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.
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…
This blogger is living in a shell of his own with views that have been hardwired into millions of this country . It takes lot of pain to admit but Gandhi-nehru bastards have really succeeded in what they desired of: ruling the then impoverished country with full force and to keep it as such. You must not rely on your text-books to know about the blunders he committed.
Fantastic article Shashank. Every Indian should read it!!
We must give respect to great krantikaries like bhagatsingh and many others rather than giving respect to Gandhi. Gandhi has really shown his low level of mind helping muslims at the time of partition. He was the biggest criminal for any Hindu lives on this earth. And any Hindu respect him it should be the insult of those Hindus which killed at the time of partition by Muslims. Many women exploited by Muslims. I regret that I live in India on this fake history that Gandhi is Mahatma. He was the big trouble for Hindus. I salute great krantikaries who have never done mistakes like Gandhi did.
In reply to tushar
Yes that is true and I salute great krantikaries.
gandhi sala ek number kamakkar insan tha…… ye india ka durbhagya hi hai ke congress walo ne keval apane swarth ke liye ise ghatiya aadami ko rastrapita bana diya. jin shahido ne desh ke liye kurbani di sachee shabdo me wahi rastrapita banane layak theyy. subhas chandra bosh, chandra shekhar azad, bismillah khan, bhagat singh aur vo sabhi jinhone india ki azadi ke liye apani jaan de di ye log sahi maine me rastrapita banane ke haqdar they. gandhi to sala jatiwadi insann tha… koi bhi SC community ka aadami ye nahi bhl sakta ke kis tarah gandhi ne ambedkar ji ka aapmaan aur puna packt ke naam par SC ke logo se dhoka kia. gandhi ki hi galti se aaj pakistan hamare desh se alag ho gaya. jb india me bhukmari thi to ise kamine ne pakistan ko 50 caror rupees dilwaye the. waha jaliyawala kand me kitane masum aur begunah log mare gaye to gandhi ne kuch nahi kaha aur jb isake revange me kuch angrez ladako ko mar dia gaya to gandhi un ladako ko pakadane ka dabav banane ke liye aanshan par baith gaya. wah kya desh bhakti thi. gandhi ne kabhi gariibi dekhi hi nahi thi use kya malum ke jhopadi me rahane walo ka kya haal hota hai. usake baap to aamir layer the bachapan se lekar jawani tak to mauz se zindagi kati. jb south africa me laat padi to samajh me aayi aukat unhe ke vo kali chamadi wale hai aur mahatama ban gaye. kaash nathu ram godase gandhi ko pahale hi maar dia hota to aaj bhagat singh aur purie india ki kahani hi kuch aur hoti.
Gandhi was the only person who could have stopped the partition but he chose not to,when innocent hindus wre butchered in muslim majority areas he never said any word against them,when hindus started retaliation he started fast in kolkata to stop the retaliation,he always bent backward to appease muslims, India is better off without that Man.He claimed himself to be secular but in practice he was a pseudo secular who chose to overlook the killings of innocent Hindus ,raping of young girls and always kept mum..the man was disgusting and pathetic.I am sure he is in hell..Nathuram had done the right thing and no matter how the successive governments try to paint him as a fanatic and crazy ,the truth will prevail one day and people will realise what good that man has done for India.Had he was alive for few more years I am sure there would have been more killings of Hindus..I despise that man..
Sasank Im a fan.Bravo and well done on your painfully researched article.We are proud to have concerned people like you in India. Thank you for that and may god bless you.
what the sasank say anybody has a concreate proof?
any one now is not there at that time when everything is happen and the situation
to be solved.
the truth is that using violence is not the main weapon to get the independence. the view taken by the sasank to what said by gandhi at that stage is completely wrong.
those who not properly known the gandhi then how gandhi hated peoples known the most admiral politician who follows the gandhian path at that time.
everyone has the azzadi to say their view in the gandhian india.
everyone fight for india is best and no one now has to say about that without concreate proofs. if sasank is correct then why he not use violence method for corrupted polictician or come in active politices.
saying is very easy but control the mass population with our thought is great things.
if sasank or others who hate the gandhi is really correct then why till now the people who follows the gandhi is great in numbers and increasing for their non violence technique.
sasank is wrong that gandhi is completely failed because when marine accepted the gandhian way to say their problem that is the turning point for indian independnce.
whole counrty at that time is depends on only british’s system for food and butter.
they pay taxes as per british rules.
only gandhi shows the indian to think about first administration and then for indepedence. everyone knows that what is happening in pakistan who laking the adminstration knowlage at that time. due to which now pakistan is not in good part. gandhi knows that without making the india a good living country it is impossible to tackle with the whole world.
every issues has to parts one bad or wrong and good or right. gandhi say first follow yourself then say to others.
First of all, Sasank thank you for your insight. I would like to commend Adith and you for an enchanting debate. Your writing opened my eyes to a new dimension about Gandhi – so far I only thought that he was only a spent force.
Sharad India is not Gandhian. I am definitely not a non-violent man and have minimal respect for Gandhi. So chill dude! Nehru never consulted us before making him the Father of the Nation. And there are a lot of points even beyond the ones raised by Sasank that clearly make Gandhi undeserving of that title.
Bhagwad let me tell you that people who dislike Gandhi are not a minority in India. It is still a faux pas in this country to portray Gandhi in poor light. Secondly, most people nowadays are ignorant – they have only read state approved history (and yes that still happens) or have only heard selective stories. Ask around privately and you will know what I mean.
However, having said that let me also say that “Ahimsa” was a noble concept but as the Gita says – “Himsa” is only when violence is practiced in the absence of any suitable instigation. Obviously, the suitability of instigation depends on the human. Maybe, Gandhi was completely sane but just with an immensely high upper limit of toleration. Normal humans don’t act or think like that. And as a leader it only shows utmost blindness to expect such from everyday men.
Gandhi’s entire concept was around making the aggressors see the virtue of his ways. Damn it people, he never could show it to his own people let alone the British. It is said of a great leader that he should be of clear vision and mission. Here Gandhi lacked seriously. At best, his ideals were presented in such complicated terms that they were not worth following.
As a final note, I saw someone mention that Gandhi had won over the Brits en mass. My friend, you could not be further from the truth. Spend an afternoon at the nearby British library sometime and read letters to and fro Lord Attlee, British PM in 1947; Lord Wavell, the second last Viceroy to India and a British Field-Marshal and Ernest Bevin, the British Foreign Secretary in 1947 – I believe you would find that the British had no respect for either Gandhi or Jinnah. And Nehru was not even an entity worth considering.
GIVE RIGHTS TO ALL freedom fighters , coz they are the main reason for freedom ..
i am not against gandhi ,, but in favor of others .. see ” ONLY GANDHI DON’T DESERVE to be on INDIA CURRENCY “, everyone know gandhi’s birthday but most don’t know birthday of subash chandra BOSE , bhagat singh , rani laxmi bai .. do you ? .. so it created voilence in the hearts of north as .. north is always the one to .. save you from pakistan (kargil etc etc) .. 96 %
shaheedi’s are from PUNJAB for INDIA … then also this state is not treated well .. and was not treated well in past .. GANDHI was asked to save bhagat singh if he would say ‘leave him’ it would had saved his life .. BUT HE said .. punishment should be given to these criminals .. BHAGAT never killed any person (even angrez) did violence with only sound bombs to make british run .. see GIVE RESPECT TO ALL FREEDOM FIGHTERS ..
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