalam
Azaad.
As per Nehru, Culture inculcates genuine compassion, altruism, humanism and loyalty to values like liberty,
equality, fraternity, human rights, rationalistic orientation and modesty but the cultural loyalty and fidelity to
justice can only come if a person is free from fundamentalism and religious parochialism.
Nehru was not convinced with the religious explanations of Hindu-Muslims tensions. He offered an economic
analysis which says Hindus had better economic conditions as compared to Muslims due to English language
which was a passport to government services and the professions. The landlord or the village baniya was
usually a Hindu was the money lender and the owner of village store thus Hindus were in positions to oppress
and exploit the tenants and small landholders who were largely Muslims.
Nehru’s loyalty to secularism had been a great relief to the minority groups in India. His devotion to scientific
methodology led to a secularist democracy.
Self Determination
Nehru had been a firm believer in the concept of self-determination. Jawaharlal had been mainly responsible
for popularizing the idea of the constituent assembly as a soul legitimate organ for the formation of an Indian
constitution (Speech, INC Lucknow session 1936).
Nehru’s belief in self-determination was nurtured on three foundations:
1. The racial arrogance of the British rulers; racial chauvinism. Britishers believed that since they are superior,
they have the right to determine what is right for India.
2. British rule led to rampant poverty and exploitation of the country.

3. British had the monopoly of decision making. Aspiration and public opinion in India were always neglected
by them. No Indian participation was there in the decisions.
Internationalism
Nehru was an internationalist. His aversion to narrow, egoistic and expansionist nationalism had been great.
According to Nehru (The Discovery of India) the world has become internationalized, production is
international, markets are international, and transport is international. No nation is really independent, they
are all interdependent. Therefore, some kind of fusion is necessary between nationalism and internationalism.
Buddhist influence was there as in 1954 he used the Buddhist concept of panchasila in a secular context to
indicate the principles of co-existence in a divided world. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, known
in India as the Panchsheel (five virtues) Treaty, are a set of principles to govern relations between states.
Nehru policy of non-alignment was based on three considerations:

• India is a newly emergent nation- state. She has to concentrate on economic and social reconstruction.
Non-alignment thus is a natural policy for a new nation state.
• Historical grounds: throughout her history, India has followed the policy of peace. She has never
sanctioned expansionist power politics.
• Non-alignment is supported by the exigencies of the international power politics. In a hostile world divided
into armed sections, it was a wise strategy to strengthen the peace area. This can be done if several states
refuse to join the rival camps and act as mediators in lessoning international tensions. The strengthening
of peace areas would act as a necessary deterrent to the clash of the two groups.
Thus, he advocated a dynamic approach to non-alignment in which states will take active part in peace process
rather than remaining neutral to the rival camps. Many people have criticized Nehru for running a moral
discourse in international relations, but it was the presence of values which gave India a distinct voice in world
sphere. No leader can deny national interest, but Nehru always defined national interest in the context of
universal values like peace, disarmament, equality and brotherhood. He was an exponent of a peaceful
approach and accepted the techniques of negotiations and cooperative understanding.
To conclude, one can say that Nehru attempted to strengthen the democracy in India by his scientific approach
and concern for human values. Two of his speeches made during the last months of his life referred to the
threats to national solidarity and unity. He pointed out that variety should not affect unity, nor should religion,
caste and language shall disrupt national unity. From Buddha to Gandhi, he observed, India’s heritage
conveyed to the world the lesson of living harmoniously together. Democracy required the spirit of tolerance
and cooperation and he firmly believed in India’s capacity for sustaining the democratic spirit. Nehru’s faith
in the Indian spirit remained throughout unshaken. We are, he explained, not only industrializing the country
through democratic processes but also at the same time trying to maintain the unique features in Indian
philosophy and way of life and individuality of India.
3. B.R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar; (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), popularly known as Babasaheb, was an
Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, historian, orator, economist, teacher, editor, prolific writer and a
revolutionary inspiring Dalit movement in India. He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
He became one of the first Dalits to obtain college education in India. But he had to overcome numerous social
and financial obstacles in order to do that. He had a first-hand experience of untouchability in school, where
he was segregated from caste Hindus. He was allowed to drink water from vessel only if it was poured from
a height by the peon.
Eventually earning a law degree and doctorates for his study and research in law, economics and political
science, Ambedkar gained a reputation as a scholar in economics and practiced law for a few years. He could
have lived a very comfortable life. He was a very intelligent and educated man with degrees from Columbia
University and the London School of Economics. Yet he completely devoted himself to the cause of depressed
classes.
He had experienced the agonies, frustrations and humiliations of being born in the Mahar cast which is an
untouchable Maharashtrian community. According to Ambedkar, the Hindus scheme of social structure based
on the four varnas breeds inequality and has been the parent of the caste system and untouchability which are
merely forms of inequality. He felt that the problems of untouchables can only be solved through a radical
solution.
He envisioned his ideal in the famous three principles: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. They were the
basis for the ideal society of his conception. Ambedkar insists that the conception of the ideal society ought
to have them all the three together. Absence of any would not be acceptable to him.
The caste system that subjugated more than one fifth of the population to levels worse than animals' for more
than two millennia became the prime target of his life. However, this Herculean task almost completely
overshadows the fact that his struggles extend well beyond the caste struggles and rather encompass all other
forms of exploitation. He worked not only for oppressed classes but also for other oppressed entities like
workers, peasants and women.
His struggle was directed towards the emancipation of all the untouchables but also towards annihilation of
the entire caste system. Although he pitched his tents against Brahminism, he never bore any enmity against
the Brahmins or identified any one for his friend or foe by caste.
The Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha that was the launch vehicle of his movement had majority from the forward
caste people in its executive body. Even later, this intention of having a non-caste base for the organization
could be consistently seen in his movement, be it the Mahad struggle or the Indian Labour Party.
Radical Thinker
The anti-caste movements before Ambedkar were mainly welfare oriented. Some wanted a higher rank
for their own caste in the caste hierarchy and some taking the inferior culture of their caste to be the reason
for their suffering, aimed at improving the same. He rightly diagnosed that the caste system is basically
sustained by the peculiar economic constitution of the Indian village of which the land relations were the main
features. Towards breaking this link, he toyed with an idea of separate settlement for Dalits at one time and at
another exhorted them to leave villages for cities. He had clearly understood that castes stood on multiple
props, viz., the religious-cultural relations, feudal relations in village setting of which land relations constituted
the crux and the socio-political nexus with the State. Annihilation of castes thus needed destruction of all of
them.

He was very practical in his approach and soon realized the necessity of political power for this multi-pronged
attack. Even to bring about the residual change in the belief system either through the cultural or religious
route, he stressed the necessity of political power. In this way, for the first time he brought the problem of
untouchability and caste out of the confines of culture to the political agenda.
Ambedkar always believed that individuals and social groups progress only through healthy competition in
the society. But the state should take into account that weaker sections in the society, paradoxically in a large
number, cannot enter this competition on equal and open basis. This will lead to destruction as progress will
be made but only between the higher caste people. The lower caste will remain untouched thus leading to
increasing gap. This gap may lead to a revolution which may further lead to violent protest and repression.
The best way to ward off revolution was to adopt a liberal generous attitude toward the lower classes. The
upper classes should make concessions gracefully and in good time, and not wait until the lower classes are
roused to exact them. If a revolution happens, it doesn't show that the people are bad and should have been
repressed more thoroughly. What it shows is that the upper classes were not wise enough and self-confident
enough to make reasonable concessions in good time. It accommodates the relatively weaker sections by
extending them some concessions or aids for some time, basically to equip them for this universal competition.
The State performs the role of a referee in this competition. This State is supposed to be run by the
representatives of all the social groups.
Gandhi did not want to disrupt the structure of Hindu society, but Ambedkar wanted the separation of the
untouchables or depressed classes from the Hindu society. He was aware of the fact that the society has not
reached up to the level where all caste and class structures can be destructed. Brahmanism will never allow
giving away its apparent superiority. Hence it was important to move away from it.
Against Capitalism
Ambedkar was quite aware of the exploitative potential of capitalism and hence he had declared capitalism
and Brahminism as the twin enemy of his movement. He was well aware of the inhuman exploitation of
workers that was unleashed by the rising adherence to the capitalism.
His, Independent Labour Party (ILP in August 1936) was an attempt to take up the question of capitalist
exploitation, as well as to combine the struggle on both caste and class basis. Various workers' problems were
taken up by the ILP, the leadership of combined strike of the mill workers, parliamentary fight for the workers'
interest in relation to the Industrial Disputes Act, and various legal reforms that were brought about while he
was in the Executive Council of the Viceroy, can be the examples of his concern for workers' exploitation.
The formation of ILP was not welcomed or supported by the communist leaders arguing that this will lead to
a split in the working-class votes. Ambedkar replied that communist leaders were working for the rights for
the worker but not for the human rights of Dalit workers.
Imperialism
Ambedkar's attitude towards imperialism has been projected in a distorted manner right from the beginning,
mainly because he refused to take part in the freedom struggle or opposed Gandhi who for many was the anti-
imperialism personified. He strategically sought to maintain neutrality vis-à-vis the colonial State. As per him,
it would not be possible for the resource less Dalits to fight its mighty foes all together. He did not want to
dissipate and squander his extremely limited resources on several fronts.
He however knew the basic exploitative character of the colonial regime. On several occasions, he burst out
saying that British imperialism and Indian feudalism were the two leaches that clung to Indian people.

