Why do some people hate Gandhi?

It’s hard to imagine what anyone can have against Gandhi. He was entirely harmless. He didn’t hold political power and never forced anyone to follow his beliefs. One might question some of his principles, but no one who’s read “My experiments with Truth” can deny his sincerity in following them.

Gandhi - Violence leads to more violence
Gandhi – Violence leads to more violence

And yet with his birthday in 2010, there are those with whom Gandhi has fallen entirely out of fashion. Mainly with India’s right wing (and before anyone complains, that’s not an insult. I’m using the phrase “right wing” as generally understood and as defined by Wikipedia. So don’t take offence when none is intended.)

I’ve heard him called a rogue, the destroyer of India, a traitor, a betrayer and what not. Of course, the virulent right wing elements are a minority compared to the rest. But if you listen to these people, you get the picture that Gandhi had horns and slithered around on his belly.

There are many who idolize Nathuram Godse – the crazy fellow who was against Gandhi and who assassinated a defenseless man with a gun. To me, actions speak far louder than words. Never mind what Godse stood for. If the end result is the killing of a someone who never preached violence and never harmed him or anyone else, I want no part of what he was smoking. Such people point to the speech he gave in his defense. Even a cursory reading leads me to wonder if was entirely sane. Here’s a small extract:

All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and the well-being of all India, one fifth of human race.

Say what? You mean as long as Hindus are happy, it doesn’t matter if Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Muslims and Jains are miserable eh? I get the feeling Godse would have gladly sided with Hitler. After all, as long as the non Jews and fully naturalized Germans were happy, then automatically Germany will be happy no?

Here’s another beauty:

This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanghtanist ideology  and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well.

Beware of the man who recommends only one way of thinking to the exclusion all others. He’s either god himself, or a fanatic.

Now I may not agree with everything Gandhi said. I’m not sure ahimsa or non violence would have helped the Jews against Hitler for example and he himself agreed that if ever violence were acceptable it would be against an evil of that magnitude. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand his main argument. That violence breeds more violence. Even violence for a just cause. It’s a double edged sword that merely deflects the injustice to another group of people if at all.

It’s ironic that when the entire world admires Gandhi and the president of the US has a portrait of him in his office, he’s attacked most in his own country. Gandhi was a man who led a movement of the kind the world has never seen. As a member of humanity, I gotta admire the guy irrespective of his nationality.

Interestingly I’ve noticed that the same people who hate Gandhi also hate Mother Teresa! One day I’d like to find out the real cause of this connection. It’s so absurd and out of whack that the explanation must be equally strange. Perhaps someone can enlighten me…

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129 thoughts on “Why do some people hate Gandhi?”

  1. Yes, violence does beget violence

    i am humbled by the spirit of our nation.some time after kargil, musharaff was invited to India by the Indian Government and given a ( i dont remember how many ) gun salute. this to a man who was primarily responsible for the deaths of over 500 men belonging to the Indian armed forces. i know, that as an individual, i would not have been able to do this.

    showing violent towards him would not have helped. on this gesture might have contributed to dousing the flames of hatred or envy that he and his country men have towards India. on the other hand, could a gesture like this cause further harm to our nation by strengthening an already arrogant ego ? do gestures like this contribute to the perpetuation of aggressive behavior or do they provide an opportunity for the aggressor to see himself as he is; which might lead to remorse and a change in heart. maybe the outcome could go either way

    maybe the best thing in such circumstances would be to dissociate and be silent

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  2. Gandhiji was a kind of person who would have pardoned Nathuram too if had lived after that incident.
    I have read My Experiments with Truth no of times and its my fav Book, whenever i am down and out i read it.
    What more could you say about a man who never thought about his family ?
    I here in India see people condemning him[mostly youngsters] without having an iota of Knowledge about him.
    They would believe some ten pages of Nathuram Godse[why he killed him?] but they will become blind to all the good work Gandhiji has done.
    I am a Gandhian and follow his preachings mostly.
    He was a person of a kind and no one could match him.
    One who hates him don't know him.

