03-07-2005, 01:21 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>India's man of destiny </b>
IK Vidyarathi
Apropos some recent articles in The Pioneer denigrating the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi, I will like to say that it was Gandhi who transformed India into a virile nation. He instilled the countrymen with a sense of fearlessness and optimism. He made them confront the British tyranny without arms, and brave their lathis and bullets.
The people courted imprisonment with smiles, and faced police repression with arms across their chests shouting "Bharat mata ki jai" and singing "jhanda uncha rahey hamara". Unfurling the tricolour on Government buildings and police stations was a sport courageously played by these young satyagrahis. To most freedom fighters, jails were their second homes; and hartals, protest-marches, picketings and fasts were their most potent weapons. Indeed, Gandhi was the "invisible ruler of India".
Gandhi's constructive programmes endeared him to the masses. He articulated the voice of the dumb, oppressed and semi-starved millions scattered in huts, edge of bylanes, street-corners, mud-houses, forests, etc. It was done through the eradication of untouchability, uplift of harijans, revival of khadi-industry, adoption of hand-spun and hand-woven cloth as the national uniform. Besides, he established the Udyog Sangh, Cow Protection Association, Jalimi Sangh Education and Adim Jati Sangh. Gandhi dreamt of a peasant society that was self-reliant, self-supporting and self-fulfilling. He himself lived in Seva Gram at Wardha for many years, and advocated purity and simplicity in life. The image of Gandhi in his peasant's loin cloth and shawl, sitting at the spinning wheel, writing notes on his weekly days of silence (maun vrat), sitting lost in contemplation, lying exhausted during fast and cutting jokes with his toothless smile, are still imprinted on the hearts and minds of his countless admirers.
A striking feature of the Gandhian movement was the emergence of Hindu women - Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Kamla Nehru, Sucheta Kripalani - in the vanguard of the freedom struggle. They courted imprisonment, led marches, addressed assembled crowds, picketed wine shops, etc. In short, they actively participated in the non-cooperation and civil disobedience movements along with their male counterparts. Not since Ashoka the great had the Indian women lifted the oppressive veil of orthodoxy on such a scale. They established a foot-hold in public life, which has broadened magnificently over the years. Since then, women have held high posts as the Prime Minister, chief ministers, governors, social reformers, distinguished scholars, poets, writers, novelists, vice-chancellors, business magnates and technical experts. Who can forget Kalpana Chawla's exploits in the universe?
In short, Gandhi became the destiny of India. That India won the freedom, though truncated, is chiefly the result of his stewardship. On the basis of his conversation with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, King George VI noted in his diary on July 20, 1942: "He (Churchill) amazed me by saying that his colleagues, all three parties in Parliament, were quite prepared to give up India to Indians after the War. He felt they had already been talked into giving up India. Cripps, the Press and the US public opinion have all contributed to make their minds up that our rule in India is wrong and has always been wrong for India" (King George VI: His Life and Reign, JW Wheeler, p-703). It should now be evident that the Gandhian method of fighting oppression with non-violence and without any malice has changed the ruler's heart. The transfer of power was its inevitable consequence. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
IK Vidyarathi
Apropos some recent articles in The Pioneer denigrating the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi, I will like to say that it was Gandhi who transformed India into a virile nation. He instilled the countrymen with a sense of fearlessness and optimism. He made them confront the British tyranny without arms, and brave their lathis and bullets.
The people courted imprisonment with smiles, and faced police repression with arms across their chests shouting "Bharat mata ki jai" and singing "jhanda uncha rahey hamara". Unfurling the tricolour on Government buildings and police stations was a sport courageously played by these young satyagrahis. To most freedom fighters, jails were their second homes; and hartals, protest-marches, picketings and fasts were their most potent weapons. Indeed, Gandhi was the "invisible ruler of India".
Gandhi's constructive programmes endeared him to the masses. He articulated the voice of the dumb, oppressed and semi-starved millions scattered in huts, edge of bylanes, street-corners, mud-houses, forests, etc. It was done through the eradication of untouchability, uplift of harijans, revival of khadi-industry, adoption of hand-spun and hand-woven cloth as the national uniform. Besides, he established the Udyog Sangh, Cow Protection Association, Jalimi Sangh Education and Adim Jati Sangh. Gandhi dreamt of a peasant society that was self-reliant, self-supporting and self-fulfilling. He himself lived in Seva Gram at Wardha for many years, and advocated purity and simplicity in life. The image of Gandhi in his peasant's loin cloth and shawl, sitting at the spinning wheel, writing notes on his weekly days of silence (maun vrat), sitting lost in contemplation, lying exhausted during fast and cutting jokes with his toothless smile, are still imprinted on the hearts and minds of his countless admirers.
A striking feature of the Gandhian movement was the emergence of Hindu women - Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Kamla Nehru, Sucheta Kripalani - in the vanguard of the freedom struggle. They courted imprisonment, led marches, addressed assembled crowds, picketed wine shops, etc. In short, they actively participated in the non-cooperation and civil disobedience movements along with their male counterparts. Not since Ashoka the great had the Indian women lifted the oppressive veil of orthodoxy on such a scale. They established a foot-hold in public life, which has broadened magnificently over the years. Since then, women have held high posts as the Prime Minister, chief ministers, governors, social reformers, distinguished scholars, poets, writers, novelists, vice-chancellors, business magnates and technical experts. Who can forget Kalpana Chawla's exploits in the universe?
In short, Gandhi became the destiny of India. That India won the freedom, though truncated, is chiefly the result of his stewardship. On the basis of his conversation with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, King George VI noted in his diary on July 20, 1942: "He (Churchill) amazed me by saying that his colleagues, all three parties in Parliament, were quite prepared to give up India to Indians after the War. He felt they had already been talked into giving up India. Cripps, the Press and the US public opinion have all contributed to make their minds up that our rule in India is wrong and has always been wrong for India" (King George VI: His Life and Reign, JW Wheeler, p-703). It should now be evident that the Gandhian method of fighting oppression with non-violence and without any malice has changed the ruler's heart. The transfer of power was its inevitable consequence. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->