However, there was a fundamental difference between his and others' viewpoint. For instance, he did not
approve equating opposition to imperialism with opposing the British.
He noted that the opposition to imperialism couldn't be effective until its supporters within the country are left
untouched. He always believed that without struggling against the landlords, mill owners, and moneylenders
- the friends of imperialism within the country, it was not possible to wage an effective fight against
imperialism.
It was in fact this reason only which led him to question the so-called freedom struggle launched under the
leadership of Congress as an anti-imperialist struggle. He contended that the Congress basically represented
the class of feudal lords and the urban capitalists - the twosome exploiters of Indian masses. Although, it
succeeded through the charismatic leadership of Gandhi in galvanizing masses in its support, it essentially
relied on bargaining with the colonial rulers for securing itself more share of power.
He thus not only saw no point in siding with this more real exploiter of people than perhaps the colonial rulers,
but also did not hesitate to openly oppose it when it came in the way of Dalit liberation. He smelt rot in all
such struggles that refused to notice existence of inhuman exploitation of some of their own people within
their precincts and tended to over-externalize their woes. Here lay his second point when he raised a question
of Hindu imperialism perpetrated through its caste system that was certainly seen as more vicious by its
victims than the British rule.
Oppression of Women
Besides these mainstream forms of exploitation, even the subaltern forms like women's exploitation, could
not escape his agenda. He viewed them as the most oppressed of all. He raised his voice against women's
discriminatory situation in the society. His basic law of social engineering was that the social revolutions must
always begin from the standpoint of the most oppressed or the ones on the lowest rung of the society.
He always involved women in his struggles and tended to give them important positions. For example, about
500 women had marched at the head of the historical procession at Mahad (Drinking Water Satyagraha,
Maharashtra, 1927) to assert the untouchables' right to drink water from the public tank. He also oversaw the
drafting of a new law in 1951 which allow women to choose their partners and give them divorce if necessary.
Religion
Religion was the institution envisaged to control the organization at the level of an individual and society to
curb their latent exploitative instincts. It was a philosophical device that would regulate their lives, including
the interface between them at the most primary level. Ambedkar viewed it as a code of behaviour, a way of
life that is upheld by the multitude. He insisted that this code should be based on and be compatible with the
precepts of modern science. The religion as normally defined or that became a pill of opium for Marx, was
not the religion of his concept either.
When ultimately, he embraced Buddhism he claimed to have used the criteria of modern science. Buddhism,
as it was propounded by Gautama Buddha hardly qualified to be called religion in so far as it did not have
even a single of the three necessary features of religion - viz.: belief in God, permanent entity and a set of
rituals. But it is a matter of opinion whether its institutionalized form that we are familiar with still retains its
uniqueness. Shunning the futile debate, it could be definitely said and has been acknowledged that the
Buddhism that he embraced was far more radical than its familiar version. His 'Buddha and His Dhamma' is
replete with instances where he reconstructs and redefines Buddhism with a near-scientific approach.

Buddhism, in its purer form, puzzled many people with its radical outlook and rational approach. It did not
have a place for God, ritual of any kind or for any permanent entity that characterize all other religions.
Morality is said to be its basis and surprisingly a pure democratic criterion of 'happiness and welfare of many'
(Bahujan Hitay, Bahujan Sukhay) as its motto.
To conclude, one may say that Ambedkar was a social prophet of the untouchables. There is no doubt that he
was a patriot and would not be opposed to the national integration. Nobody can be opposed to his view that
for the untouchable, the liberation from the degrading humiliations and imposed by Hinduism was a matter of
more urgent necessity than even the political liberation from the alien British rule.
Hence Ambedkar deserves the credit for having made Hindus aware of the great tension generating social
problems which must be tackled; otherwise they may eventually bring about the doom not only of the Hindu
society but of the total Indian political system as well. He will have a significant place in history through his
scholarly writings, speeches, leadership and constructive work.
4. Subhas Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the most prominent Indian nationalist leaders who attempted to gain India's
independence from British rule by force during the waning years of World War II.
In 1920, he successfully competed ICS exam, but it was in May 1921 he resigned from the services and joined
active politics. A robust and ardent patriotism was the essence of Netaji’s personality.
He was not a political philosopher or a theorist but a dynamic man of action. He was an agitator a propagandist
and an uncompromising fighter and a revolutionary leader rather than a philosopher. His strength lay in big
political activities. He was a militant fighter for Swaraj. He was profoundly devoted to the ideal of Indian
freedom and tirelessly and recklessly worked for its realization.
He was also a great orator. He combined capacity for action and a keen analytical mind. His book “Indian
struggle” is full of sober analysis and keen reflections. His speeches are characterised by force and simplicity.
He also had enough fund of emotional warmth in his personality.
His organisational skills which were shown during the establishment of parallel army equipped with modern
weapons were something extraordinary. The way he escaped from India and channelized the resources through
diplomacy and international propaganda to organise INA was next to impossible. Though he failed in his
attempt to free India through armed struggle, yet his persistence, endurance, courage and die-hard attitude
infused enthusiasm and patriotism in the heart of millions who never even thought of rebelling against the
mighty British Empire.
Netaji as a realist
Netaji though a great admirer of the Vedantic philosophy, became a social and political realist in later years.
He had always believed in action. He maintained that an exaggerated dose of ahimsa and too much influence
and belief in fate and supernatural is responsible for the decline of India. He wanted the techniques of modern
scientific civilization to be accepted by Indian society. Nothing should be carried to the most absurd length.
Netaji always believed in the creative force of ideas. It is only through his ideas that a man can remain
immortal. One man can die for an idea, but the idea will, after his death, incarnate itself in thousand lives.

That is how the wheels of evolution move on and the ideas and dreams of one generation are transferred to
the next. (In his letter to Governor of Bengal, 1940)
Political ideas
He did not appreciate the mingling of political and ethical issues. He was a critique of Gandhi in this sense as
Gandhi always believed in morality in politics. Netaji always appreciated political realism and would not stand
for mixing up of the spheres of Caesar and Christ.
He earnestly felt that for political freedom it was essential to undergo great sufferings and sacrifice. Bose
believed that Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence and
advocated violent resistance. He established a separate political party, the All India Forward Bloc for this
purpose only and continued to call for the full and immediate independence of India from British rule. His
famous motto: "Give me blood and I will give you freedom” reflects his idea that freedom cannot be achieved
without blood and sweat. Hence, although he was a realist, he did recognize the supreme necessity of self-
abnegation and suffering on the part of the Indian people.
Social ideas
Bose was not satisfied with mere political freedom. He certainly recognised the urgency of winning the
political freedom of the country, but he was also a realist to understand that the internal social struggles
between the landlord and peasant, capitalist and labourer, rich and poor, could not be postponed. Hence, he
always believed that the political and social struggles will have to be conducted simultaneously. The party
that will win political freedom for India will also be the party that will win social and economic freedom for
the masses.
He stated that the eradication of poverty and illiteracy were the great tasks of national reconstruction. He
pleaded for the abolition of landlordism, the liquidation of agriculture indebtedness and the provision for cheap
credit in rural sections.
The leftist party which was proposed by him was meant to achieve both the objectives of political as well as
social freedom. The All India Forward Bloc, a left-wing party emerged as a faction within the Indian National
Congress in 1939, was led by Subhash Chandra Bose.
The Forward Bloc of the Indian National Congress was formed on 3 May 1939 by Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose after resigning from the presidency of the Indian National Congress on April 29 after being out
maneuvered by Gandhi ji.
In January 1941 Bose summarized the guiding principles of the forward block:
1. Complete national independence and uncompromising anti-imperialist struggle for attaining it.
2. A thoroughly modern and socialist state.
3. Scientific large-scale production for the economic regeneration of the country.
4. Social ownership and control of both production and distribution.
5. Freedom of the individual in the matter of religious worship.
6. Equal rights for every individual.
7. Linguistic and cultural autonomy for all sections of the Indian community.
8. Application of the principle of equality and social justice in building up the new order in free India.

