Mahatma Gandhi. Indian Leader And Founder Of India.

 Mahatma Gandhi. Indian Leader And Founder Of India. 

At a high school in Rajkot, Gujrat, a terminal report rated him as "good at English, fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting." Later, his attempts at establishing a law practice in Bombay failed, because he was too shy to speak up in court.

 

After witnessing racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi began to question his place in society and his people's standing in the British Empire. It was also in South Africa that he developed the idea of Satyagraha (insistence on truth) and Ahinsa (non-violence). Finally, it was there that he took a lifetime view that "Indianness" transcended religion and caste.

In 1915, he came back to India for good, and in 1920, he took up leadership of Congress.

One of the Gandhi Ji’s major strategies, first in South Africa and then in India, was uniting Muslims and Hindus to work together in opposition to British imperialism. 

On January 26, 1930, the Indian National Congress (INA) declared independence of India, which was not recognized by the British. He again demanded immediate independence in 1942 and asked the British to “Quit India” for which he and tens of thousands of Congress workers were imprisoned. 

However, Gandhi Ji effectively used his weapons of non-co-operation, non-violence and peaceful resistance against the British Raj.

Finally, under his leadership and as a result of the incessant and unwavering struggle by the INA, the Indian sub-continent won freedom; however, a part of India, with mainly Muslim population, was partitioned and a separate state namely Pakistan came into existence. 

However, not everybody was happy with the division of India. Ghaffar Khan, the leader of Congress from North West Frontier province (now KPK) which was to become part of Pakistan had told Gandhi Ji "You are leaving us to the wolves.”

But he fasted so that Pakistan got its rights. He rejected vengeance, killed his anger and loved everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed or nationality.

On Partition, some 10-12 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims moved from one side to the other while around 300,000 were killed because of communal riots. However, for his teachings, the efforts of his followers, and his own presence, there perhaps could have been much more bloodshed during Partition, according to prominent Norwegian historian, Jens Arup Seip.

He was strongly for the emancipation of women and opposed purdah, child marriage, untouchability, and the extreme oppression of Hindu widows, including "sati". 

Gandhi Ji wanted to bring a sizable number of Hindus from India for settlement at Model Town Lahore, and conversely bring Muslims from Pakistan to relocate them in their ancestral homes in India. That was an attempt to create harmony among the people of India regardless of faith.

Hussain Shaheed Suhrwardy had come to Lahore for making arrangements of his visit. But this was not to be-

On January 30, 1948, Nathuram Godse, a fanatic Hindu nationalist assassinated him for favoring Pakistan and being a proponent of nonviolence.

This is what Einstein said of Gandhi:

“Mahatma Gandhi's life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practiced it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come.”

Let me say in the end that the philosophy, teachings and legacy of Mahatma is as much mine as that of any Indian. 

(Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s 74 death anniversary, who was assassinated on 30 January,1948 at Birla House, New Delhi.))

Waseem Altaf