article on gandhism

7/28/2019 Article on Gandhism

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GANDHISMTAND-MARKSIN GANDHIITS ilFEOctober2, 1906.1869,. Mohandas Karamchandcandhi rvas born at por-bunder.1887. Joined Samaldas College.1BB9-91. ived in London, readEdwin Arnold,s , 'Song 1907.Celestial,,and ceeta.1891-93.Caued to the Bar, June10, 1891; two days latersailed for India. whilein Bombay, he ear.nedRs . 30 0 pe r nonth, as aHigh Court lawyer.1893-94. eft for Soulh .Africa atthe instance of Abdulta& Co. Read widely wholeBible, Qoran, Tolstoy,s 1908."Kingdom of Go d rsWithin You,,, Max Muel-ler's "India-Whaf it canTeach Us," Sayings ofZarasthastra, Up&nishadsand etc. Studi?d th e pro-blems of the residentIndians ot Sorrth Ahica.1896. Came to India for 6months stay; saw Indian 1909.Congress Leaders,1897. On ltis alrival at SoulhAfrica, he was pelted withstones brickbals aud rot-ten eggs. "They ar e sureto quiet down when theyrealise their mistake,"said candhiji, "havetrust in their sense offairness."1899. Boer War. Ttrough his 1972.personal sympathies werewith the Boers he believ- 1914.ed that he had no rightio enlorce his individualconvictions. Loyalty tothe Br i r i sh ru lc lPad h imto participate on ttreside of the British.1901. Back to India ior thes F n ^ n d t i y n P . e f l F h d p dthe Calcutta session ofthe Indian National Con-gress, and moved the r'e-solution on th3 silualionin South Africa; visited 191b.Burma; toured Indianvillages ln III class com-* partment,Back to South Africa;read Ruskin's "Unto theLas i . " ; s ta r ted , ' I nd ianOpinion" in 1904,.

January 30, 1949

Zulu Rebellion; helpedagain the Brit ish; tookup the huminat-"rian taskof nursing the woundedZulus, whom the wltitedoctors neglecred.Satyagraha against theBlack Act; 1,000Chinesejoined the Indians in thestruggle; gave up flurish-ing practice of !5,000 tof6,000a year; l irst excel-lent book on his activi-1 ies . "1 I . K. candh i -An 1916.Indian Patriot in SouthAfrica" by Rev. J. J.Doke, was published.Sentenced o two rronthssimple imprisonment fo r 1917.the defianceof Smuts Or -dinances; wa s hit oit ih ehead by a Pathan MirAlam, on october 15 ,again arrested for hisrefusal to produce theRegistration C"it:f icate. 1918Left for England on de-putation to repre;ent thecase of Indians to H.M.Government; Wrote toTolstoy who replied, "Re-. . i v . / : l r ' ^ r : . h ^ c f i n io -r e s t i n g l e l e l . . . . . 6 e 4 1 9 1 9 .h p ln ^ , r r d a a r h r^ f .h p rqand co-worker,s n 'frans-vaal; wrote "Hind Swa-raj."Gokhale's visit to SouthAfricaSettlement wil,h Smuts,sailed or E ngland to meetcokhale. Filst World Warwas declared on August4. Eeld a meeting inLondon in aut]tu11u+i9n1920.with Jivaraj Mehta andadvised them to partici-pate in war. Took sixweeks course n nrst aid. 1921.sarojini Naidu then inLondon, participated inwal work.Returns to India. Seescokhale; Tagore refersto candhi as ll'Iahrtha;on May 22, at Maya,-varam Gandhiji made hisfirst prouounccment tou-