These principles show the basic value structure and philosophy of Netaji’s conduct during the national struggle
for independence.
Gandhi ji and Subhas Bose
Subhas Bose had great respect for the character and personality of Mahatma Gandhi. He had many times in
his speeches recognised the great work of Mahatma Gandhi in the consolidation of the INC and in bringing
about a great mass awakening. But as a political realist, he could not appreciate the extreme ethical idealism
of Gandhi.
Being realist, Bose believed in the techniques of political bargaining. The secret of political bargaining is to
look stronger than you really are. He could not appreciate the simple humanity and open heartedness with
which Gandhi laid all his cards on the table at the time of second round table conference in 1931, in London.
Bose always felt that non- violence by itself could not bring Swaraj. Non-violent Satyagraha, he recognised,
has the capacity of arousing public opinion but by itself it cannot bring independence. He felt that non-violence
should be supplemented by two other techniques of diplomacy and international propaganda.
Conclusion
As a political worker and leader Bose stood for a strengthened nationalism. Patriotism was the essence of his
personality and supreme expression of his soul. By his effective leadership and his great genius for action, he
has helped in the popularization of the ideal of the supremacy of the nation in the country which has been
dominated by the heritage of the feudalism and despotic imperialism.
5. Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian
National Congress and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. He was a freedom fighter, a strong
administrator, a devoted patriot and a dedicated servant of the nation. He was a man of tremendous patience
and absolute simplicity who devoted vast energies to concretize some of the Gandhian techniques for political
fight during the struggle for freedom. He is known to be a social leader of India who played an unparalleled
role in the country's struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation. He
was a great organizer and was regarded as a strong man of INC.
He was an established lawyer but gave up his practice during the time of Non-cooperation Movement in order
to follow the path of non-violent struggle shown by the mahatma Gandhi. As a leader of the farmers and one
of Gandhi’s closest associates, he forced the mighty British Government to accept defeat. As the first Deputy
Prime Minister and Home Minister of free India, he brought about the merger of hundreds of princely states
with the Indian Union and became the architect of the integrity of India.
He has been called as the "Iron Man of India" for his ruthless policy with regard to consolidation of the political
map of India. He is also remembered as the "Patron Saint" of India's civil servants for establishing modern
All-India Services.
A Realist

Patel was a realist and a visionary. Despite of his conflicts with Nehru, Patel warned Nehru against counting
on the Chinese friendship in his famous letter written few months before his death. As a realist, he was
perturbed over Chinese imperialistic policies.
There was a tussle between Nehru and Patel, since 1946, for leadership and economic ideas which had the
tendency to become a political menace. It was Patel who averted the situation by giving up the candidature
for the post of PM.
Patel always believed that India was a vast country and had still a long way to go for her industrialization.
Indian economy was primarily rural and thus small-scale industries on cooperative basis should be preferred
over large-scale industrialization imposed by the state.
Patel took the heroic lead in the liquidation of the various princely states and in the integration of their
territories with the rest of India. With regard to the princely states, Patel said that the amputation of a limb is
a painful process, but it would be a horrible tragedy if the body of India itself was torn to pieces. Thus, every
possible action can be taken to avoid such situation. He wanted, nevertheless, that the people should not
ridicule or lower the dignity of the rulers. Using frank diplomacy, backed with the option and use of military
force, Patel's leadership persuaded almost every princely state which did not have a Muslim majority to accede
to India.
Secularism
Religion played a secondary role in the life and politics of Patel. After Jinnah’s demand for Pakistan, Patel
became identified in the public mind with the championship of Hindu political interest, but one cannot say
that there was any element of religious devotedness in his personal life. Patel was keen about Hindu-Muslim
reconciliation. In his presidential address at Karachi in 1931, he declared that as a Hindu he would present the
Muslims with a Swadeshi fountain pen and ask them to write out their demands and he would accept them
without any condition or amendment.
He always believed that Hindu - Muslim unity can be built only on the basis of trust and equality. Accepting
the demands of Muslims without any discussion and debate shows his commitment to the cause of harmony
between Hindu and Muslims which was necessary for the early freedom of India from the British raj.
Social and Political views
As a disciple of Gandhi, Patel swore by the gospel of non-violence which he felt had given to the suppressed
poor a consciousness of their rights and their political values and ideals. Sardar Patel was a strong non-
cooperator and took great part in propagating the ideas of Gandhian non-cooperation.
For Sardar Patel any movement of social and economic emancipation in India could succeed only with the
reconstitution of the agrarian system.
He said that the whole world depends upon agriculturists and the laborers. Nevertheless, they were being
terrorized and penalized. Hence, he wanted the peasants to be brave. He wanted them to realize that the British
Empire had negated the concepts of rights and justice. But unless the people were ready to fight without any
fear of sufferings, they could not make the government realize their legitimate claims.
In 1931 he became the president of the congress at Karachi. It was at Karachi that the Congress passed the
resolution on fundamental rights. He criticized government for the execution of Bhagat Singh in spite of the
universal demand for the commutation of the death sentence. He always believed that the government should

be open and receptive towards the public opinion and aspirations. Only then it will be able to maintain stability
and order in the society.
Relations with Mahatma Gandhi

After Gandhi’s death, Patel’s speech at Banaras Hindu University on November 25, 1948, clearly showed that
the relationship between the two was emotional and complex.
“I claim to be nothing more than an obedient soldier of him like the millions who obeyed his call. There was
a time when everyone used to call me his blind follower. But both he and I knew that I followed him because
our convictions tallied,” said the Sardar in his speech.
Patel wanted to give up his responsibility after differences with Jawaharlal Nehru surfaced and he also wrote
to Gandhi about the same. But his strong bond of love for Gandhi and his unwavering loyalty to him did not
allow Patel to leave either the side of Gandhi or Nehru. Manilal Patel, editor of fortnightly magazine Gram
Garjana, said if the Sardar had wished, he could have become Prime Minister. But, only because of his
reverence for Gandhi, he did not even show whether he was not happy with the selection of Jawaharlal Nehru
as India’s first Prime Minister.
Rizwan Kadri, a historian, believes that Patel was a follower of Gandhi who dared to express his views and
his differences of opinion on certain issues. “However, he expressed his opinion with respect. Despite the
differences, Gandhiji’s words were final for Sardar,” said Kadri. Patel said Gandhi, Sardar and Nehru were
not separate. They complemented one another.
Conclusion
Patel was a realist in politics, but his realism would never imply the exaltation of force, fraud or assault of the
opponents. He was a man of action and did not have much time to engage in speculations of abstract political
philosophy. Nevertheless there were certain basic ideas by which his political activities were guided, and his
basic political concept was nationalism. Patel was a Gandhian but never believed in the absolute sanctity of
non-violence. Thus, it appears that Patel accepted non-violence only as a policy and not as a philosophy of
life.
6. Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh, who was born in 1907, barely completed 23 years of age when he was judicially murdered by
the British on 23rd March 1931. The ideas of Bhagat Singh surprised many at that time including the British
Government. He was attracted to the writings of Marx and Lenin and the idea of ‘Anarchism’ was very close
to him. He believed that Anarchism is complete independence where no one will be obsessed with religion,
money and other desires. Bhagat Singh, a non-believer of Gandhian Ideology, believed that ‘Satyagraha’
politics would do nothing good to the nation and would only replace one set of exploiters with another.
Bhagat Singh was a mature political thinker. Although, his life was plucked so early, during the short period
of life he lived, he literally aroused the devotion of the youth towards their country. In his two years of
imprisonment in the Central Jail, he used to write articles and books. He gave terms like ‘Inquilab Zindabad’,
‘political Prisoner’ etc. that served as the source of inspiration for the revolutionaries in the independence
struggle. Even today when Indian Youth protests, be it against rapes or against ‘corruption’, ‘Inqilab Zindabad’
still happens to be the only word which conveys the spirit of solidarity and independence so well.
‘Why I Am an Atheist’

Bhagat Singh was a non-believer of God. He was attracted neither by the Hindu notion of rebirth nor the
Muslim promise of a paradise. Singh believed that his religion was ‘independence’, his god was ‘socialism’,
and his slogan was ‘Inqilab Zindabad’.
To him, religion was irrelevant. He shared Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s vision who once said that “I do not want that
our loyalty as Indians should be in the slightest way affected by any competitive loyalty, whether that loyalty
arises out of our religion, out of our culture or out of our language. I want all people to be Indians first, Indians
last and nothing else but Indians.” He stood for an inclusive nationalism, not just politically, but socially and
economically as well.
Commitment to Rationalism
Bhagat Singh’s commitment to rationalism and critical thinking is also crucial in present times. He was not
for blind flag-waving. His nationalism was embedded in the idea of progress where there is scope for criticism,
disbelief and the capacity to question the old faith. He was uncompromising when he said,
“Mere faith and blind faith is dangerous: It dulls the brain and makes a man reactionary. A man who claims
to be a realist has to challenge the whole of the ancient faith. If it does not stand the onslaught of reason, it
crumbles down.”
Silencing rationalists or defending obnoxious religious practices can’t be nationalism. Bhagat Singh, in ‘Why
I am an Atheist’, also questions those who found any criticism of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi blasphemous.
He perceived this hero worship as symptomatic of an unhealthy, regressive politics: “Go and oppose the
prevailing faith, you go and criticise a hero, who is generally believed to be above criticism because he is
thought to be infallible, the strength of your argument shall force the multitude to decry you. This is due to
mental stagnation.” He goes on to say that “Criticism and independent thinking are the two indispensable
qualities of a revolutionary”.
Just a year before Bhagat Singh was arrested, he wrote some insightful pieces in May-June 1928. In one of
them, he was critical of the press, and also spoke about his idea of nationalism, saying, “the real duty of the
newspapers is to educate, to cleanse the minds of people, to save them from narrow sectarian divisiveness,
and to eradicate communal feelings to promote the idea of common nationalism. Instead, their main objective
seems to be spreading ignorance, preaching and propagating sectarianism and chauvinism, communalising
people’s minds leading to the destruction of our composite culture and shared heritage.”
He also warned against dragging religion into politics and gave an example of the early Ghadar revolutionaries
who kept religion in the realm of personal faith and so worked together, espousing a composite nationalism.
The most interesting idea that attracts people is the way Bhagat Singh valued criticism. He believed that why
just follow anyone blindly, why to trust anyone blindly? Even on the concluding page of his book on Atheism,
he mentioned that do not blindly believe what I say! Read, think and criticize my writings, which only can
make me feel good as a writer! Bhagat Singh strictly believed in the power of ideas. He thrashed the British
government with his saying:
“You can only suppress me as a person, but you cannot suppress my thought and ideas”.
7. Rabindranath Tagore
Poet, philosopher, educationist, patriot, humanist and internationalist, Tagore was one of the spokesmen of
the soul of India. If Vivekananda was the philosophical herald of India to America, Tagore was the emotional
and poetic vehicle of India mission to the outside world. To a skeptical and materialist world, he has revealed

