India: Forgetting the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi

I was walking down the street in Joburg in CBD Area and they have Gandhi’s statue in a market Square there ( Known as Gandhi Square). There was this African Father Son taking a stroll, when the son asked, who is this half-naked man? 

The father stopped, picked up the child, and said, He is the one who inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela for our rights and freedom.

The second Incident, I was in a cab in Africa, when the cab driver asked me Why Gandhi is called is your father of Nation, while he spent and did wonders in Africa only.

The third Incident, there was a British traveler whom I met in Rishikesh. When we were discussing India wisdom. When I enquired him “who inspired you most?” He named two-person “Gandhiji and Tagore Ji” for their visionary approach during Independence movements.

When I too try to figure out the facts, He never had any political post, he never allowed his family to have any kind of benefits from any government nor NGOs and even from rich people. He lived a sage life of sacrifices with a true intention to help the poor, needy and the society as a whole.

He was the sole reason to inspire, unify and lead civil liberty moments in 13 different countries in 4 continents.

But India is known for “chamchagiri and AndhBhakti”.

Gandhiji had a lot of opposition in Congress in his days. He had already recommended for dissolution of Congress party a day before his assassination. So, Congress didn’t like Gandhiji.

The Congress left him out on purpose, reserving him as a prominent apolitical national figure of Congress party on public functions and anniversaries

And once Nehru came to power, the immediate the task they took is to project Nehru as an international statesman, create special space for him globally where he was considered as one of the world’s intellectual politician (of course he was an intellectual), But this process led to a literal slide down of all other national heroes of our freedom struggle.

There are many heroes who have been simply lost in history, the RSS was a typical the literate uneducated organization picked leaders for their benefit, not for the national interest. 

Strangely, Gandhi the vocal Hindu who pioneered and openly practiced Hinduism as a political leader was left out.

Gandhiji opposed separate electorate for dalits, opposed model state for Backward communities and also opposed separate province far Dravidians, which lead more hate for him from these communities.

Not having good feelers with RSS, Socialists, Dalits, Muslims and use when required Congress., Gandhi became only useful for Justice Party initially and as the party went into oblivion so did he politically.

But, now one can deny that he gave the world a new and wonderful concept of protest called nonviolent civil disobedience, when the whole world was at war with one another. Gandhiji’s methods were ridiculed by one and all since it was proposed during both the world wars.

It is unfortunate that we Indians are not wise enough to understand him, in pieces we understand him and come to decisions in haste and are getting inspired by “these gloomy leaders”.

           

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