    My recent post One Pleasure that I Always look After

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  3. Very true.
    Bapu had only one principle and ideal that was of truth & love. He never thought harm of anybody even his enemies.
    How anyone can hate such a personality? I become perplexed thinking that.
    But answer lies in the negative publicity perpetuated against him by some set of people and groups.
    You wont believe, I have even heard people saying that Bapu didn't utter "Hey Ram" as his last words but it was "Harami". It was painful hearing such things about the greatest human being that descended on earth in recent history.

    Let us pay tribute to the Bapu on his birthday by being followers of truth. Nothing more.
    My recent post Cost of lives in times of TRP

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  4. I don't know much abt Gandhiji, but my childhood memories of reading stories about him, or watching films about his life, are all centred about his firm belief in non-violence, and I think that's something we sorely miss today.

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  5. People do not like Gandhiji, for the same reason that trigger happy people do not like calm people.
    That Sehwag lovers will not understand Dravids 120 balls 19 not out.

    Even at the time of the Indian Independance Movement, there was difference of opinion within the leaders. The scope for people to have difference of opinions on the Indian Independance Movement in hind-sight is understandable and acceptable.

    You might want to read this (the latter part which is related to Gandhiji) http://www.livemint.com/articles/2010/02/19213129

    And also another article which emphasises, how the two-nation movement (both Hindu and Muslim) were sort of anti-"sarv-gan-sam-bhav", a feeling that Gandhiji represented. http://calamur.org/gargi/2009/08/24/the-bjp-fasci
    My recent post Harry Potter- The Defense Against Dark Arts and the Seven Unwanted Vices

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  6. Mohandas was born in the Gujarati speaking family, had several brothers who jointly owned property in Rajkot. At the age of 13 Mohandas married Kasturba. On attaining maturity he re-located to England, became a Barrister, returned home, and together with Kasturba re-located to South Africa. They returned to India for a few years and this is where they became parents of four sons: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. Subsequently, the family returned to South Africa, leaving Harilal alone. As Harilal did not do well in his studies he got married to Gulab without his parents' blessings. Mohandas then invited Harilal to South Africa and on his Secretary's request also invited Gulab, who had recently given birth to a daughter, Rami. Harilal wanted to be a Barrister like his father but found his movements restricted as his father wanted him to actively participate against the Satanist and Racist British regime, leading to Harilal being arrested and imprisoned. Harilal's hopes of becoming a Barrister were dashed when Mohandas sent his nephew, Chaganlal, instead, and when Chaganlal proved a failure, sent Sorabjee to England in his place.

    this is a synopsis of the first part of " Gandhi my Father " a movie i saw twice, and wept over.

    I still do not know what i would have done had i been Gandhi. send Harilal to England when the opportunity of a life time came ( the opportunity came twice ) or act as Gandhi did, by sending others instead. Harilal begged Gandhi to send him. Did his act of defending his personal honor harm for ever his sensitive eldest son, who longed to become a lawyer like his father ? can Gandhi be justified by his act of dissuading Harilal from studying further, telling him that higher studies were not necessary for the freedom movement.

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  7. Bhagwad, I'm someone who reads your blog often, but hasn't commented on it, and here is my response:

    I'm surprised that you would place attribute the term "respect for those who are different from us" when it comes to Gandhiji (see, I still respect him, nonetheless). Here is a less-known quote that ought to enlighten some aspect about him:

    "Ours is one continued struggle against degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the European, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness."

    If you wish to know whom he referred to as Kaffir, then you needn't look farther than the Apartheid-era in South Africa. A strong rebuttal to his "piety" and "respect for those who are different from us" has been posted by Arthur Kemp at this link: http://thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=2419, ABLY SUPPORTED BY SOURCES, mind you.

