Details for Article #9
2014-Oct-02 Gandhi Jayanti, 2014 (H. Chapman) Desc: National Respect

Gandhi Jayanti, 2014 October 2, 2014. Gandhi Jayanti commemorates the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Many Gandhi Jayantis have come, many have gone, I have never written a public article on Gandhi Jayanti before. There's a first time for everything and I guess this is the first time for a public article on Gandhi Jayanti. So here goes… Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, Kathiawar (now in the state of Gujarat). He is better known as Mahatma Gandhi, where the title "Mahatma" indicates an elevated soul. And so he was. A truly elevated soul, an enlightened human being. Born and brought up in India, knowing about the Mahatma was understandably compulsory and, on occasion, mandatory. Throughout school we had to churn out "essays" on Gandhi Jayanti as well as on the Mahatma himself. Most of these essays were (again) understandably predictable; the phrases and examples were all too common! Naturally so, since most of them were "inspired" by the same essay book or a common teacher. Be that as it may, Gandhi Jayanti was little more than a calendar event with very little meaning during my school days. Same applies to the life of the Mahatma. After school things were different no doubt, but not in a positive way. I too belonged to the great majority that thought of the Mahatma as an overblown hero of Indian history. I too considered his non-violence a euphemism for cowardice and passivity. Non-violence, non-cooperation, civil disobedience, the Swadeshi movement were hardly the stuff of which action heroes are made. We preferred the other heroes of the freedom struggle who actually "fought" the British. Sitting down, spinning thread was what a "namby-pamby" does — and that's what I thought the Mahatma was. Boy! Was I wrong! Now I have crossed more summers than I want to admit to (also winters, springs and falls!) but let us here assume that it is a fairly considerable number. Today, the second of October, 2014, I realize the gravity of my error. The Mahatma was truly the one and only, the singular hero of the freedom struggle! He it was who single-handedly wrested freedom and nationhood for us. If he is called the "Father of the Nation" it is a well-deserved epithet. What distinguished the Mahatma was his intolerance of violence in any form — whether it was slaughter of animals for the table or warring with one's enemies. During the heat of the struggle for independence some of our freedom fighters resorted to violence — in what came to be known as the Chauri Chaura incident — this depressed the Mahatma so much that he called off the Civil Disobedience movement, the mainstay of Mahatma's programme to free India from its dominators. That just shows how dedicated the Mahatma was to non-violence. Today, 67 years after independence, I realise that violence comes in many forms. The physical form of violence is best known and appreciated — but the psychological form is hardly ever recognised. I now realise that the Mahatma was as aware of the psychological form of violence as the physical. That is why he regarded the dehumanisation associated with the caste system prevalent then as abhorrent. He was the first upper caste Indian to associate freely with the hitherto "untouchables" and to advocate their inclusion into the national mainstream. The term "Harijan" was coined by the Mahatma for the untouchables. The term means "God's people". Today the caste factor is used for political gains by almost all the political parties in varying degrees. Legislation forbids the carrying of night-soil on the head by any sanitation worker. Great! But the fact is that even today the majority of the sanitation workers ('safai karamcharis') belong to the erstwhile untouchables. Some of today's congested inner cities do have sewers for disposal of human waste. Often these sewers get clogged. Complaints to the municipal authorities usually go unheeded; that is, the delay in attending to these complaints amounts to "going unheeded". In such cases it is not uncommon (I have winessed many an incident of this sort) for a 'safai karamchari' (read, Harijan; read, erstwhile untouchable) to drop into the filthy sewer and clear the blockage. After that, when he emerges from the filth, he usually asks one of the beneficiaries of his efforts for some soap and water to lave himself. The water is poured over him but it is clear that the person who is pouring the water is extremely particular about making sure that the water does not splash on to him. Not only that, once the washing is done, the piece of soap is discarded. So much for removal of the caste system! A similar psychological warfare is carried out with "other" communities. It is disgusting to read some of the postings on various social sites (on the Internet). The filthy abuse reeks of intolerance on a criminal scale. Yet, most people today pay lip sevice to the Mahatma. Truth be told, most people think that the Mahatma was an Imperial stooge, or that he was a traitor to the cause. There are those who say that the Partition would never have taken place if it were not for the Mahatma. There are many who think that India's system of reservation (for government jobs) is due entirely to the Mahatma. There are those that think that India's secularity is entirely the doing of the Mahatma. In fact, the group that fostered the Mahatma's assassination is prospering today as never before. So, yes, the Mahatma is needed today more than ever! Article written by H.Chapman webmaster@angloindian.chapmanhilton.com Important link: The Biography.com article on the Mahatma

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