the authentic moral and spiritual message of the east. His lyrics have an irresistible and universal appeal.
Hence, he is regarded as a world singer.
Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for a selection of his poetry,
Gitanjali. He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and is generally
regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India.
Tagore and Humanism
Tagore was a humanist because he was a prophet of love, fellowship and co-operation. As a poet, he looked
with indifference upon the narrow diving walls and concentrated his attention on concrete humanity as a
whole.
In the Gitanjali he sings about the pervasiveness of divine love and invites his brothers to share in that ocean
of love. Through love alone it is possible to realize God and all sin evil and vice are due to the defect in the
recognition of the mystery of divine love.
Tagore always believed that harmony is the essence of personality. Ethical conduct in his philosophy
originates not in fidelity to caste duty but it based on an awareness of divine harmony and love. He also stood
for harmony between nature and man. Because nature itself is the manifestation of God, harmony with nature
and not the conquest of nature will lead to realization of God.
Tagore always believed in synthesis of cultures that is the combination of ideas taken from different cultures
and conceptualizes an ideal of a universal man. Tagore tried to produce—or had an interest in producing—a
"synthesis" of the different religions as that his outlook was persistently non-sectarian, and his writings show
the influence of different parts of the Indian cultural background as well as of the rest of the world.
Thus, Tagore stood for harmony, love and synthesis. According to him truth consists not in facts but in the
harmony of facts and beauty and love are the expressions of harmony. The essence of every civilization is the
love of humanity and not the accumulation of material power. In early years, he was influenced by the west
because of its humanism, rationalism and liberating power of science but the brutal advances of western
imperialism shook his confidence in the west.
Tagore and Society
Tagore held that man is social, sensitive and imaginative being and not a mechanical identity or a political
animal. Politics is only a specialised and professionalized aspect of society. He was aware of the weaknesses
in the Indian society. Tagore did not put faith in mere political agitation. He always maintained that Indians
had first to set their own house in order before their demands could have any effect on the foreign masters.
A country and its people perpetuating some of the worst form of social tyranny at home would have no moral
conscience to protest against imperial arrogance. Tagore was a societarian to the extent that he regarded the
society as having greater primacy than the state. Hence in place of the negative criticism of the government,
he urged the necessity of constructive social efforts which is possible only if a man wishes for collective good
and shows social altruism.
Tagore always believed in functional conception of society. He was opposed to meaningless social
stratifications which lead to inequalities and discrimination. He was also hostile to the parasitic economic class

of that time. Although he himself came from the landlord family, he was disillusioned of the ethics of that
class as their aim was amassing of wealth and not social service and justice.
Tagore and Theory of Rights
Tagore was a prophet of rights. In “the call of truth” he wrote “man does not have to beg for his rights, he
must create them for himself”. Tagore stressed the necessity of cultivation of strength for the realization of
rights both by the individual and group. Tagore always wanted that the exploited and destitute humanity of
India should cultivate moral force for their regeneration and should refuse to bend before the imperialistic
might.
He urged the masses to avoid victimology and instead seek self-help and education, and he saw the presence
of British administration as a "political symptom of our social disease". He maintained that, even for those at
the extremes of poverty, "there can be no question of blind revolution"; preferable to it was a "steady and
purposeful education".
Theory of Freedom
He has a spiritual conception of freedom. The essence of freedom is illumination of the soul by the process of
self-realization. Political freedom is a precondition for spiritual freedom as dignity and human worth cannot
be realized by those who rule and also by those who are ruled.
Tagore has always condemned the impersonal rule of England in India where there was no accommodative
communication and social, sympathetic relation between the rulers and the ruled. He always maintained that
those civilizations that practiced callousness of heart and enslaved the weaker population had to pay the price
of extinction. There is a moral law governing civilization. Love and justice are the soul characters of historical
longevity.
Tagore was a champion of political freedom of India and Asia. He eloquently pleaded for self-government to
India. Self-government alone could provide the cure for the political ills of the country.
Tagore and Nationalism
Tagore formulated and sponsored a moral approach to politics. As he said only a faithful practice of the values
of justice, purity and freedom could make nations strong. Thus, he refused to regard politics as the realm of
the immoral.
He was a patriot and during the days of agitation against the partition of Bengal, his stirring words rang with
strength, and he was later on venerated as a national poet. In 1932, during civil disobedient movement Tagore
pleaded for the recognition of the fundamental claims of India humanity and immediate grant of independence
to India. He did believe in co-operation between India and Britain, but it should be based on the friendship
and trust.
Though he believed in political freedom, Tagore was a critic of nationalism. Tagore had a deep and passionate
love for India, but his sensitive spirit was not in favour of revolutionary and anarchistic work. Tagore always
believed in spiritual fellowship of man. Hence, he refuses to abide by the dictates of the nation states. National
pride is the result of narrow imagination and an absence of spiritual sensitiveness. Thus, he was a champion
of the people and not of the nation.

The closed walls of nations have to be demolished and the foundations laid down for racial synthesis and
cultural cooperation. All elements that create barriers between people have to be substituted by the spirit of
interdependence and brotherhood. One has to transcend suspicion, fear, distrust, lustfulness and national
egoism, and practice the virtues of amity, national friendship and a genuine mingling of peoples and cultures.
Tagore and Education
Tagore despised rote classroom schooling: in "The Parrot's Training", a bird is caged and force-fed textbook
pages—to death. Tagore sought to "make Santi Niketan the connecting thread between India and the world
and a world centre for the study of humanity somewhere beyond the limits of nation and geography." The
school, which he named Visva-Bharati, had its foundation stone laid on 24 December 1918 and was
inaugurated precisely three years later.
Conclusion
As a poet and as a prophet, Tagore reiterated India’s gospel of fellowship, friendship and humanity. He
believed, thus, in the replacement of the creeds of organisation, efficiency, exploitation and aggressiveness by
social cooperation, international reciprocity and spiritual idealism.
Tagore was an internationalist and at a time when a ceaseless struggle was going on in the world for assertion
of the right of the nation, he championed the binding of the people and unity.
Tagore was a believer in cultural synthesis and international unity and decried the aggressive cult of nation.
But he became one of the intellectual leaders of Indian nationalism. His songs and messages gave inspiration
to social and political workers. Hence, although not in the thick of political fight for independence Tagore was
venerated as seer of Indian freedom. He was regarded in the west as an outstanding national figure of India.
Quotes
1. I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service
was joy.
2. Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset
sky.
3. Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.
4. The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
5. Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.
6. Music fills the infinite between two souls.
7. A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.
8. Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.
9. Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.
10. Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
8. Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) is one of the greatest thinkers of Indian Renaissance. He was a monk and
chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. He introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the
Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the world stage
during the late 19th century.

He established Ramakrishna Mission in 1987, which did extensive educational and philanthropic work in
India. He also represented India in the first Parliament of Religion held in Chicago (U.S.) in 1893.
Idea of Service
• What is the concept of service? Swami Vivekananda says: “This is the gist of all worship — to be pure
and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships
Shiva; and if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.”
• The idea that service of the poor is akin to worshiping the God. The idea is deeply ingrained in Indian
spiritual thinking. Quoting Swami Vivekananda: “If you want to find God, serve man. To reach Narayana
you must serve the Daridra Narayanas – the starving millions of India…”
Idea of Ethics
• Morality in both individual life and social life is mostly based on fear of societal censure. But Vivekananda
gave a new theory of ethics and new principle of morality based on the intrinsic purity and oneness of the
Atman. We should be pure because purity is our real nature, our true divine Self or Atman.
• The essence of ethics is that You have to put yourself last, and others before you. The senses say, "Myself
first." Ethics says, "I must hold myself last." Social interest must precede personal interest.
• The work of ethics has been, and will be in the future, not the destruction of variation and the establishment
of sameness in the world, but to recognize unity in spite of all the variations.
Religion
• He believed that every religion offered a pathway to eternal supreme. This can be accomplished by
realising one’s ATMA as part of PARAMATMA.
• He believed in the idea of Sarva Dharma Sambhava. In Chicago, he proclaimed: “[I]f anybody dreams
[of] the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of others, I pity him from the bottom of
my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of
resistance: ‘Help and not fight’; ‘Assimilation and not destruction’, and ‘Harmony and peace and not
dissension’.
• According to Vivekananda, social, economic and political reconstruction of the country is a pre-requisite
for the spiritual uplift of the masses. When the people ask for food, to offer religion to starving people is
to insult them. To teach religious principles to a starving man is an affront to his self-respect.
• He criticizes strongly the failings and weaknesses of the people, the evil practice of untouchability, the
feeling of caste superiority, priest craft and religious tyranny. He prefers to see the people as confirmed
atheists rather than as superstitious fools, for the atheists may be of some use.
Education
• Swami Vivekananda laid the greatest emphasis on education for the regeneration of our motherland.
• According to him, a nation is advanced in proportion as education is spread among the masses.
• He said that our process of education should be such that it helps the students to manifest their innate
knowledge and power.
• He advocated a man-making character-building education.
• He said that education must make the students self-reliant and help them face the challenges of life. He
was highly critical of the so-called educated who do not care for the poor and downtrodden.
Rationality
• He was in complete agreement with the methods and results of modern science.
• He did not discard reason in favour of faith.

