By Aparna Pande
This article appeared in Indolink on November 5, 2007
“Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth”. – Albert Einstein on Mahatma Gandhi
How many ‘Fathers of the Nation’ have the honor of being remembered, loved and respected as much in the world as in their own country? On the eve of the 57th Republic Day of the country and almost sixty years after his assassination on January 31, 1948 it is time to pay tribute to a Father of the Nation, who sometimes seems as almost forgotten.
Mahatma Gandhi had failings. He was a very gentle soul and rather than indulging in rhetoric he believed in setting an example and then leaving it to his followers to decide what they wanted to do. Often his disciples did not do what was expected of them.
Gandhi also had some personal fads. Great leaders and saints are also human and have weaknesses. We need to look at what they have done as well as their long-term legacy, not their minor mistakes or failings.
Yet India and Indians owe a lot to Mahatma Gandhi.
There are three spheres of our life in which his footprints can still be seen. Mahatma Gandhi may not have thought much of Western civilization but he was the one who brought the basic idea of democracy and mass politics to India.
Before the entry of Gandhi into the national movement it was an elite-led and driven movement. The Indian National Congress was led by middle class and rich upper class Indians who did not want anything to do with the masses.
It was Gandhi who reached out to the masses. This policy had great advantages. It was easier for the British to dismiss the native’s demands when these were voiced by a few individuals. It was impossible to ignore thousands of unarmed men and women just marching on the streets. The moral and international pressure on the British due to Gandhian mass politics was immense.
Gandhi also forced most of the elite to acknowledge that the masses had a vital role to play in the national movement.
We may or may not agree with his insistence on wearing only khadi, spinning your own yarn through the charkha and doing all your house work yourself. But these were not just ‘fads’ or ‘whims’. They served a purpose which was to bring the elite closer to the masses. The aim was to ensure that in one’s desire to westernize and modernize, the masses should not be left behind.
Gandhi believed in the principle ‘Ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti’ (The truth is one but there are many ways to reach it). His experiences in South Africa enhanced his ability to deal with Indians of different religious backgrounds. This is what he brought with him to India.
Gandhi’s bringing of religion into politics was not in order to set up a ‘Hindu rashtra’ but because he believed that the simplest way to talk to the vast illiterate masses was by citing the basic principles of their faiths. The emphasis on being good, following your leaders and setting up an ideal society are common to all religions, whether Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity or Islam.
Gandhi made numerous attempts towards Hindu-Muslim unity. His support for the 1919 Khilafat movement and associating his Non Cooperation movement is a major example.
An example of Gandhi’s popularity in the 1920s was a popular slogan heard on the streets of Delhi – ‘Inshaji tumko mubarark rum-o-reh, Hum to kehte hain Gandhiji ki jai’ (Insha ji may you be blessed with paradise, all I want to say is may God bless Gandhiji)
Gandhi was a charismatic leader and attracted both masses as well as elites towards him. His greatness lay in that he took the long-term view and believed in institutions which would last beyond his lifetime. Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Vallabhai Patel, Maulana Azad were among his key associates.
Many of them often disagreed with him and he accepted healthy criticism. Some, like Bose, went on a totally different path than him but neither of them ever indulged in personal criticism of the other individual. Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru belonged to two different wings of the Congress, the right and the left. Yet they both worked together under Gandhi and even later after Independence.
Does today’s India reflect any of his policies or ideals? Besides our once-a-year ritualistic selling and wearing of khadi and our garlanding of his statues have we lived upto his ideals?
India is a democracy but are we losing touch with the masses. Are there certain parts of the country, not just Kashmir and the North East but also the tribal Naxalite regions, where democracy and development has not reached the masses?
India is a secular country and all religions are treated equally before the law. However, the recently released Sachar Committee and incidents of riots in the last few years present a different image.
Gandhi brought the masses into politics but he never tried to manipulate them. He brought religion into politics but he never used it to win votes or incite riots or pogroms.
Gandhi knew he was popular and respected by many but he tried to set up an organization, which would last beyond him. After Independence he wanted to dismantle the Congress as he did not want any organization to become more powerful than the country or people it is serving.
Gandhi had many qualities but his humility and belief in service to mankind were his most endearing qualities and ones he hoped his fellow citizens would never forget. He hoped his India would have those qualities.
On the eve of his sixtieth death anniversary maybe it is time for all of us to reflect on the greatness of the man we have now almost forgotten.