For people to serve the country it is important that they know its history, culture and nationalism, columnist and writer S. Gurumuthy has said.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Deshabaktha’, a movement aimed at serving the country, in Coimbatore on Sunday, he said that without knowing the country in full or having misconceptions about it would come in the way of serving the country, where nationalism (desiyam) and spirituality (deivam) meant the same.
It was not he who was saying so. Gandhiji too had said the same in Hind Swaraj , which he wrote in question and answer format in 1909. He had said that the country was united through spirituality when a few people tried to claim that India was never a nation and that only the British had united it through railway and postal services.
India was perhaps the only country that did not believe in territorial nationalism – warring with another country to expand its area or establish empire. The country was one though it was ruled by several kings. It was not just a landmass but a living force as seen by Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Gandhiji.
It was this understanding that would help the Deshabaktha volunteers serve the country in the right perspective. And such an understanding was necessary also because without the same a group of people was committed to denigrating the country and spreading wrong ideas.
Mr. Gurumurthy also quoted statistics and research to drive home the point how India was an economic super power until the colonial power set foot here and how its prowess was being acknowledged only now.
Maruthachala Adigalar of Perur Adheenam said the time was ripe for such a movement as people needed to be told about India’s greatness and drawn towards serving the society.
T.S. Mohan Sankar, vice president, Deshabaktha, said that the objective was to draw patriots without discrimination to serve the society. In the coming weeks, the organisation would start addressing school students, who were tomorrow’s citizens.
