Opinion
Opinion | A time to repose faith in ideals of Mahatma Gandhi
Summary
- If people are making a career out of denouncing Gandhi, he’s still relevant
October evenings in South Africa are a treat for the mind, body, and soul. It was on one such evening many years ago in a brightly lit convention hall, back from a pleasant evening walk, that I got to be part of a discussion with Ahmed Kathrada, a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist of renown.
Kathrada’s ideas had taken shape and matured during the apartheid days. I was eager to learn his views on the then fledgeling democracy, the condition of the Indian diaspora in South Africa, and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s work in that country. I asked Kathrada why the South Africans were occasionally opposed to Gandhi’s ideals. Don’t South Africans feel he is their friend?
Kathrada countered: “Tell me a place where Gandhi didn’t encounter opposition. He was vilified when he was alive and even decades after his death if people are making a career out of denouncing him, it means he’s still relevant."
According to Kathrada, with a rise in the chorus of opposition, the curiosity of the new generation to know more about Gandhi and his ideas will also grow. “They will discover him in greater detail and will feel more inspired by him," he said. Gandhi was considered the predecessor of Nelson Mandela in South Africa till recently.
We are celebrating the Mahatma’s birth anniversary the day after. Around this time over the past couple of years, there have been attempts to make “long live Nathuram Godse" hashtags viral on the social media.
In moments like these, I am reminded of what Kathrada said. The resilience of Gandhi and his ideas make him immortal.
Godse is known solely for being Gandhi’s assassin, and he has no independent identity.
Gandhi on the other hand is a global giant. On 30 January 1948, had he passed away from natural causes, too, he would still have been a towering global personality for what he achieved in 78 odd years of his life.
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It’s not for nothing that every global leader who ever visits India or our leaders who travel to foreign lands always invoke Gandhi and pay their respects to the Mahatma.
Even last month when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukraine, he paid respects at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv’s Peace Park and wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘‘The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed humanity.’’
Modi’s Kyiv visit was aimed at bringing the devastating Russia-Ukraine conflict now in its third year to an end.
Brand Gandhi still solidly represents India globally.
This is why voices of sanity in Bangladesh invoked Gandhi when Hindus were being brutally targeted in their country.
Bapu holds a special place in the Bengali psyche. Noakhali in Bengal was being torn by communal violence just before Independence. People who had lived together for centuries became bloodthirsty rivals overnight.
On 7 November 1946, Gandhi arrived in Noakhali with a message of peace. His magic inspired the Muslims to contribute to restoring the temples they had damaged during the riots.
A couple of days later, Gandhi was in Kolkata, when a mob surrounded him chanting, “Gandhi go back".
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Gandhi told the crowd: “I have come to serve Hindus and Muslims alike. I am going to place myself under your protection. You are welcome to turn against me…I have nearly reached the end of life’s journey…but if you again go mad, I will not be a living witness to it."
His efforts saved Kolkata and the newspapers gladly reported it as a “Calcutta miracle" and termed Gandhi as a “one-man army".
However, an irony of our times is that while Bangladesh is invoking Gandhi, India is witnessing its reverse.
On 19 May people celebrated Godse’s anniversary in Gwalior. The news of the celebration grabbed headlines the next day.
Whether it is a tragedy of our times, or some vested interests bent on exploiting fault lines, is anybody’s guess.
No matter how thick the envelope of falsity may be, humanity is synonymous with relentless endeavour towards the bright light of truth.
Like Kathrada, I have firm faith in Gandhi’s eternal relevance.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
