Years ago, when there was a bomb blast or an accident and when people died, everyone used to mourn, feel sad and discuss about it for weeks. But now, we just seem to forget such incidents in a day. I accept that my fellow beings, the young generation of today, are intelligent, capable and very fast. Unfortunately, the also seem to ignore our history, cultural, social and moral values. Slowly, the younger generation seems to become slaves of the highly materialistic influences from the west. The younger generation should be free-spirited, individualistic and be original in their thinking. Being Patriotic and being knowledgeable about our freedom struggle is very important. How many youths have read Gandhiji's "My experiments with Truth"? Gandhiji didn't preach. He followed what he believed. He was very active, courageous, self-dependent, loving, tolerant and honest to himself and all.

The young generation, particularly the children, need to know about Gandhiji life, his principles, thoughts and ideas. Especially his courageous nature and fight against injustice. Gandhiji's first imprisonment against injustice was in 1908. It was not in India but in South Africa for organizing 'Satyagraha' against Compulsory registration of Asiatics Act (The Black Act). He was sentenced to two months of imprisonment in Johannesburg for this. In his lifetime, Gandhiji has spent 2,336 days in jail. His selflessness and sacrifice must be taught to the children. Not through the text books alone, but in practice by their elders and peers. The youth need to know the great many struggles and sacrifices in our freedom movement. In our text books, we study only about the leaders. There were thousands of ordinary and unknown people who sacrificed their lives for us to live in dignity and breath free.

The younger generation must know this. It is the need of the hour. Parents must pull them off from WWF and video games! The children are becoming inactive and corrupted. They are also under stress. This could be dangerous. Parents and teachers must find innovative ways to teach the children about applying Gandhian principles of non-violence, tolerance in life situations and simple way of living.

His priciples are applicable not only for the youth of our country but also for the youth of the world. Without Global peace, the world would head towards the Third World War. The 9/11 incident in USA and the 7/11 incident in India are gruesome cruel acts of lack of faith, lack of love and lack of humanity and tolerance. We need to change and change immediately. September 11 reminds me of another incident. While Gandhiji died on January 30, 1940, Jinnah died the same year on September 11!

Excerpts from my above article was also published in Indian Express, Coimbatore edition on October 2nd 2006.