• He recognized intuition or inspiration as a higher faculty than reason. But the truth derived from intuition
had to be explained and systematized by reason.
Nationalism
• His nationalism is based on Humanism and Universalism, the two cardinal features of Indian spiritual
culture.
• Unlike western nationalism, which is secular in nature, Swami Vivekananda’s nationalism is based on
religion which is life blood of the Indian people.
• The basis of his nationalism is:
o Deep concern for masses, freedom and equality through which one expresses self and spiritual
integration of the world on the basis of universal brotherhood.
o “Karmyoga” a system of ethics to attain freedom both political and spiritual, through selfless
service.
• His writings and speeches established motherland as the only deity to be worshiped in the mind and heart
of countrymen.
Youth
• Swamiji believed that if our youth is determined, there can be nothing impossible for them to achieve in
the world.
• He urged youth to have dedication to the cause to attain success. Pursuing a challenge with utmost
dedication is really the road to success, for our youth.
• Hence Swamiji called upon the youth to not only build up their mental energies, but their physical ones as
well. He wanted ‘muscles of iron’ as well as ‘nerves of steel’.
Human Freedom
• According to him, freedom is the precondition for human growth, but freedom does not mean absence of
obstacles in the way of social aggrandisement or economic exploitation. Commenting on the meaning of
freedom he says:
• “Our natural right is to be allowed to use your own body, intelligence and wealth according to our will,
without doing any harm to others, and all the members of a society ought to have the same opportunity for
obtaining wealth, education or knowledge.”
Quotes
1. “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you; none can make you spiritual. There is no
other teacher but your own soul.”
2. “The basis of all systems social or political rests upon the goodness of man. No nation is great or good
because parliament enacts this or that, but because its men are great and good.”
3. “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
4. “We are what our thoughts have made us; so, take care about what you think. Words are secondary.
Thoughts live; they travel far.”
5. “They alone live, who live for others.”
6. “Strength is Life, Weakness is Death. Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death. Love is Life, Hatred is
Death.”
7. “Each work has to pass through these stages—ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think
ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.”
8. “Education is the manifestation of perfection already existing in man.”
9. Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.

10. So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure sign that there is imperfection. A perfect, free being cannot
have any desire.
11. The essence of Vedanta is that there is but one Being and that every soul is that Being in full, not a part of
that Being.
12. Stand as a rock; you are indestructible. You are the Self (atman), the God of the universe.
13. Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success and, above all, love.
14. Anything that makes weak – physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.
15. A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.
9. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, 'The father of Indian renaissance', was a man of versatile genius. The ‘Brahmo
Samaj’ established by him was the earliest reform movement greatly influenced by modern western ideas. As
a reformist ideologue, Roy believed in modern scientific approach and principles of human dignity and social
equality. His major contributions can be understood in the following contexts:
Religious Reforms
• In 1803, he published his first book, ‘Tuhfat-ul- Muwahhidin’ or ‘Gift to Monotheists’, in which he
argues for monotheism (the concept of single God). He translated Vedas and the five Upanishads to
Bengali to prove his conviction that ancient Hindu texts supported monotheism.
• In 1814, he founded Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta to campaign against idolatry, caste rigidities, meaningless
rituals and other social ills.
• He criticized the ritualism of Christianity and rejected Christ as the incarnation of God. In Precepts of
Jesus (1820), he tried to separate the moral and philosophical message of the New Testament, which he
praised, from its miracle stories.
Social Reforms
• Roy established the Brahmo Samaj in August 1828, which acted against the evil practices that existed in
the Hindu society.
• Roy was a crusader against the inhuman practice of Sati. He started the anti-sati struggle in 1818 and
cited sacred texts to prove that no religion sanctioned burning alive of widows, besides appealing to
humanity, reason and compassion. His efforts were rewarded by the Government Regulation in 1829
which declared practice of Sati a crime.
• Roy attacked polygamy, child marriage, and the degraded state of widows and demanded right of
inheritance and property for women.
• He also campaigned against caste system, untouchability, superstitions and use of intoxicants.
Educational Reforms
• When the Bengal government proposed a more traditional Sanskrit college, in 1823, Roy protested that
classical Indian literature would not prepare the youth of Bengal for the demands of modern life. Roy did
much to disseminate the benefits of modern education to his countrymen.
• He supported David Hare’s efforts to find the Hindu College in 1817, while Roy’s English school taught
mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy.

• In 1825, he established Vedanta college where courses in both Indian learning and Western social and
physical sciences were offered.
• Roy also worked as the editor of Bengali newspaper “Sambad Kaumudi” (1821) and the Persian
newspaper “Mirat-Ul-Akbar”.
Economic and Political Reforms

• Roy condemned oppressive practices of Bengali zamindars and demanded fixation of minimum rents. He
also demanded abolition of taxes on tax-free lands.
• He called for a reduction of export duties on Indian goods abroad and abolition of the East India
Company’s trading rights.
• He demanded the Indianisation of superior services and separation of executive from judiciary. He
demanded equality between Indians and Europeans.
Therefore, Roy was much ahead of his times. His understanding of the international character of the principles
of liberty, equality and justice indicate that he well understood the significance of modern age. Playing a
glowing tribute to Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda says:
“Raja Ram Mohan Roy had put India on the march towards progress and freedom.”
10. Dayananda Saraswati
Dayananda Saraswati was one of the leaders of the Indian renaissance who has perhaps widely travelled and
a well-informed man as far as the Indian scene is concerned. He is well known as the founder of the Arya
Samaj, a Hindu reform movement of the Vedic tradition. He was a profound scholar of the Vedic lore and
Sanskrit language. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya as "India for Indians" – in 1876, later taken
up by Lokmanya Tilak. Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship prevalent in Hinduism at the time, he
worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently the philosopher and former President of India, S.
Radhakrishnan, called him one of the "makers of Modern India," as did Sri Aurobindo.
Maharshi Dayananda advocated the doctrine of Karma and Reincarnation. He emphasized the Vedic ideals of
brahmacharya (celibacy) and devotion to God. Among Maharshi Dayananda's contributions are his promoting
of the equal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures, and his intuitive
commentary on the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit in Sanskrit as well as Hindi so that the common man might be
able to read them.
His attack on casteism is most noteworthy. The mere accident of birth cannot determine the social position of
a man but should be rather determined in accordance with his qualification, accomplishments and character.
Even a cobbler’s son is competent to steady Vedas and similarly a man born in a Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya or a
Vaiṡya family should be treated as a Shudra if his actions resemble Ṡūdra, the low caste. Mahatma Gandhi
had made a substantial estimate of his character. He says:
“Among the many rich legacies, that Swami Dayananda has left us, his unequivocal pronouncement
against untouchability is undoubtedly one.”
Dayanand's mission was not to start or set up any new religion but to ask humankind for Universal Brotherhood
through nobility as spelt out in Vedas. For that mission he founded Arya Samaj enunciating the Ten Universal

