Kunal Singh Speaks

30 January was the day when Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatama Gandhi. Gandhi was not just a human being, he was a revolution, he was an ideology. And ideas can not be killed. But surprisingly, the idea which the world knew as Gandhi, has been killed, at least from the active lives of our nation.

Nathuram Godse, just killed a man. Then who killed the idea? Not a tough guess … It was the collective leadership of our country, which continued to woo Indian voters on the name of Gandhi, but at the same time,  adopted domestic and foreign policies, which were totally averse to Gandhism….

(1) Gandhi and Non-Violence:

. What does Gandhi mean to you?
> “Non-Violence”!
. “Non-Violence as an end”?
> Silence

“Non-Violence as an end” is the greatest myth about Gandhi. Gandhi followed, preached and advocated non-violence. But he preached of “non-violence as a means”, and “not as an end”. What was the End he preached about? We have comfortably forgotten.

Bullet bang on target !!!

(2) Gandhi and Self-Reliance:
Gandhi was about “self-reliance”. Self reliance in every walk of life. Economical & Poliitical self reliance as a nation. Social, Religious and Moral self reliance, as an individual. “Sarvodaya” was his dream for the post-independence India. A dream which never realized. Worst, we have become a nation which is neither economically self-reliant, nor politically.

These wounds will be fatal.

(3) Gandhi and Social Development:
The transformation which Gandhi brought to the Indian society was unprecedented. His initiatives and methods to root out “untouchability” from Indian society, and the amazing success which he received in his efforts, can not be termed less than a magic. He also worked for the social & economic development of “unprivileged classes”. He called for a “greater role of women” in the Indian Society.

(4) Gandhi and Independence:

If it was not Gandhi, India would have got Independence much before 1947. The first world war was the best time to revolt against the British rule, as the Britishers were preoccupied with battle on so many fronts.

“The Delayed Independence” is the second greatest myth about Gandhi.
Independence can mean different thing to different people. To some one it could be the freedom to work on the things which one loves. To some one it could be the freedom of not working at all. To some one else it could mean the freedom to force others to work on the things which they do not like.

Gandhi understood the motives behind British Presence in India. He knew that the Imperialist powers were exploiting the masses in India and elsewhere, for the economic motives. They were not here to prove to us their right to rule, but they were here to gain profits.
Britishers never ruled India as isolated foreigners. They ruled India in collaboration with Indian Kings, and privileged Indian Classes - all shared the exploit.

The division between exploiter and the exploited was never that of “Indian” and “Foreigner”. The division was that of “Sickly Rich” and the “Abjectly Poor”. Sadly, the “abjectly poor” constituted almost the entire nation.

Would it make any difference to the lives of “exploited”, if “exploiter” was an Indian rather than a “British-Indian combine”?

Independence to Gandhi meant the “freedom” of Indian masses from the “social and economic” exploitation by the “Privileged Classes”. The nationality of the “Privileged class” was rarely important. Gandhi fought for what he saw as independence, and he fought for it successfully. He transformed the entire nation in to a self-aware and self-reliant society, and it was only because of him that the Britishers found the economic motives for their presence fading out from the India.
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Sadly, Gandhi departed before the Sarvodaya could take shape. The Ideas which he sow, pumped life in to the veins of our nation for more than half a century. But the economic self-reliance is again disappearing. The division between “exploiter” and “exploited” is once more becoming apparent. Gandhi is dead.
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Some Links about Gandhi
Gandhi and his Philosophy
Gandhi short Biography
Sarvodaya

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The picture which you see was taken by me at “National Gandhi Museum” at Delhi.