Lawyer, human rights activist, and then, one of the most revered political figures of the 20th century. This was, in a nutshell, the life journey of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Since the beginning of the age of globalization, we have asked this question many a time: Why does MK Gandhi matter today?
A visionary conqueror of minds
Since the time he assumed a pioneering role in the Indian National Congress, he turned the organisation to a common man's movement from a group of the social and intellectual elite. However, as we acknowledge today, he was not without his faults, as far as leadership of the independence movement was concerned, as well as other facets of organisational leadership.
As we uncover more and more of the history that was buried by the mental slaves of the British who ruled India for many decades after the transfer of power form the British crown to the Government of India, and some of whom are still maintaining a stronghold on a lot of our institutions, we realize the real face of the god-like personality that was presented to us of the man we called Mahatma.
He was in fact the progenitor of the cult of personality seen in the INC today. He was the reason for Jinnah's removal from the INC, and protested the presidency of the INC being given to Subhash Chandra Bose tooth and nail.
Father of the Nation?
Among other things, he blindly supported Muslims in every dastardly riotous act they pursued during his time, while condemning every small act, even of self-defense, taken up by Hindus. He was, in fact, instrumental in scaling up the Khilafat movement, which had absolutely nothing to do with India's freedom. It was a movement to re-instate the Islamic State of the Khalifa or Caliph in Turkey.
Not just this, he called the killer of Swami Shraddhananda his brother. Swami Shraddhananda was a mentor to him, and one of the first people to call him 'Mahatma'.
He betrayed his words and lied to Hindus when he said that India will not be partitioned while he lived and breathed. He sacrificed his basic value of 'Truth and non-Violence' in his vain pursuit of becoming the leaders of the Muslims, while taking the veneration given to him by the Hindus for granted. He imposed Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister on an India that wanted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as their leader.
To rub salt on the wounds of the losses during partition, in the monsoon of 1948, he ordered Nehru to get all refugees evicted from empty mosques in Delhi, and left them to live in horrid conditions on the northern border of the city.
The list of the horrible acts that can be attributed to the 'Mahatma' does not end there, but I believe the above mentioned are enough to make my point clear. He lead countless men and women of the country into a movement, rejuvenated among them a sense of Identity. At the same time, he cultivated a personality cult, the followers of which did everything to bury the contributions of every other leader of the country, and finally captured a stronghold on power, only to concentrate it among themselves, and choke the growth and development of Bharat's political, economic, and cultural spheres.
Gandhi did not get us our freedom.
The then British PM Clement Atlee categorically denied his movement having any impact at all on the decision to leave India. He attributed the decision solely as a reaction to Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, which liberated the Northeast, and his government of India was recognized by 11 countries, the USSR being one of them.
After this act, when the second world war ended, over 2 million soldiers of the British Indian Army returned to the homeland, the British were under great economic duress, and holding India was a constraint already. After the Naval Mutiny of 1946, they lost the confidence that they could use the army to hold the territory.
These two acts were solely responsible for throwing away the yoke of British Rule.
When true history nullifies his contributions to the freedom struggle, why is he relevant today?
Why is Gandhi relevant today?
Gandhi's methods of non-violent protest assumed that the fight was against a benevolent state, authorized by the citizens of the state to govern. This was not the case with the British Empire, which was the face of evil incarnate in India.
As the whole world got closer to self-determination and governments as well as large business organisations transformed into entities sensitive to the voice of the people, Gandhi's methods found the correct audience.
Today's governments and business powers are in no position to be insensitive, and ignore the voice of the people. His methods are the standard for protest on today's platform, as they fit right within the political and economic systems of democracies worldwide.
Ironic as it may be, in the time to come, while Gandhi will lose his aura of 'Father' of the nation for India, his methods will become the modus operandi for Fourth Generation Warfare.
As the whole world got closer to self-determination and governments as well as large business organisations transformed into entities sensitive to the voice of the people, Gandhi's methods found the correct audience.
Today's governments and business powers are in no position to be insensitive, and ignore the voice of the people. His methods are the standard for protest on today's platform, as they fit right within the political and economic systems of democracies worldwide.
Ironic as it may be, in the time to come, while Gandhi will lose his aura of 'Father' of the nation for India, his methods will become the modus operandi for Fourth Generation Warfare.