.h ih d ^ h +h o h o e / l f ^ Isocial reforru, Said he

"f n so far as I have beenable ,o study llinduismoutside India, I felt ihatit is no part of Hinduismto have in its hold anumber of people whomI q'ould call untoucha-bles, If it was proyed tome that it is an essentialpart of Hinduism, I lorone would declare myselfan open rebel againstIlinduism itsell.', Satya.-graha Ashram started onMay 25.Aitends Luckno\y Sessionof the Congress; condem-nation ol the Defence ofIndia Act; flrst neetingwith Jawaharlal Nehru;Met Rajendra, prasad fo!the first time and ac-quinted himseu v/ith thehardship of champaranagriculturists. MontaguReforms Scheme announ-ced.Invited by Lord Chelms-ford to War Conference;seconds and encouragesrecruiting for army servi-ces.fndia contributed 9,8b.000for war,Hartal on Aprit 6th,against Rowlat Act;r u t h l e s s r e p r e s s i o nthroughout India, Jal-lianwala Bagh MasacreApril 13. On November24, presided over theKhilafat Conference; at -tended Amritsar Con-gress v/ith AI i Brathersas Congressmen. 36,000delegates attended,First meeting s/ith AbulKalam Azad; deputationto Viceroy; special Con-gress Session at Calcutta.Proposes the TricolourIlag and endorsed theburning of foreign cloth;grves up shirt and cap towear loln cloth; con-structive programme in-yisaged First Civit Dis-obedience lvlovement;20,000 jailed. Vice-roy characterised non-co-operation as ,,the mostall foolishoolish of


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GANDHISMschemes,"Gandhiii ' roieback "rivers of bloodshedcannot frighten me"'1922. 30,000 sentenced; sus- 1931'Pends C. D. aiier ChauriChaura; fasted for 5days; sentenced to 6Years imprisonment torsedition; wrote ''MY StoryoI MY Experiments rtithTruth".1924. UncondltionallY ' releasedon sudden illness; com- 1932'munal riots in Koba'tlead to 25 days lastPresided over Belgaumsession.Jawaharlal Nehruelected Working Secre-tarv oJ Congress

1929. sees l rw in regard ingProposed Simor1 uom-missron' 1933'1928. iuccets lu l bo ico t t - oIsimon commission: tJar---doti Satyagraha on Feb'12; triumpbant demons- 1934'tration of 50,0001q9q December 31 . the mid-nigh1, Congress Sessionat Lahore denlands com-piete r, ',deoenden"" an drefuses to accepl Dcml-nion staius JawaharlalPresided. 1937'1930. Viceroy in hi i spPecll othe Legislalurp mad> iLclear that self-determl-nation was out oi Ques-t on. Gandhiii wrole inYoung fn'l ia '' H E Vice-ro y deserves hanks lrom. "uLtY congressmen

for' Yravine cteared the at-mosphere and let usknow clearlY where heand we siand"'Pledge of lrldependenceon iut '"utv 26 Gandhiiioublishes his famous fIoo:ntt l U'It imalum to 1938' irwrn on March 22 'Gandhiii set ou l for 1940'Dandi March with SeventyNine volunteers at 6-30A.M. on 12th March; toLtu"x tn" 5t1x 1"aY'r' 200-if" track to Da'ndicovered bY April sth:SecondCiviI Dinobedienceit*"..nt from April6th: Gandhiji was ar-'"tita; "o-Pt"tt hartalall over India; total con-

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victions oyer one lakh, oi Vinoba Bhave as thevhich 12,000 vrere Mus- satyagrahil ims. 1941. 25.000arrsted and RFirrt R.T.C, on Jan. 18 . takhs nne collected.candhiji releasedon rc42. January '4 2 declJan. 26. Gandhi-Irwinplci; Crrurctriu's outrrursr that "Ja$taharlal Ne"half naked iakir strode vrill be my successuf thevicerov'sarace ff*r""ril1l: *":#*:lef t Ior the secondR.T.c.on August 29; sees Kinei staffor cripps on Mai! toin-cloth. 27; brands his propoc. D. starts again; 90,000 as "Post-dated cheqfersons rnprisol:d;r- |i,""t$'::i. l+;"tT:,rested on Jan., 4th soonaiier he landed at Bom- ol rndia will not bu"v; ,,t unro .th ixiii*Hf ;I:' 'from SePi 20th againstc- " * - i i " t r awara ; Ind ia reso lu t ion 'Gandhi-Ambedkar Faci,