Principles as a code for Universalism Krinvanto Vishwaryam meaning the whole world be an abode for Nobles
(Aryas).
Ten Principles of Arya Samaj
1. God is the efficient cause of all true knowledge and all that is known through knowledge.
2. God is existent, intelligent and blissful. He is formless, omniscient, just, merciful,
unborn, endless, unchangeable, beginning-less, unequalled, the support of all, the master
of all, omnipresent, immanent, un-aging, immortal, fearless, eternal and holy, and the
maker of all. He alone is worthy of being worshiped.
3. The Vedas are the scriptures of all true knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all Aryas
to read them, teach them, recite them and to hear them being read.
4. One should always be ready to accept truth and to renounce untruth.
5. All acts should be performed in accordance with Dharma, that is, after deliberating what
is right and wrong.
6. The prime object of the Arya Samaj is to do good to the world, that is, to promote
physical, spiritual and social good of everyone.
7. Our conduct towards all should be guided by love, righteousness and justice.
8. We should dispel Avidya (ignorance) and promote Vidya (knowledge).
9. No one should be content with promoting his/her good only; on the contrary, one should
look for his/her good in promoting the good of all.
10. One should regard oneself under restriction to follow the rules of society calculated to
promote the well-being of all, while in following the rules of individual welfare all should
be free.
His next step was to take up the difficult task of reforming Hinduism with dedication despite multiple repeated
attempts on his personal life. He travelled the country challenging religious scholars and priests to discussions
and won repeatedly on the strength of his arguments based on his knowledge of Sanskrit and Vedas. He
believed that Hinduism had been corrupted by divergence from the founding principles of the Vedas and that
Hindus had been misled by the priesthood for the priests' self-aggrandizement. Hindu priests discouraged the
laity from reading Vedic scriptures and encouraged rituals, such as bathing in the Ganges River and feeding
of priests on anniversaries, which Dayananda pronounced as superstitions or self-serving practices.
By exhorting the nation to reject such superstitious notions, his aim was to educate the nation to ‘Go back to
the Vedas’. He wanted the people who followed Hinduism to go back to its roots and to follow the Vedic life,
which he pointed out. He exhorted the Hindu nation to accept social reforms, including the importance of
Cows for national prosperity as well as the adoption of Hindi as the national language for national integration.
Through his daily life and practice of yoga and asanas, teachings, preaching, sermons and writings, he inspired
the nation to aspire to Swarajya (self-governance), nationalism, and spiritualism. He advocated the equal rights
and respects to women and advocated the education of a girl child like the males.
Swami Dayanand did logical, scientific and critical analyses of faiths i.e. Christianity & Islam as well as of
other Indian faiths like Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. He also discouraged idolatry in Hinduism, as may be
seen in his book Satyarth Prakash. He was against what he considered to be the corruption of the true and pure
faith in his own country. Unlike many other reform movements of his times within Hinduism, the Arya Samaj's
appeal was addressed not only to the educated few in India, but to the world as a whole as evidenced in the
sixth principle of the Arya Samaj. In fact, his teachings professed universalisms for all living beings and not
for any particular sect, faith, community or nation.
Dayananda’s concept of dharma is stated in the "Beliefs and Disbeliefs" section of Satyartha Prakash. He said:
"I accept as Dharma whatever is in full conformity with impartial justice, truthfulness and the like;
that which is not opposed to the teachings of God as embodied in the Vedas. Whatever is not free from
partiality and is unjust, partaking of untruth and the like, and opposed to the teachings of God as embodied
in the Vedas—that I hold as adharma."
"He, who after careful thinking, is ever ready to accept truth and reject falsehood; who counts the
happiness of others as he does that of his own self, him I call just."
— Satyarth Prakash
Dayananda's Vedic message was to emphasize respect and reverence for other human beings, supported by
the Vedic notion of the divine nature of the individual (divinity comes from the soul). In his own life, he
interpreted moksha to be a lower calling (due to its benefit to one individual) than the calling to emancipate
others. Dayananda's "back to the Vedas" message influenced many thinkers and philosophers the world over.
11. Sri Aurobindo Ghose
Sri Aurobindo has been considered as one of the foremost philosophers of the 20th Century, but he was far
more than just a philosopher. He was a political activist, a mystic, a spiritual leader, a poet, a yogi and a
teacher. Sri Aurobindo experienced the range of human activity and used that experience to communicate his
insight in a way that we can appreciate and understand.
Sri Aurobindo's unique contribution to human potential and growth developed through his integration of
Western and Eastern cultures. He brought the energy and vision of the West, with its focus on the perfection
of the physical, material and mental areas of human life together with the spiritual development and
philosophical directions developed over thousands of years in the East.
Sri Aurobindo’s writings help us reconcile the apparent conflicts of two diverse societies and at the same time
develop a new, wider, embracing viewpoint which vibrates with spiritual force, mental clarity and a heart of
love and compassion for the efforts of humanity.
Idea of Dharma
It is quite natural for the vital nature of man to desire success, well-being, and vital fulfilment in our lives.
This involves the achievement of pleasure and the avoidance of suffering. This actually acts as the motive
spring or impulsion behind our actions in the vast majority of cases. We have framed our ethical concepts to
incorporate the satisfaction of these impulsions, and thus have created a measure for our ethical framework
that insists on such achievements.
Sri Aurobindo points out, however, that ethics as a conceptual principle can be seen, and should be recognized,
in the absence of specific attainment of desire. In fact, an ethical framework tied to overt or subtle achievement
of pleasure or avoidance of suffering is more in the nature of a bargain than a truly ethical act.
“…true ethics is dharma, the right fulfilment and working of the higher nature, and right action should have
right motive, should be its own justification and not go limping on the crutches of greed and fear. Right done
for its own sake is truly ethical and ennobles the growing spirit; right done in the lust for a material reward
or from fear of the avenging stripes of the executioner or sentence of the judge, may be eminently practical

and useful for the moment, but it is not in the least degree ethical, but is rather a lowering of the soul of man;
or at least the principle is a concession to his baser animal and unspiritual nature.”
The great man or the hero is only an instrument of God, and he is not real agent and only a medium of divine
action. It is only when one realizes the presence of God can one performing a spiritualized action in
consonance with the will of the divine.
12. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
The late President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam died on July 27th, 2015. The legendary scientist who
served as the backbone for India’s success as a major nuclear power in the world is revered by one and all
for his ideologies, simplicity, and intelligence. Some of the lessons that can be learned from his life are:
1. You Should Dream to Succeed: Dr. Kalam believed that to make sure that your dreams come true, you
need to have dreams, see dreams first. However, impossible the dream may be, but when you dream it,
you can make it possible. The legendary scientist claimed that the first thing is to possess a dream.
2. Significance of Three Key Players in Society: Dr. Kalam believed in the significant contribution from
the three key members of society, viz. mother, father, and a teacher. He believed that these people have a
major role to play in developing a positive and growth-supportive atmosphere in the nation. Dr. Kalam
claimed that India can become a nation with beautiful minds only if all these three members played their
part correctly.
3. Be Courageous, Think Differently: One of the biggest life lessons from Abdul Kalam is that you must
be courageous enough to think differently. The erstwhile Indian President with his talks and
achievements inspired a generation of young Indians. According to him, you must think differently and
should be courageous enough to travel on the unexplored path, to invent and to discover how impossible
can be made possible. He believed that you must have the courage to overcome problems.
4. Single-Minded Devotion: Dr. Kalam had great faith in Indians and wanted his fellow countrymen and
women to direct their single-minded devotion to their goals. He believed that devotion is the mantra to
achieving success.
5. Passion and Vision: Dr. Kalam had a wonderful way of defining a leader. He claimed that a person who
has a vision and passion and is not afraid of obstacles that come his way is the leader. Kalam believed
that only a person who knows how to overcome obstacles in his life can become a leader.
6. Enjoying Difficulties: According to the late President, the only thing that can help you to succeed after
continuous failure is the ability to never give up. The writer of “Wings of Freedom” said that failure and
difficulties help one to enjoy the true fruits of labors.
7. Whole Universe is with You: Unlike what everyone believes that each one has to walk on his path
alone, Dr. Abdul Kalam believed that no one is lonely or alone. Rather the whole universe is there to
help those who work hard and dare to dream.
8. Build Great Today for Better Tomorrow: Dr. Kalam always dreamt of building a better future. He
always said that you must sacrifice today so that the children of India can have a better tomorrow.
9. God Helps Those Who Work Hard: Dr. Kalam stated that those who work hard, God helps them. He
believed that anyone who is headstrong and relentlessly pursues his goal without brooding about life gets
help from the divinity.
10. Connect with People: Even after retirement Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, the people’s president set himself
in a demanding schedule of speeches, notably in educational institutions, and had an uncanny ability to

connect with a variety of audiences. He taught the youth to take responsibility and work in the direction
of development with loyalty and integrity.
11. Be Humble: This should top the list because everything else fails in the absence of this. Dr. Kalam
always emphasized that you should never lose out on your humbleness even if you are the head of an
entire nation. Modesty has, and will remain, a powerful trait because where egoism fails, humbleness
conquers.
Quotes
1. You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
2. Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
3. The great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.
4. Dreams are not those which comes while we are sleeping, but dreams are those when u don't sleep
before fulfilling them.
5. Don't take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that
your first victory was just luck.
6. All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds. Problems are
common, but attitude makes the difference!!!
7. To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.
8. We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.
9. Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds
bitterness all around.
10. It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone.
11. Learning gives creativity, Creativity leads to thinking, Thinking provides knowledge, knowledge
makes you great.
12. Why be afraid of difficulties, sufferings and problems? When troubles come, try to understand the
relevance of your sufferings. Adversity always presents opportunities for introspection.
13. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Dr. Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975) was an Indian philosopher, academic, and statesman
who served as the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India (1962–1967).
His birth anniversary is celebrated in India every year as ‘Teachers’ Day’ since it was first proclaimed in
1962.
He tried to bridge between western and Indian philosophy. He was a prominent spokesman of neo- Vedanta.
His ethical philosophy is the philosophy of the growth and progress of the human personality. Some of his
views are:
• Ethics is essential for man to build his self. Man is a mortal being so s/he must give off all the
egocentricity in order to understand the ontological aspects of all fragmented happiness. This would help
him in profoundly understanding him/herself.
• Religion has an essential role to connect the whole of humanity altogether as it teaches basic values and
moral virtues to humans. He emphasized on the universal religion which transcends different creeds and
dogmas and aims to bring harmony and peace in society- The concept of Vasudev Kutumbakam.
• Human beings should not get engrossed in the materialistic life and at the same time s/he must not
renounce the world rather s/he must choose the balanced middle path.
• He propounded for cosmic liberation where all souls are interconnected with each other, and it is
essential to liberate each of us from all dogmas and prejudices in order to attain a higher self.
• He thinks that Moral values like non-violence, renunciation and suffering are positive necessities of
human life.
• Philosophy is essentially practical. It deals with the fundamental anxieties of human beings. The chaos
outside is a direct manifestation of our chaotic inner mind.
• Intellectualism and intuition are compatible and related to each other. The combination of both can take
the human nature to the higher level.
• Morality helps in the development of the overall personality of a human being. Morality refers to here
empathy, brotherhood, accountability, transparency and determination which help one to take the right
path in life.
• Self-analysis helps one to be free from the menace of ego. Ego is the main cause of the downfall of a
human.
• Sympathy, helping attitude and empathy are the main tenets of the ethical theory of Radhakrishnan
which need to be inculcated by the individuals for the welfare of the self and others.
According to him, the main aim of human life is to think about others to go beyond the self-interests and this
can be achieved through the means of EDUCATION which enlightens a person, making him/her self-reliant
and responsible. Spiritual learning is as important as the natural or mechanical one. His ethical theory takes
special relevance in the present era of increasing disharmony and intolerance around the world.
14.Lal Bahadur Shastri

