When Gandhi met Satoshi

A fictional encounter between two radically different revolutionaries… or maybe not so different after all. Scene: A quiet room beyond time, filled with gentle candlelight. Mahatma Gandhi sits cross-legged on a simple mat, spinning a symbolic charkha (spinning wheel). A soft whirring sound is heard — it’s Satoshi Nakamoto, hooded and calm, typing quietly on an open-source laptop. Gandhi (smiling gently): I see you’re building something... abstract. Not cloth this time, but code? Satoshi (nodding): Yes. It’s called Bitcoin. A currency without rulers. A decentralized network where no single man holds the power. Gandhi: Ah! Decentralization. You speak of Swaraj — self-rule. But tell me, does this tool free people, or enslave them in new greed? Satoshi: That depends on the user. I built it so that no central bank, no emperor of finance, can erode the common man's savings. Gandhi: Hmm. That is noble. But in my land, I spun khadi — not to gain wealth, but to empower the weaver. Can your coin clothe the poor, feed the farmer? Satoshi: Not directly. But it can return power to local communities — if used wisely. It can fund clean water, create transparency in charity, help refugees carry value without paper. Gandhi (thoughtfully): Technology must serve the last man. The poorest. If your invention becomes the toy of the rich... it has failed its Dharma. Satoshi (softly): I agree. That's why I vanished. Power corrupts. I wished to spark something, not to rule over it. Gandhi (smiling): Then we share a path, my friend. The world will judge our ideas — not by their cleverness, but by the compassion they inspire. [A pause.] The spinning wheel turns. The screen glows. Gandhi leans forward: You must promise me, Satoshi — build for the village, not just the venture capitalist. Satoshi (grinning faintly): Only if you promise to try a Raspberry Pi. [Fade out.] The revolution continues — in code, in conscience, and in khadi.

Apr 20, 2025 - 05:33

A fictional encounter between two radically different revolutionaries… or maybe not so different after all.

Scene:

A quiet room beyond time, filled with gentle candlelight. Mahatma Gandhi sits cross-legged on a simple mat, spinning a symbolic charkha (spinning wheel). A soft whirring sound is heard — it’s Satoshi Nakamoto, hooded and calm, typing quietly on an open-source laptop.

Gandhi (smiling gently):

I see you’re building something... abstract. Not cloth this time, but code?

Satoshi (nodding):

Yes. It’s called Bitcoin. A currency without rulers. A decentralized network where no single man holds the power.

Gandhi:

Ah! Decentralization. You speak of Swaraj — self-rule. But tell me, does this tool free people, or enslave them in new greed?

Satoshi:

That depends on the user. I built it so that no central bank, no emperor of finance, can erode the common man's savings.

Gandhi:

Hmm. That is noble. But in my land, I spun khadi — not to gain wealth, but to empower the weaver. Can your coin clothe the poor, feed the farmer?

Satoshi:

Not directly. But it can return power to local communities — if used wisely. It can fund clean water, create transparency in charity, help refugees carry value without paper.

Gandhi (thoughtfully):

Technology must serve the last man. The poorest. If your invention becomes the toy of the rich... it has failed its Dharma.

Satoshi (softly):

I agree. That's why I vanished. Power corrupts. I wished to spark something, not to rule over it.

Gandhi (smiling):

Then we share a path, my friend. The world will judge our ideas — not by their cleverness, but by the compassion they inspire.

[A pause.]

The spinning wheel turns. The screen glows.

Gandhi leans forward:

You must promise me, Satoshi — build for the village, not just the venture capitalist.

Satoshi (grinning faintly):

Only if you promise to try a Raspberry Pi.

[Fade out.]

The revolution continues — in code, in conscience, and in khadi.