that is one way of preserving his legacy and of using his legacy for something good. Preserving is not important. Secondly, human beings have to figure out what their goal in life is. If their goal in life is more pleasure, more money, that, A, does not satisfy in the long run, B, it leads to more clash and conflict, leads to disappointment, leads to heartbreak. Gandhi’s feeling was that the goal of human life has to be much more than finding pleasure, happiness or making money. Am I useful in solving the problems of the weak people? Am I useful in solving the problems of the people in need? Or it could be about the environment. Can I assist at the damage of our Earth? So, I think if we can use Gandhi’s legacy also to give all of us, and particularly young people, something much bigger to live for, something much bigger to work for, than just some personal excitement, pleasure... Is non-violence an instrument for a weak person? Well, non-violence will help the weak but it is a weapon for the strong, of course. Strong people have to use it. It is not because we can’t use violence. Yes we can! But still we choose to use non-violence. That is the real strength. It is a matter of moral reflection choice, conscious choice. That’s a good point. Some of the European Union political leaders have declared that multiculturalism has failed. You have the daily privilege to create multicultural communities and to watch them thrive. According to your recent experiences do you think that we are really facing a failure of multiculturalism, or is it just an excuse of the politicians for incapacity to manage the violence? That’s a great question. Now, I don’t know European countries so well, but I know India to some extent. I also know the United States, because I teach there. Europe, I don’t know so intimately. So my comments will not therefore be so relevant. But, anyway, I will try to answer. I think multiculturalism is something that is coming to the world. It can’t be stopped. There is no way in which it can be stopped. The challenge is how to manage it. And this is not just a matter for Europe, United States, Japan, China, or India. People are moving at a great speed, living in new places, marrying people of different cultures. I don’t think that this can be stopped. We want ideas. Now, with the social network, people are in touch with one another. So it is not possible to prevent multiculturalism. What is needed is to see if we can help that it grows without too much clash, too much conflict. Yes, politicians will take advantage of it and yes, it is true that change is not something we all immediately love. Our world changes as each year it’s different. Our city changes, our neighborhood changes. The old store is no longer there, or somebody else of a different color is managing it. Human beings get habituated to certain things, they get accustomed to something. If something new happens, people become cautious or sometimes afraid and then some politicians play on fear. But we can assist one another to see how a new kind of demographic situation, how we can make it more for people to see the advantages of it, to make sure that it’s not too much of a shock. It’s also important that both sides cooperate. I think it’s very important, that, say, newcomers or migrants also appreciate that the local people need time before they can adjust. They’re not bad people, but they – just as we – will find any change unsettling. So, the migrants, the newcomers must see that local people also find change unsettling and they must play their part in making the change as friction free and as happy as possible.
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Sfera Politicii nr. 10 (164) / 2011