August' auested forsept., 26th. flnal fime and deijpaliirt"a io.i:utl suuor. ed to Asa Khan Pasansh, and Haliian Lil?l*]' l?llli*Weekly . Har i ia r ] tou :collected Rs. I lakhs. chalges and fasts three weeks lor selR e l i e f t o r t h n v i c l l n - i s o , a , , * h r i n h ^ h E - a h l nrhe Bihar cnr lhquakecandhiii Qui i Coe're's 1943 Kasturba dies on I 'ebas the words "Truihfui 1944. Meets Mahomed an d Non-violeut" were Jinnah lo r commreplaced by "peaceful settlement on ih e inan d leglt imate" in the iion of c. Raiagoresoluiion on nleans. chari; talks fail SeptA,Lc.c . accepts he i935 1945. Br i t i sh pa i l i ameAc t to Yvrpck t hom deligalion toured Iourithin; congress accepts r.N.A. Trial and Roffice in July in seven Revolt. candhiii Dou t oI I I provinces. for oalienco iaGandhiii wrola "I can party comes to po.fsee a Yast opportuniiy at Britain.the disposal oi thg 1941. Simta parlies y/ithministers in terms ol cabinet deligation.Congress obiective- of year of inlentive actcomplete irclependence' 7947. rndia attains freei I they are on lv hones i , , : : - - ^ . . : " *^ ' : - , : ' . , : :""tnesr, inau.ttio.,t, vigi

15th Aug Gandhijitant and solicitations tor oII fast sep ' 1 '47 fothe true welfare of ttre calcutta riots' and bsiarving millions". it altet 75 hours Fuil;;_e;il Munich pact riots, and trensfeas a triumph fct violcnce refugees ftom onePoona resolution ofier- nion to another; Gaing condiiional sup- depiores transfer ofoo?t: t"nar,iii t" t t"t lation; Delhi MuI"#' - i,":"ii i"i'"rt suuenderarms to l"."oi"o, 'lit"artiii vrote dhiii Naokhali oi'Indepence, they rBri- 1948. The last and finaltish) cannot v{ith hold, for the communalunless the Government's 13th Januarywisdom is as lnuch blur- bomb explodes nearred as Rajaji claims that dhiii's prayer meetmine is,,, Oct. II Indivi- Birla House, New Ddual Satyagraha vith lu'iuary 30t'- NirUancL

FORUM, Januar-v 30


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GANDHISM (Contd, lrot page 1)traveller, trayelled. of i to Delhi.T'lxere was a carnage on in Delhi,which had benighted the city fordays together. The Mahatma ap_plied his own weapon again. Hefasted. That was his last fasr.And the weapon succeeded asUsual, ln kiUing the demon ofcommunal killings.'Ihat was his greatnessIn this connection one mav askthe question why was Gaidhtjigoing after the impossible whenhis own reward should have beenthe presidential throne of India.Tbat is reaUy the clue to us forunderstanding his greatness. IIewas a patriot and not a politicianafter power. IIis patrrotism wasnot confined to the bounds of hiscountry, It embraced all huma-nily. IIis creed of truth and lron-violence was not meanl, for thePeople of India alone, but for thewhole world.

. He had striven to bring aboutnappy and friendly relations be_tween India an d pakistan, eventhough the division of India ha dhot his blessing, He knew it wellthat the wellbeing of the neigh_bours depended on the.h mutualgod relations and he vas the f,rstto reaiise that Lhe raking up oIlne past would do good to neither.But the evil-minded woulci norUnderstand him. Fantastic accu-sations an d unbalanced allega_tions started against him in thevile Hindu-Sabha press. Somepeopie called him Aurangzeb.Worse than that an undergroundconspiracy was started to movehim off the stage. We use th.word advisedly eyen thoush thedefence has denied it at the tilur_der Trial,Whatever it yJas a foul commu-nalist treacherously scopped downand shot the life out of him. Agreat life ended in that nbrupt andhard way. Ttre shado$'s of sorrowand grief kept the people of Indjabenumbed fot a long tirne, Tlisthearl-breaking an d soul-kil l ingevent occulred on January 30,1948,a date to be conmemoratedlin mournful remembrance oI .ihe. Farther oJ the Nation, who wasborn in India some Z9 years agoin the small village of pol.bunderto become ln life one ot the big-gest men of the vJorld,FORI'M, January 30, 1949

