Gandhi: It is a question of principle. I am not immortal. I have
to die one day. If my blood is going to cool down their anger, if it is going
to stop riots and arson, if it is going to satisfy them that they have
penalized a criminal named Mohandas Gandhi. Then, I am prepared to give them my
blood.
Gandhi: I don't differentiate between Ram and Rahim or Krishna or Karim. I am not overwhelmed about the fact that I am a Hindu and I don't repent because I was not born a Muslim. I am I. And I am honest to my principles and to the truth. DCP Arjundas, You want me to discontinue the prayers for a few days... but I say, even today, if the killer is waiting outside for me. I am prepared to welcome him with folded hands. He can kill Gandhi, not Gandhism.
These words are taken from Pradeep Dalvi's controversial play
"Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy". Even in a play justifying execution of
Gandhi, he is portrayed as fearless and rigid to his principle as we can ever
imagine him to be. The play is based on the published letters, articles and
court statements by Nathuram Godse as well as eye witnesses and close aides of
Mahatma Gandhi.
Couple of days ago, I visited Sabarmati Ashram with a friend and
read a quote by Albert Einstein “Generations to come, it may well be, will
scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon
this Earth.” I couldn't agree more. It is unthinkable today that a man so
fearless, so unyielding and so blatant could've lived outside the world of
fiction. Yet, history tells us that he did exist and his story is greater than
any legend we can think of.
Today is the 65th death anniversary of M.K. Gandhi. On
30th January 1948, Nathuram Godse executed Mahatma Gandhi while he
was going for his evening prayers. Merely 6 months after realizing his lifelong
purpose of securing independence for India, M.K. Gandhi was shot down near
Birla Bhavan, Delhi. In the past six and a half decade, Gandhi has been the inspiration
for thousands of political and social leaders as well as a target for hundreds
of controversies. With the passing of each decade, new stories unfurl and we
witness Gandhian philosophy and life through different standpoint. Even today
Gandhi inspires, motivates and commands the heart of millions of Indians. Be it
the politics of ruling family of congress or anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare
or a simple demonstration by suppressed citizens, Gandhi is the prime source of
motivation and solace.
He always said that “My life is my message”.
Let us look at the message of a Mahatma, journey of the Father of the
Nation and the life of Mr. M.K. Gandhi from viewpoint of a modern citizen of
India.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat in 1969.
As far as I know, it is because of this fact that Gujarat observes prohibition
of alcohol which is idiotically ironic because Gandhi fought for Indian independence
and Gujarat as a state did not existed until 1960, more than 12 years after his
death. Being a non-alcoholic I revere this law however it is major injustice
for the population at large. Moreover, it is in stark contrast with Gandhi’s
fundamental ideal of equality to all. So in the name of Gandhi, I urge that
either we remove prohibition from Gujarat or impose the same in remaining 28
states.
I am sure hundreds, if not more, supporters will applaud my statement
above. This is one of the examples of silliness propagated in the name of
Gandhi today. Well, moving on…
M.K. Gandhi had an ordinary upbringing and mediocre educational
career. In his autobiography, ‘Satya Na Prayogo’, he says that he was greatly
influenced by the stories of ‘Shravana’ and ‘Harishchandra’. Married to
Kasturba in 1883, at the age of 13, Gandhi had four sons. In 1988, he travelled
to London to study law at University College London. During his stay at London
he abstained from alcohol, meat and promiscuity as promised to his mother. In
1891 Gandhi returned to India however his practice as a lawyer failed miserably
due to his shyness to speak up in court. Subsequent to this he returned to Rajkot to make modest living drafting petitions which failed again due to some scuffle with a British officer. At the age of 24, in
1893, Gandhi accepted a year-long contract in South Africa. Till this point in
his life, Gandhi was as ordinary as anybody else with no sign of greatness or
even excellence or bravado in his endeavours. Everything was about to change in South
Africa.