The second Prime Minister of India, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birth anniversary is being observed on
2nd October was known as a statesman par excellence. Though he held the PM office for less than two
years, he is always remembered for his stellar contribution to the good of the country. Shastri’s leadership
was laden with values and ethics.
Right from the beginning till the very end of his life, he demonstrated to every Indian how to practice
simplicity and morality in both letter and spirit, in personal and public life.
Shastri was born Lal Bahadur Shrivastava. However, being against the prevailing caste system, he decided
to drop his surname. The title Shastri’ was given after he completed his graduation at Kashi Vidyapeeth,
Varanasi in 1925. Shastri in this way showed a broad outlook at a very young age.
As a schoolboy, Shastri would swim across the Ganges twice a day with his books tied on top of his head.
He did not have enough money to take a ferry to school. This shows his perseverance, dedication, and
fortitude to sustain in difficult situations. His progressive attitude came to the fore when he asked for khadi
cloth and a spinning wheel as dowry.
A true leader leads from the front in adverse situations and doesn’t shy away of accountability. After the
sudden demise of Nehru, Shastri ji took oath of office. Despite being relatively new to the high office, he led
the country successfully through the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965.
When the country faced major food shortages in mid-1960s, Shastri led from the front and introduced new
ideas like minimum support price (MSP) and setting up of a Prices Commission.

When it came to taking responsibility, he always led from the front. He served as the railway minister in
Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet, and he resigned following a train accident in Tamil Nadu in 1956. His gesture
was hailed by all including Nehru, whom he considered as his “hero”.
A true leader takes criticism constructively, knows the loopholes and accepts the shortcomings. When the
Opposition brought a motion of no-confidence against his government in September 1964, Shastri candidly
accepted its successes and failures. He never passed on his failures and problems to his predecessor and
emphasized that the government departments must take responsibility and should not work in form of water-
tight compartments.
In 1947, he became the Minister of Police and Transport. It was during his tenure that the first women bus
conductors were appointed. He was the one who suggested the use of jets of water instead of lathis to
disperse unruly crowds. He underlined the importance of increasing milk production and supply and
promoted White Revolution. The National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965.
Reputed for his soft-spoken nature and clean image, he is said to have practiced severe austerity measures at
home before applying them for the country’s benefit. In 1965, India was embroiled in war with Pakistan and
the country was facing acute food shortage. Faced with the crisis, Lal Bahadur Shastri announced to his
family one evening that for the next few days they would all give up on their evening meal. It is only after
he was sure that his own family could survive without a meal a day that he announced on All India Radio,
urging the public to sacrifice one meal at least once a week.
Shastri demonstrated integrity in private life too. It is said, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts
absolutely”. But it wasn’t true at all for Shastri. It is said that when he was the Prime Minister, his family
asked him to buy a car. The Fiat car he bought was for Rs 12,000. Since he had only Rs 7,000 in his bank
account, he applied for a bank loan of Rs 5,000 from the Punjab National Bank. The car is today kept at the
Shastri Memorial in New Delhi.
Reportedly, when Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away in 1966, he had no house on his name, nor any land in
his possession. He had only left behind a government loan which he had taken to buy a Fiat car after he
became prime minister. After his death the bank asked his wife, Lalita Shastri for the repayment of the loan,
which she repaid from the family pension.
Being a part of the freedom movement landed up him in jail quite often. When Shastri was completing his
term in prison, his wife received a pension of Rs 50 every month. Once, when his wife visited him in the jail
and told him that she was able to save Rs 10 from the pension, he got annoyed and asked the servants of
People’s Society to cut down his pension and give that Rs 10 to some needy family.
It is also said that when his son received an undue promotion at his job, it irked Shastri so much that he
immediately released an order to reverse the promotion.
A true leader believes in ‘Sheelam Param Bhushanam’ or Character is a true virtue. Shastri’s maiden
Independence Day speech in 1964 is as relevant today as it was then. Shastri ji observed:
“We can win respect in the world only if we are strong internally and can banish poverty and unemployment
from our country. Above all, we need national unity. I appeal to all to work for national unity and usher in a
social revolution to make our country strong. In the ultimate analysis, the strength of the country does not
lie in its material wealth alone. It requires the force of character and moral strength. I appeal to our young
men to inculcate discipline in themselves discipline and work for the unity and advancement of the nation.”
His stress on character and moral strength acquires special significance today, when we see all-round
degeneration of values in various fields. M Venkaiah Naidu, former Vice President of India wrote in The
Indian Express

“The present times require every Indian to emulate the simplicity, humility, humanism, austerity, hard work,
dedication, and nationalism displayed by the unassuming second prime minister of India. Following his
ideals would be a fitting tribute to him on his birth anniversary.”
11. Notes on some Committed Indian Public Servants

1. Vinod Rai
Rai's five-year tenure as CAG (2008-2013) saw reports on the 2010 Commonwealth Games and allocation of
licenses for 2G telecom spectrum and coal mining blocks have severely dented the UPA government's image
and provided ammunition to the opposition.
• Rai also saw to it that the CAG reports are prepared in a manner which can be understood by the common
man and are made available to the wider public through issue of "Noddy Books", brief compilations of
large reports.
• Rai also told his officials to focus on big-ticket expenditure where huge public money was involved and
encouraged them to improve their professional skills.
• He also saw that the CAG also works towards building a team to carry out specialised audits and possibly
enter the area of environmental auditing.
• He also took steps to improve access to the media to his office. He appointed a media advisor in 2010.
Rai's tenure as CAG has drawn parallels in public perception with that of TN Seshan as Chief Election
Commissioner in the 1990s for ensuring free and fair polls.
2. T. N. Seshan
He was a retired IAS officer, who held several public offices in the Government of India. He was the 10th
Chief Election Commissioner of India from December 12, 1990, to December 11, 1996.
• He is widely known for his commitment to electoral reforms and was largely successful in ending electoral
malpractices in India. He was also a cabinet secretary and a member of planning commission.
• He reviewed almost 40,000 cases of false returns and disqualified nearly 14,000 potential candidates. In
fact, to curtail his powers, parliament amended the constitution in 1993 and add two more election
commissioners.
• Voter awareness campaigns were started during his tenure.
• He enforced the authority of election commission during the time when people were starting to lose their
trust in it.
3. Narendra Kumar
IPS Narendra Kumar started his career in Bihar in 2009, and since then he had shown great courage and
commitment towards his work and then he joined office in Morena, Madhya Pradesh. He was famous for his
active work in trying to stop illegally mined stones and spent a large amount of time in fighting the mining
mafia.
In 2012, this brave officer was allegedly killed by the members of the same mining mafia at the young age of
30. When he saw a tractor carrying illegally mined stones, he tried to stop it, and when the driver did not slow
down, he stood in front of it to bring it to a halt. But the driver did not stop and ran over Kumar, crushing him
to death. His wife is an IAS officer in Gwalior.
4. Ajit Doval
Doval is already a known name and is famous for his commendable work and dedication during his tenure as
an IPS officer from the batch of 1968.
• He played an active role in insurgencies operations in Mizoram, Punjab and Kashmir. He managed to turn
militants and persuade them to assist Indian forces against the terrorists.
• Along with his exceptional work in these states, he has done a commendable job in the termination of all
hijackings of Indian Airlines aircraft from 1971-1999. He also stayed in Pakistan as an undercover agent
in a high-risk assignment.
• He later joined the intelligence bureau and is currently holding the position of National Security Advisor
to PM Narendra Modi.
5. Sanjukta Parashar, IPS (Assam)
Imagine all the macho police officers from Bollywood, Sanjukta Parashar is tenfold better than them. Because
when she is on field, there are no retakes. Bodo militants, known throughout the region for their barbaric
torture tactics are said to fear this officer. This mother of two frequently leads CRPF jawans through terrains
of Sonitpur district of Assam that are affected by insurgency and have even handled ethnic clashes. Not only
a cop, but she has also spent considerable time at relief camps.

