The North Star of Sustainable Transformation

The North Star of Sustainable Transformation -Uday Dandavate

Dr. G.G. Parikh, is know as GG amongst his colleagues. To me he has always

been GG Kaka. To many of my friends who grew up in the socialist fraternity,

there are many homes that we consider our own and many uncles and aunts who

we remember as much for the affection we receive from them as for the

ideological journey our parents shared with them. Even today G.G. Kaka remains

a Go-to Kaka, when I miss my parents.

Dr. G. G. Parikh, a Freedom Fighter, Gandhian, and a Medical Practitioner from

India. Dr. GG Parikh is widely known for his contribution to rural development,

and as a founder of one of Indias foremost NGOs Yusuf Meherally Centre.

Dr. GG Parikhs ideological orientation and commitment to rural development is

grounded in Gandhis ideas.To understand the relevance of Dr. G.G. Parikhs

contribution it is important to recognize the relevance of Mahatma Gandhis vision

of free India. Though Gandhi gained an academic degree in law from the

University College of London and practiced in Durban, South Africa, his political

ideology and ideas for an India free of British rule were grounded in empathy for

the underprivileged in India. While, his impulse to fight injustice was triggered in

South Africa, his visionary approach to building tools of a participatory democracy

was shaped during his yearlong travels around the country, at the behest of his

mentor, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. This yearlong probationary period transformed

Barrister Gandhi into a sensitive and creative human being whose intellectual

capacities had expanded such that he could envision a future for humanity and

for India through appropriate use of natural and human resources. Mahatma

Gandhi recognized the oppressive social systems in India as a barrier to

progress and envisioned a path to unleashing Indias potential through a

combination of struggles (against social injustice) and constructive work (for

building a participatory democracy). At the heart of his ideas were two key

principles- He believed that India could prosper only by inculcating egalitarian

values in her people, and by pursuing sustainable Innovations that are respectful

of the need to preserve ecological balance. Dr. G.G. Parikh embraced Gandhis

values and vision as his lifes mission and embarked on a journey of service,

struggles and rural reconstruction that is today recognized as one of the

successful grass root level rural development projects in India.

Dr. G.G. Parikh joined the socialist movement in the year 1942. The Socialists

were committed to establish an indigenous development model that was inspired

by Gandhis vision of a participatory democracy. If Gandhis life were not short-

circuited by the bullet fired by Nathuram Godse, the gap between the top-down

elitist approaches of the Congress party and slow yet sustainable approach to

development prescribed by Gandhi would have grown. After attaining

independence the Congress party got busy cashing the goodwill generated by

the freedom struggle for electoral gains. On the other hand, the Socialists led by

Jayprakash Narayan, Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia, Yusuf Meherally,

Achyutrao Patwardhanm Basavan Singh and others charted their own path due

to growing ideological differences with the Congress party. Mahatma Gandhis

vision was closer to the path of building an egalitarian society chosen by the

socialists than to the path of rapid modernization adopted by Nehru. Dr. G.G.

Parikhs relentless and uncompromising pursuit of Gandhian values today makes

him a North Start of Gandhian vision of rural development.

Dr. G.G. Parikh founded the Yusuf Meherally Centre 64 kms South of Mumbai,

which completed 50 years in 2011. With its principal rural base in Tara, it has a

hospital, school, dairy, several village industries, organic farming activities and

sustainable livelihood projects. It is an important rural development hub in Raigad

district. The Centre also has a presence in over 8 States in India including in

Orissa and J&K. The Yusuf Meherally Center is popularly known as TARA (a

star) which continues to inspire inspiring many others to volunteer and start their

own rural development projects in their communities.

His initiation into polities began through student movement while in school. He

became a student leader during his college days. He was detained in 1942 for his

participation in the Quit India Movement and incarcerated for over 10 months in

Worli Temporary Prison and one month in Thane district Jail and was beaten up

severely during that period. GGs approach to rural development is distinctly

different from most other NGOs in India. Unlike other NGOs he did not insulate

himself from politics. He was not shy of confronting the oppressive social system.

He participated in every anti-corruption movement in India.

GG was was also influenced by other Socialist leaders like Acharya Narendra

Deva, Achyut Patwardhan, Yusuf Meherally, Jayaprakash Narayan, and Asoka

Mehta. He joined the Congress Socialist Party (then a political party within the

Indian National Congress) in 1946 as a cadet member. He got actively involved

in the Trade Union and Cooperative movements and at independence he was

President of the Bombay unit of the Students Congress.

Though a staunch votary of non-violence, GG understood the value of symbolic

violence both during the freedom struggle and the dark days of emergency.

During freedom struggle GG shared socialists special admiration for Subhash

Babus brave attempts to destabilize the British government through force.

During emergency GG was tried in the Baroda Dynamite case along with George

Fernandes, Viren Shah, CGK Reddy and others. The group had planned a

series of bomb blasts in different parts of the country to destabilize the

authoritarian regime of Indira Gandhi. The plot was uncovered and GG spent

around 20 months in jail along with 24 other colleagues. He was initially lodged at

Yeravda Prison in Pune and then subsequently at the Tihar Central Jail in New

Delhi. He was released after Mrs Gandhi declared elections in March 1977.

GG was one of the leaders of the Socialist Party, first at the city level, and then a

part of the National Executive. He remained with the Praja Socialist stream of the

Socialist movement along with Ashoka Mehta, Nanasaheb Goray and Madhu

Dandavate, when Rammanohar Lohia and Madhu Limaye left the party in 1955,

and also when Asoka Mehta split the PSP to join the Congress in 1964.