Indians in South Africa were led by wealthy Muslims who employed
Gandhi as a lawyer. It may be so that this was the reason he developed an ardent
affection for Muslims which was apparent in the later part of his politics and
life. In South Africa, Gandhi faced the discrimination directed at all coloured people. These experiences were a turning point in Gandhi's life and
shaped his social activism and awakened him to social injustice. Gandhi extended his
original stay to assist Indians in opposing a bill denying them the right to
vote.
He helped found the ‘Natal Indian Congress’ in 1894. Through this organization he united Indian community of South Africa into unified political force. In 1906, British declared war against the kingdom of Natal and Gandhi urged that Indians should be recruited for the same. A crew of 20, led by Gandhi, served for 2 months as a stretcher-bearer. This experience made him believe that it was foolish to directly challenge the military power of British army. Later the same year, while protesting a new Act compelling registration of Indian population, Gandhi adopted ‘Satyagraha’ as a weapon for the first time. After the black majority came to power in South Africa, Gandhi was proclaimed a national hero with numerous monuments.
In 1915 when he arrived permanently to India, Gandhi was preceded by his reputation as a leading Indian nationalist and organizer. He joined Indian National Congress and was inducted to Indian issues by ‘Gopal Krishna Gokhale’. His first achievement came in 1918 with Champaran and Kheda agitations. Using non-violent protest he achieved major successes and starting attracting and organizing fresh volunteers. It was here when he was joined by another legendary Indian leader to be, ‘Vallabhbhai Patel’. Gandhi held firm to his belief that all violence is evil till this point in his life. He even admonished the retaliation of Indians after 'Jalianwala Bagh' Massacre in April 1919. He commenced the most significant phase of Indian struggle for Independence through ‘Non-Cooperation Movement’. This movement, started in September 1920, achieved its apex in February 1922 when it was withdrawn abruptly by Gandhi as a result of violent clash in ‘Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh’. In the following years, Gandhi played a crucial role in each aspect of Indian politics starting from the Indian role in world war-I and world war-II, Khilafat Movement, Dandi-Salt March, Quit India movement, Partition and Independence.
As a rule, Gandhi was opposed to the concept of partition as it contradicted his vision of religious unity. When Jinnah called for Direct Action, on 16 August 1946, Gandhi was infuriated and personally visited the most riot-prone areas to stop the massacres. He made strong efforts to unite the Indian Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and struggled for the emancipation of the "untouchables" in Hindu society. On 14 and 15 August 1947 the Indian Independence Act was invoked and a united country was broken into two parts as India and Pakistan. During 1946 to 1948 India suffered through major religious riots and millions were affected by the same. Gandhi observed fasts to compel Indian government and Hindus in giving concessions to the Pakistani Muslims. This was the major cause that gave rise to anti-Gandhi activities and resultant execution of Mahatma.
It is widely rumoured that M.K. Gandhi insisted that Indian National Congress must be dissolved after independence to eliminate prevailing bureaucracy and power politics. Incidentally he is proven spot on by the activities of ruling congress party today. Barring a few exceptions, congress has ruled India since independence and the Nehru family has kept reins of power in their hand. It may be a coincidence or an act of fate or a well executed conspiracy but Nehru lineage has acquired the surname of Gandhi and continues to benefit from the devotion Mahatma Gandhi’s name drives even today. It is a matter of serious debate whether Nehru’s descendants could ever have ruled if not for Indira marrying to ‘Gandhi’ name.
These are not the only controversies that surround this historical figure. Gandhi, who devotedly spread his message of non-violence, urged Indians to take up arms in support of British army during World War-I. At the same time, he refrained from taking any active part himself under the pretence of his vow of non-violence.
Gandhi’s motivations behind his active role in the Khilafat Movement are equally ambiguous. The Khilafat Movement was aimed at restoring the Sultan of Turkey back to power; it had nothing apparent to do with Indian independence. Gandhi not only supported but became a prominent spokesman. This involvement curtained earned him major fellowship from Muslims in India and Gandhi emerged as the first leader with multicultural base. This facilitated his rise to power within congress as Gandhi became major leader in congress in 1920. It may or may not be a coincidence that Hindu-Muslim riots became frequent after the Khilafat Movement.