6. Rajni Sekhri Sibal
Often you hear about stories of bureaucrats passively becoming a party to politicians’ loot for next election.
Here is a contrarian take. This woman IAS officer from Haryana cadre first said a firm “no” to any bribery
lure for changing the results of 3,200 Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers in 1999-2000. When her transfer
order came, she wrapped the steel almirah with the actual list of results lying inside, with four-metre-long
cloth and bandages, making it impossible for anyone to open the almirah and temper with the list. Insiders say
her small act of wrapping the almirah was in fact a big step towards spotting a huge scandal. Now, former
Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and 51 others are in Tihar jail facing
serious charges of corruption in what is now known as JBT Recruitment Scam.
7. Satyendra Dubey
Another name that stands out for commendable dedication and work ethics is Satyendra Dubey. An Indian
Engineering Services officer, he was Project Director in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in
Jharkhand where he was working on the Golden Quadrilateral Project. He showed extra ordinary courage in
exposing serious financial irregularities and exposed many corrupt practices in the industry. He also made
many contractors rebuild the poor-quality roads. He wrote a letter to then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee exposing
the corruption and financial irregularities in the project. When he wrote the letter, he suggested to keep his
identity hidden, as it had several big names involved, but his name was somehow revealed, and he had to pay
the price for that. After a few months, he was shot dead in Gaya, Bihar and the country lost yet another
competent and sincere bureaucrat.
8. Armstrong Pame
Not many know about this exceptional young IAS officer from Manipur. His passion and dedication towards
the betterment of the society was so strong that he built a 100 km long road in a remote hill of Manipur without
the government’s help. People came forward and supported him in large numbers and gave shape to the
“people’s road” which connects the hill to the rest of the state. He used his own savings and turned to social
networking sites to raise funds for the project and is fondly called “miracle man” by the villagers.
9. Shanmugam Manjunath
This brave officer worked as a sales manager for Indian Oil Corporation and worked actively to stop selling
of adulterated fuel. His courageous nature and honesty made him one of the most commendable officers the
country has seen. But he too paid the price for being an honest man, while he was on his way to exposing two
petrol pumps selling adulterated fuel in Lucknow. He ordered to seal them, and when they started working
again, he conducted a surprise raid. He was shot dead the same night and his body with six bullets was found
in his own car’s backseat. That was a day the entire country hung its head in shame and despair.
10. Harsh Mander
Many civil servants in India have shown the values of empathy, compassion and tolerance. One example is
Harsh Mander. He resigned from Indian administrative services after the Gujarat riots. Harsh Mander is an
Indian social activist and writer. He heads "Aman Biradari" which works for communal harmony.
Harsh Mander has worked formerly in the Indian Administrative Service in the predominantly tribal states
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for almost two decades, mainly as the head of district governments of tribal

districts. He is associated with social causes and movements, such for communal harmony, tribal, Dalit, and
disability rights, the right to information, custodial justice, homeless people and bonded labour. He writes and
speaks regularly on issues of social justice. He has written a collection of essays titled Unheard Voices: Stories
of Forgotten Lives (2001) and Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre (2009).
11. Shivdeep Waman Lande
This IPS officer of 2006 batch has been constantly in the news for all the good reasons. He has arrested many
criminals, worked towards women safety and took on the pharmaceutical mafia, and under his tenure, the
crime rate of Patna dropped drastically. He took strong action against eve teasers and has been very easily
accessible to the people.
It is said that he receives hundreds of messages every day and he make sure that each message is attended to.
He played an important role in eliminating illegal wine shops in his jurisdiction. When he was transferred to
Araria from Patna, many people turned to the streets and held candlelight protests against the government’s
decision. He donates 70 percent of his salary to social causes which include marriages of poor girls and
building hostels for poor students.
12. U. Sagayam
This civil servant from Tamil Nadu has been transferred around 20 times in the 20 years of his service. He is
famous for fighting against corruption wherever he goes. He was also the first IAS officer to make his assets
public. His extensive research on illegal granite-mining in Madurai led to charges against many known
politicians and businessmen. He also confiscated over 5,000 subsidized gas cylinders intended for domestic
use which were being illegally used by restaurants. He investigated and raised his voice against vote-buying.
When he was transferred from the post of Madurai Collector, many people came out and protested against the
government decision.
13. V. V. Lakshminarayana
Lakshminarayana is the quintessential common man who often takes the bus to work. He stayed humble but
worked on some of the most talked about cases and exposed many corrupt officers. He became the Joint
Director of Central Bureau of Investigation and handled over 19 high profile cases including the Satyam
scandal, Gali Janardhana Reddy’s illegal mining case of Obulapuram Mining Company, Y. S. Jaganmohan
Reddy’s disproportionate assets case and Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s fake encounter case. He is also known for
arresting Jagan Mohan Reddy and giving amazing, high impact speeches.
14. S.R. Sankaran
This former IAS officer was commonly known as “an ideal people’s IAS officer”. He played a crucial role in
creating pro-poor policies and was the man behind the abolition of bonded labour, the creation of the special
component plan for SCs & STs and the assigning of resources for marginalised communities in the rural
development programmes. He remained unmarried so that he could serve the society and also contributed to
the education of over 500 poor students. He died due to illness in 2010 but he will always be remembered as
a “people’s man”.
15. Ashok Khemka

Ashok Khemka is another IAS officer made famous due to their proactive approach to take upon corruption.
Originally from Kolkata, Mr Khemka is an IITian who joined the Haryana cadre as an IAS officer in 1991.
He is most popularly known for exposing the irregularities in the land deal worth Rs 57 crore between the real
estate giant DLF group and Sonia Gandhi’s son in law, Robert Vadra.
Prior to this, he had also unearthed a scam in Haryana Seed Development Corporation, where the corporation
was being sold seeds at inflated prices. As a reward for his good work, Mr Khemka has been awarded 53
transfers in his 28 years of service.
16. Aruna Sundararajan
Aruna Sundararajan Kerala cadre IAS officer was described by Forbes magazine as ‘an IAS officer who thinks
like a businesswoman’. As IT secretary she played a significant role in the development of e-governance in
Kerala. She also headed the Kudumbashree project, today which is a shining example of women’s
empowerment, creating sustainable employment prospects for working class women. She is now head of the
Universal Service Obligation Fund delegated with growing the telecom penetration in all parts of the country.
17. Sanjiv Chaturvedi
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, has been transferred 12 times between 2005 – 10,
in the aftermath of his campaign to expose the corruption in Haryana's forest department.
In 2009, as the Divisional Forest Officer of Jhajjar, Haryana, he blew the lid off a multi-crore plantation scam
where the funds from the state government and international agencies were being siphoned off for imaginary
plantations.
After taking charge as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS, Delhi, he filed around 200 cases of
corruption against doctors, pharmacies etc. resulting in his removal from the post by the government in 2014.
He was given the Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award (2009), for his work in Haryana and the S R Jindal
Prize in 2011 for "Crusade against Corruption" for his campaigns to expose corruption in high places.
18. P Narahari
At the age of 42 years, P Narahari has over 40 awards to his credit for making Indian infrastructure accessible
to the disabled and working on open defection-free initiatives. During his 10-year stint as a district collector
in various districts across Madhya Pradesh, he constructed and advocated for a barrier-free environment that
ensures that people with disabilities can move about safely and independently.
19. D Roopa
IPS Roopa D Moudgil is an officer of the 2000 batch, Karnataka Cadre. A UPSC topper with 43 all India
rank in UPSC Civil service examinations, between IAS and IPS, she chose to become an IPS officer since it
was her dream since NCC cadet days. She is the first Kannadiga woman to become an IPS officer in
Karnataka.
In 2017, Roopa showed courage by exposing that AIADMK (Amma) general secretary V K Sasikala was
enjoying VIP treatment in prison. She has been transferred 41 times in 17 years till 2017 and has faced many
privilege motions for naming politicians in FIRs.
20. Harsh Poddar

An Oxford graduate and a former lawyer who returned from the UK to join civil services, IPS officer Harssh
Poddar’s innovative policing strategies have won him widespread acclaim. For example, his unique Youth
Parliament Championship has created some 2,00,000 young leaders against crime and terror in 18 districts
of Maharashtra — an area that has a population equal to that of UK!
He is also credited with tackling illegal trades and communal friction in Malegaon, a town with a long
history of violent strife and bomb blasts. He has also streamlined the management of police stations, helping
them get ISO and ‘Smart Police’ certification. Furthermore, he has launched Udaan, a project that provides
free coaching and career counselling to hundreds of local students.
*****
***********************************xxxxx**********************************
Most popular books for Civil Services GS Paper-IV: Ethics Integrity & Aptitude
Both the books are available on Amazon and Flipkart.
• Pease check the cover and edition before buying as

many fake versions are also available on internet.
• You can also purchase them from different bookstalls
in Delhi and other major cities.
• If you are not able to find them, message me on my
Telegram channel: ‘Ethics by Atul Garg’. I’ll share a link
and also a number of retailers, who can courier the
book at your doorstep.

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Unit 1: Human Values – Lessons from the Lives and Teachings of

Great Leaders, Reformers and Administrators

1. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

However, Gandhi did not approve of 'Gandhism'. He

“There is no such thing as "Gandhism," and I do not

(2) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(3) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

"Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew".

(4) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Oceanic circle describes Gandhi’s vision of social organization.

“Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village

(5) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

“If untouchability is not wrong, then nothing in the world is wrong.”

(6) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Gandhi had much compassion for the Harijans. He said:

Seven Deadly Sins

(7) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(8) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Capital and Labour

(9) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(11) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(12) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(13) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(14) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Nehru policy of non-alignment was based on three considerations:

(16) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(17) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(18) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

4. Subhas Chandra Bose

(19) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(20) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Gandhi ji and Subhas Bose

(21) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Social and Political views

(22) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Relations with Mahatma Gandhi

(23) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(24) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Tagore and Humanism

Tagore and Society

(25) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Tagore and Theory of Rights

Tagore and Nationalism

(26) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Tagore and Education

(27) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(28) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

(29) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

9. Raja Ram Mohan Roy

(30) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Economic and Political Reforms

10. Dayananda Saraswati

(31) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

Ten Principles of Arya Samaj

11. Sri Aurobindo Ghose

(33) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

12. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

(34) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

13. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan