Author, Burning for Freedom

Author, Burning for Freedom
click image for my amazon page or to buy 'Burning for Freedom'

Monday, October 1, 2012

Gandhi’s Modus Operandi: “I preach, you practice” Part II

Hi, Everyone! From Gandhi’s “Love the Harijans” mantra one would assume that he believed in equality of all human-beings. One would be wrong.
Dhananjay Keer writes in his biography (page 619):
“The fate of Gandhi’s Harijan uplift movement was no better than its theory or blue-print. M. C. Rajah moved a temple entry Bill [to allow untouchables entry into temples] in 1938, and Rajagopalachari [Rajaji] as Premier of Madras compelled 28 out of 30 Harijan members to vote against it. When Rajah appealed to Gandhi, he replied that Rajah’s community had no better friends than Rajagopalachari. The Bill had been introduced with the consent of the Congress Party. . . . And when Dr. Khare, Prime Minister of the Central Provinces, later included a Harijan in the Cabinet, Gandhi expressed disapproval of thus ‘raising absurd ambitions in the minds of the Harijans’! No wonder then that after twenty years of the Gandhian Harijan Movement, S. Ramanathan, a Congress Minister of Madras, said in 1943: ‘Gandhism has given rise to a worse evil than the Hindu-Muslim conflict. It has justified the caste system and has given it a fresh lease of life.’”
Gandhi strongly supported the birth-based caste system of the Hindus. He even proclaimed that inter-marriage and inter-dining between different castes was promiscuous.
What he said about the Kafirs in South Africa has to be read in his own words to be believed:

“Indian Opinion, March 7, 1908,

“Classification of Asiatics with Natives”

The cell was situated in the native quarters and we were housed in one that was labeled “For Coloured Debtors”. It was this experience for which we were perhaps all unprepared. We had fondly imagined that we would have suitable quarters apart from the natives. . . .

Degradation underlay the classing of Indians with Natives. . . .

Many of the Native prisoners are only one degree removed from the animal and often created rows and fought among themselves in the cells.”[1]

Gandhi also bombarded the Government in South Africa for months fighting for a separate entrance to the post office for the Indians. It was a degradation for the Indians to share one with the “Natives,” he writes.

I shall end my post here offering just one more point to think upon. It is so easy to be conned by a slick tongue and a charming personality . . . ! And so, I have a very simple litmus test to weed out the worthy from the unworthy.

My litmus test: compare a person’s words very carefully with their actions. If they match, the person passes and is certainly of genuine, solid character. If not—watch out!

Needless to say Gandhi fails this litmus test time and again. The blinkers around the eyes have to be made of cast iron to not accept this fact.

Anurupa
Mahatma Gandhi Facts: Gandhi Revealed


 



[1] Gandhi, G. B. Singh, page 160-61

No comments:

Post a Comment