    In his defense, Gandhiji's racist attitude was the norm back in early 1900's. This does not take away from his services towards our nation one bit, but it does indicate that he was after all, HUMAN and hence, somewhat flawed, which makes your earlier statement about him ring a little hollow.

    However, regarding Mother Teresa:

    Your statement that it is "INTERESTING" about "that the same people who hate Gandhi also hate her" is laughable. It is a blatant argument from authority, when people who have NO OPINION on Gandhiji or HINDUTVA, have something negative to say about Mother Teresa. Your article links readers to a bunch of (CHERRY-PICKED) sites indicating RIGHT-WING dislike towards Mother Teresa, when the FACT is to the contrary:

    Have you read Christopher Hitchens' "Missionary Position"? He is an ATHEIST, btw, and has espoused no known opinions about Gandhiji on Hindutva?

    Where have you heard Aroup Chatterjee, the author of "Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict" (available online for free) espouse Hindutva or anything anti-Gandhi?

    Have you visited HEMLEY GONZALEZ'S website and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=326098194662)? Hemley is a FORMER-VOLUNTEER at Missionaries of Charity, and is still a DEVOUT CATHOLIC and running his own charity. He also mentioned that MoC do NOT declare their finances to the public, WHICH THEY ABSOLUTELY MUST as a charitable institution.

    Have you ever heard of Charles Keating and Jean-Claude Duvalier- the first a sleazy loan-scammer and the second, a brutal Haitian dictator. Both financially supported Mother Teresa's mission? So, what exactly did Mother do when she discovered that the money she received from Keating (besides the luxury of traveling in his private jet) was siphoned from hard-working Americans? Did Mother refuse the money Duvalier sucked dry from his impoverished nation?

    Have you heard The Atheist Experience's (Austin, TX) Matt Dillahunty's tirade on "the deceased troll" on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2N5sC5shc)? Needless to say, Matt is an ATHEIST.

    Have you watched Penn and Teller's: Bullshit (Showtime) expose' on Mother Teresa (which also included Gandhiji's racism) titled "Holier than Thou"? FTR, Penn Gillette and Teller, are also ATHEISTS.

    Have you seen the following?:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30XdrOLT7J4

    None of the above were made or financially supported by RSS, VHP, or Sangh Parivar.

    BTW, I am an ATHEIST like you, just so you know. As someone who likes reading your blog, it's surprising to see you being so dismissive towards people who have an opinion against Gandhiji or Agnes Bojaxhiu,as "Godse's" or "Right-wingers." And here I was thinking you were against people who espouse similar dismissive attitudes towards the Muslims, "Anti-Hindu" media, etc.

    Do introspect, mate. Cheers!

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    • In reply to Indian Pundit

      Saw your post IP. But it looks like his views must have changed, because this is what he said about Hitler and the Nazis:

      "Hitler," Gandhi said, "killed five million Jews. It is the greatest crime of our time. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher’s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs… It would have aroused the world and the people of Germany… As it is they succumbed anyway in their millions."

      I think we must decide for ourselves what make sense for us. We can't just accept word for word what anybody said even if that person is Gandhi. He was human too and his views must have changed and evolved over time…

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  8. People will pick what they like to love or hate. I choose not to hate and therefore, see the parts of Gandhi that cause admiration. If I were his sons, I might not even have liked him, could have hated him…what an untenable position to be in, esp, in that day and time. As Kasturba, I would have been well and truly stuck – able to deal with some parts of him with admiration and others with dismay/confusion. Am going to find a book that is a biography of hers and see what might have been going through her mind.

    As a general citizen and parent of a 6 year old whose hero is Gandhiji, I rest quite easy on a job well done (so far!). From asking at 4 years 'Amma, it's Gandhiji's birthday, can I go?' to trying to see what Gandhiji would have done to the bully while playing outside our home, if a small child can figure out admirable stuff in a 140 year old legend, then the right wingers have a lot to learn. To my mind, they have a lot to learn in any case! :-D

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