His wife, Mangala Parikh, Mangala Masi to me, was also incarcerated for over 18

months with my mother under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) and

was detained at Yeravda and Dhule prisons. Their 19 year old daughter, Sonal,

too offered Satyagraha to protest the Emergency and was kept as an under trial

for four weeks in Arthur Road jail in Bombay.

I hold a distinct impression of the towering figure of GG kaka since my childhood.

Through years of association I have come to recognize him as a resolute idealist

who is undeterred by politics of convenience. I have never seen him perturbed

when close comrades from the socialist movement deserted the mother ship

periodically. GG Kakas towering persona reminds me of Pashtun Leader Khan

Abdul Gaffar Khan. I did have the opportunity once to meet Gandhijis close

colleague Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan when he visited Mumbai. As I

stood in front of the tall figure of Gaffar Khan, a surge of excitement and a feeling

of reverence for a man who never left Mahatma Gandhis side overcame me.

Every time I remember that moment, the only other image that overlaps with the

memory of Gaffar Khan is that of Dr. G.G. Parikh. They share similar stature,

aura and demeanor. They both made a lifelong commitment to Gandhian

idealism.

While the image of Gaffar Khan remain unaltered in my memory as a reminder of

the legacy of Gandhian values, GG Kakas image has continued to evolve as I

sought his advice from time to time on various issues.

G.G. Kaka, Mangala Masi and Sonal lived in the same building, Ganesh Prasad,

as my maternal grandparents. That made going to their home a family ritual and

a habit. An incident from my childhood remains a distinct reminder of the bond

shared between my father and G.G. Kaka. When I was 7 years old, my mother

left for the U.K. to study for a year. During that period I lived with my grand

parents in Ganesh Prasad. My father continued to live in our home in Dadar. He

visited me often when ever his busy schedule permitted. One day I was playing

alone in the corridor outside the main door of my grand parents apartment.

Suddenly, I saw my father rushing down the staircase at the end of the long

corridor. I screamed my lungs out, Nana. Obviously he was visiting G.G. Kaka

for party work and was rushing down the stairs, hoping that he would be able to

escape my roving eyes, since he did not have the time to visit me before his next

engagement. Unfortunately, he was busted. To his credit, he heard my cry,

turned around, and took me with him to the PSP office in Bhai Jivanji Lane in

Thakurdvar for a party meeting. On the way he explained to me that he always

likes to meet me, just that he had a very important meeting with GG Kaka and did

not have enough time to spend with me before rushing for the next meeting. I did

not hold grudge against him. Rather, I was happy that he took me with him. In

fact, I have developed long term friendships with the children of many of my

parents colleagues just by hanging out together while our parents were engaged

in Party activities. These experiences of growing up together have indeed

cultivated a deep sense of shared values in us.

During emergency, I was studying at the National Institute of Design in

Ahmedabad. I left for Ahmedabad the day emergency was declared on June 25,

1975, and my father was arrested in Bangalore. G.G. Kaka and Mangala Masi

opened their family home in Ahmedabad for me. The Parikh family in

Ahmedabad became one of my local guardians. Additionally, he also introduced

me to Dr. Ashok Mehta (not the national leader), an Ahmedabad based socialist

who became my primary local guardian.

After the passing of my mother, G.G. Kaka and Mangala masi extended their

home to my father many times in his years of loneliness until his death. They not

only hosted him in their house, but made sure all his medical needs were

attended to regularly, since my father was ailing with cancer. An entire team of

socialists took turns being by my fathers side, 24/7, during his last days at the

Jaslok Hospital. G.G. Kaka and his entire family stood by me in my loss and

shared our grief. He was not just a close colleague to my father in the political

struggles but shared the joys and sorrows, failures and successes of life all the

way until Nanas last moments.

My visits to G.G. Kaka and Mangala Masi continued after the passing of my

parents. Even with her fading memory, Mangala Masi never failed to recognize

me and always offered Sitafal Ice cream at every visit. This ritual continues even

after Mangala masis departure. Isha and Rohini have also experienced GG

Kakas generous hospitality. During one of their visits to Mumbai, Isha took very

ill and again it was GG Kaka and Mangala masi, who took time out of their busy

schedules to host all three of them and take care of Isha. G G Kaka and Mangala

masi have been our pillars of support.

There have been many moments when I have felt confused or lost and unable to

form a point of view on political situations. During such moments, GG Kaka fills in

the place of my parents. I reach out to him for advice because he is amongst a

few of my parents colleagues who share their convictions and have a flexible

and progressive (as opposed to dogmatic) view of the future. He is always eager

to keep himself in tune with the thinking and aspirations of the youth. At 90 his

energy is inspiring. He continues to travel around the country despite a chronic

abscess in his thigh, developed from a wound in a train accident from ten years

ago. He is relentless in is mission to inspire the youth to participate in building a

secular, egalitarian and ecologically responsible civic society.

Dr. G.G Parikh serves as a bridge between the past and the future- between

Indias ongoing struggle against injustice and slavery and younger generations

aspirations for a progressive society of responsible citizens. His zeal to connect

with the youth and curiosity for new ideas allows him to serve as a catalyst of

change that Gandhi envisioned. Dr. G.G. Parikh is the North Star of Sustainable

Transformation.