Many theorists consider Gandhi as the conceiver of ‘Power Politics’ in congress. Be it the support towards Muslims or the issue of ‘Untouchables’, Gandhi kept creating sub-parts of the large Indian population and in turn attained major popularity. One of most disturbing blemish on Gandhi has been his role or inactivity in saving Bhagat Singh and his friends. Conspiracy theorists believe that in spite of a substantial clout with the British government, Gandhi and congress deliberately failed in preventing the execution of these young revolutionaries. Some believe the reason behind it was Gandhi’s desire to be known as the sole hero for Indian independence.
In the words of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar “Gandhi has never called the Muslims to account even when they have been guilty of gross crimes against Hindus. It is a notorious fact that many prominent Hindus who had offended the religious susceptibilities of the Muslims either by their writings or by their part in the Shudhi Movement have been murdered by some fanatic Musalmans. The leading Muslims never condemned these criminals. On the contrary, they were hailed as religious martyrs.... This attitude of the Muslims is understandable. What is not understandable is the attitude of Mr Gandhi.”
Gandhi had also refused to support the untouchables in 1924–25 when they were campaigning for the right to pray in temples. However, after 1932, popularity of congress declined among Hindus. This is when Gandhi took up the issue of ‘Untouchables’ and started a major campaign named ‘Harijan Movement’. This new campaign was not universally embraced within the Dalit community. Because of Gandhi's actions, Ambedkar described him as "devious and untrustworthy". In the summer of 1934, three attempts were made on Gandhi's life.
Gandhi resigned from congress party in 1934 believing that will increase his popularity with Indians. He returned to active politics in 1936 under Nehru leadership. Gandhi had a clash with “Subhas Chandra Bose” who was elected as president of congress in 1938 as Bose expressed his lack of faith in non-violence as a means of protest. Bose was elected president of congress for the second time despite Gandhi’s opposition; however he was forced to leave congress as all-India leaders resigned under Gandhian influence.
Gandhi’s bias towards Jawaharlal Nehru is equally well known historical fact. It was Gandhi who forced Vallabhbhai Patel to withdraw his candidacy as the Prime Minister of India in favour of Nehru. And as we know today, Nehru gave us the gift of disputed Kashmir and religious politics.
While Gandhi certainly had a gift of written words that is apparent in his letters and books; there are arguments that he did not entirely follow the words he spoke of. For example, Gandhi claimed many a times that he is a devout Hindu and his belief of non-violence comes from his religion. However, there is no record of his advice to Muslims to refrain from meat eating or cow slaughter. He consistently brain washed Hindus through religious messages and claimed that non-violence is the only option to save Hinduism. At the same time, he supported social division and created separates groups within Indian people.
“History is nothing but the story told by the winning side.” True to this quote, congress has continually spread the chronicles of Gandhi as single most significant force determining Indian independence. However, many stories that have survived through years provide an alternate perspective. It is unquestionable that congress has suppressed historians from recording the greatness of other contemporary leaders of Gandhi and Nehru while deftly concealing the blunders and two faced politics exercised by them.
You, reader, must be wondering why I am giving such contrasting account of this man’s story. Do I believe that Gandhi was the true national hero as celebrated by congress? Or do I believe he was the devious politician who stooped to any level for power?
I will answer this question here. I believe in greatness of Gandhi as a political leader and organizer. And I also admire his shrewd politics in taking the safest road to success, eliminating competition through any means possible and taking up any stand convincingly as long as it supports his politics. However, I do not believe he is a saint as portrayed in the books written by him or about him by his followers. I find him no different than current politicians except for his impact on Indian society.
Well, this is my view and we can agree to disagree on that. My humble request to you is to try to see the positive traits of Gandhi as a person and not as a politician.
Also, if you take me as a religious fanatic, you will be sorely mistaken. I am a Hindu and as a rule we have no problem with any other religion. Here I am only depicting the perceived causes of action and motivation of Gandhi in taking sides.
If his life is his message, we must learn each and every aspect of it before accepting it as truth.
On this day, I pray that you experiment with the legends and obtain the Truth.
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