In September 1961, English philosopher and Nobel Laureate Bertrand Russell received a seven-day imprisonment in London for “refusing to keep the peace.” The 89-year-old philosopher was then leading a British campaign against nuclear arms.
Several thousand miles away, in Bengaluru, two friends — E.P. Menon and Satish Kumar — were upset by this development. Over coffee, they discussed how to persuade governments to ban nuclear weapons and prioritise peace instead. The conversation resulted in a crazy idea. “Let’s walk from Delhi to Washington, stopping at Paris, London, and Moscow.” To get the world’s leaders to listen to them, this craziness was required.
Menon and Kumar set off for their pilgrimage of peace on June 1, 1962, from Rajghat, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.
Six decades since that incredible journey, Menon, who was at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath last week to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of artist and peace activist Paul Robeson, recollected the most memorable moment from it. “When we went to Moscow, the Soviet Union head, [Nikita] Khrushchev, was happy. He promised to enter the nuclear disarmament agreement with American President John F. Kennedy. He said, ‘I am ready. Please go and get Kennedy.’ That was a total commitment from the Russian government. We were happy about that. When we reached New York, Kennedy was not there. He was shot dead.”
“It was a walk from Gandhi’s grave to Kennedy’s,” his friend, Kumar, would later recount in his book, Pilgrimage For Peace.
Problems of today
A lot has changed since Menon’s eventful international tour. The danger of a nuclear apocalypse might not seem as imminent as it did during the Cold War years. The world, he said, is, however, spending a lot of its resources on defence: to make guns, airplanes, and military weapons.
“Some time ago, I saw a news article about a schoolboy carrying a gun in his backpack. This gun culture is a problem in America. President [Joe] Biden is trying to stop it. Will he be allowed to stop it? It is a problem for America and the rest of the world.”
Inequality is another global issue that concerns Menon. He mentions a 2018 Oxfam report that said 82% of the wealth generated in 2017 went to the richest 1% of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth. “This equation must change.”
Concerning India, he is concerned about the rising hatred and religious intolerance.
“Religion, to me, is a personal matter. You shouldn’t use it in social relations and fight each other. Religion and politics should never cooperate. That’s where hatred begins.”
Menon also criticised sidelining the Indian President Droupadi Murmu during the inauguration of the new parliament building in May.
“If we cannot respect each other let alone the democratically elected President, there’s something wrong. And, it is the Parliament of India; not one’s private house. What does it mean if democratic institutions cannot respect the first citizen of the country?”
Hopeful about future
Menon is hopeful of present-day youngsters. “They are well aware, awakened, and prepared to put their backs into building a better future,” he said. “They should be more responsible in their approach. They should study and understand their history and think critically about the future. By acquiring deeper knowledge and awareness, they can make informed decisions and work towards creating a more equitable and prosperous society.”
He shares an anecdote to illustrate that amidst social, political, and geographical divisions, we can all be what he calls “world citizens.”
“Three years ago, when I went to China, a cab driver there told me how India and China are two ancient civilisations that can work together for the betterment of human civilisation. He put a red overcoat on me as a mark of his affection. When I returned it to him, he refused. I still have his gift.”
