Gandhian In Australia
 
The Gandhian sarvodaya worker Dr. K. Arunachalam visited Australia and New
Zealand for three months from August to November 1990.  The purpose of his
visit was to investigate the nature and extent of the Gandhian legacy and
nonviolent struggle in this part of the world.
 
Originally invited by the Gandhian Movement of Australia, while he was here
Arunachalam visited nonviolent activists, yogis, natural healers and Indian
friends in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Wollongong, Auckland and
Wellington.  At each of these places he held talks with local people and gave
lectures to organised groups.  He also gave several media interviews.
 
Arunachalam, who has recently retired as Chair of the All-India Gandhi Smarak
Nidhi (Gandhi Memorial Trust), was the first senior Gandhian to visit
Australia since Jayaprakash Narayan came here in the 1970s.
 
As a prominent sarvodaya worker, Arunachalam is active at village, city, state
and national level in India.
 
Born in the South Indian village of Chinna Ovalapuram, he still spends one
week each month organising constructive work in this village of 4000 people. 
In order to improve the degree of village self-reliance, he financed the
building of accommodation to house thirty spinning machines from his own
limited personal resources.  Under the guidance of one of his relatives,
village women come to the house and use the machines to spin yarn; the product
is given to local weavers for conversion into cloth.  His aim is to acquire
five weaving machines so that the village can approach self-sufficiency in
cloth making.  Each morning and evening, the women are involved in prayer and
discussions.
 
He is also endeavouring to acquire pumping equipment for a farm orchard in
order to provide more nutritious food for the village.  This food will be
shared or bartered, but not sold.
 
Arunachalam spends another week each month in Madurai which is the state
headquarters of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi (GSN) of Tamil Nadu.  The state Nidhi
has more than forty administrative workers in Tamil Nadu and supports many
industries including soap making and Neem seed collection.
 
Arunachalam is Emeritus Professor at Madurai Kamaraj University where he still
teaches Gandhian studies to postgraduate students.  As a practising Yogi and
natural healer, he is also active in the Nature Cure Association and its Yoga
School.  These use a 'labour bank' relying on volunteer workers who donate
their labour.
 
For another week each month, Arunachalam travels throughout Tamil Nadu
visiting people, teaching, healing and consulting with the editor of Sarvodaya
magazine.
 
The rest of his time is spent travelling around India visiting sarvodaya
workers, attending Sarvodaya Sammelans (conventions) and occasionally meetings
of the Sarva Seva Sangh. Until his recent retirement as Chair of the All-India
GSN, he spent regular periods in New Delhi undertaking duties at the Nidhi
headquarters.
 
Arunachalam is well known to other prominent satyagrahis in India including
Sunderlal Bahaguna (the well-known Chipko activist currently working to halt
the Tehri Dam), Chandi Prasad Bhatt (the prominent Chipko leader and organiser
of the largest reforestation program in India), Radha Bhatt (Chair of the
Himalaya Sarva Sangh) and Narayan Desai (of the Institute for Total Revolution
and formerly secretary of the Shanti Sena).
 
While in Australia and New Zealand, Arunachalam made a deep impression. People
he met were touched by his integrity and humility. He was always willing to
share his profound knowledge of Gandhian thought and nonviolent revolution in
India.  More personally, he was willing to share stories of Gandhi (with whom
he worked for twenty years) and about his own rich and meaningful life as a
satyagrahi.
 
Despite what he had to offer, he came primarily to learn.  His major task was
to investigate the nature of nonviolent struggle in Australia and New Zealand.
For that reason, he was keen to meet activists and scholars with an interest
in nonviolent revolution.  He also relished the opportunity to 'offer
resistance' himself and was an enthusiastic picketer at the 'Save the
Rainforests' picket at Victoria Dock in Melbourne.  He also talked to sacked
chemical workers on the Hoechst picket line in Melbourne.

 Arunachalam was a keen student of sarvodaya work - small-scale activity
designed to promote local self-reliance - and collected notes and information
about such activity to take back to India.  One highlight of his trip was a
visit to a family organic farm.
 
On a personal note, it was evident to me that throughout his trip the one
thing he enjoyed more than anything else was his contact with children.  He
continually sought their company and delighted in the chance to play games
with them.  From what I saw, children were quick to respond to his warmth and
good humour.
 
Nonviolent activists in Australia and New Zealand look forward to their next
meeting with this humble man.  Namaste Arunachalam.

Robert J. Burrowes