IIe chamed peopte & puzl,leilthemNobody has so far written a truecritical appreciation of Gandhiji,who was a phitosopher, edffcanon-jst, economist, ocjologistan d poli_tician all rolled itto one. Eitherone has been completely clmrmedby his gainsome sndle or one wa.spuzzledan d mysti-f ledbv his enig-rnaiic personality, Adlniration fcrhjin gradually transtormed intoadutation or fot sone il,tc un_understanding annuosity, But stillit remained the fact that ite wasthe unchauenged .leader of Qne-fll1h of the human race, andal,ove all, all sane people tn theworld, whether he was a literatureljke Romain Rolland, a poet tike'iagore, or a polit ician like Staf_ford Cripps, all admired him.Some, nay most diflered llom hisnew ideology, It $a s hard lor aviotence-madworld to take it fo rgranted that non.violence as aninstmmenl of peace an.l a policycf l,he state could ever come rostay.Eut the lvlahatmp_y/as nDt dis-couraged, nor deterred. Meny ac(,f lespondentha d asked hi m the. sarne questlon again and againwhether the nerq creed had takeni4ot in the minds o{ th e people.He frankly refused to say .,no.',The n'Iore he saw of yiolence, tnemore he preached non-violence. IIe

s/as no romanticist. The crecd ofrcn-Uolence was therefore not al olnontlc idea with him. He be_l;eved flrmly that, nou-violence inhdman society was possible arrdfeesible, only if the basic struc-ture of human socieiy was clung-ed. That is why h-. ga.ve wo con-creie programmes to materiaiisonon-'iiolence. One was his ow3c0ncept of economics, the other ofeducatlon.Birry the corps to ke.p the vultureaf iC.lasslcal nd Mal:xian econo-mists have no t accerrteC la t theChandhian economlc theory has3ny practical value, Bnt a closestudy of the Mahatma,s economrcplli'osophy convincel everybodylhlt jt is not wiflto]lt any mean-ir1g. Non-violence and truth werehis creed and he yearned for asociety whose basic structurewould be laid on these founda-tions. Natumlly therefore trecould not have supporied an ln_dustrial economy which alwayscaused competition and strife. IIlseconomy was to alswer to theIundamenlal needs ot a non-vio-tcnt society,In hl s inimltable *al,of inter-preting things J. C. Kumarappa,who was a close associate oI theMehd.tma and who call_.d theGandhian economics as ,,naturaleconomy" said the following

l\{ahalrna taking his evening-walk accompanied by Kanu GaadhiconstitutLolwt on Juhu sands,,,,


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GANDHISMabout it: "TtIe natural economycalls for the satisfaction of thedemands made bY the Primaryneeds of our tlody and bY ihe re-quirements to keep it in goodworking condition. As long as wesatisiy our needs in this way with-out infringing on the rights o{oihers, here is no occasiorl lor vio-lence."T:hesewords are quite capable ofgoing home. Ii cannob be deniedthe industrial civilisation mulrl-plies ou{ wants. Under tllis sys-lem a supply is first created andthe demand later. Tha,t is theroot cause of the world wars, allaggressions and dourirlaiionsJapan would not barJe gone toqratr China, if her industrial cco-mony haa not demandcd thai'Italy would not have taped AbYs-sinia if she wete in no need of anoutside market to sell her goods'The tentacles of British imperial-ism would not have spread far andwide ii the mechanised liie ofGreat Britain needed no forergn-market and cheap-raw-n1aterialsupport. It was these ugly aspectsof our mechanised civilisation thatcandhiji detested all his life.He might aPPear s he chamPionof bullock-cart civilisation, butthere was a great meaning in allwhat he said and wrote. He wasnor agains! the use oI machirle,llut the machine-craze s{rich hadcrustred the cream of hur0au Per-sonaiity out of his body :"nd reduc"ed him io a mere mechanical iinl


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GANDHISM

Illa]Iatnla in a cheerful mood. Sardar Vallab]rbhai patel & Acharya Kripaianito his flght and leftcentre of att fact ion,. , .

Victoria regime. Durtng the pastij J'ears this growilig discontenttook a q/ider shap,: and engulfed:l 'rj sub-continenf. Whn Indiannationalism raised its rebellioushead, the subject of educationunderwent a careful scrutiny. Thegrowitg feeling of being stuntedin mental development was .taith-tully portrayed in trhe Zakir Hus-sain Report which was preparedby the Zakir Hussain Commitrcein 193?.ihe report points out:'Today, when qflick and far-r:eaching changes are reshaplngboth natlonal a,nd internationalhfe and making nerg demands onihe citizens, the existinq systemcI education continLes to func-tion listlessly and apart from theral currents of Ule, utrabte to ad-ept itself to the changed clrcum-stances, ft does nct train lndi-Yiduals to become useful produc-tire members ol society, able topull thelr own weignt and parti-cipate effectlvely in its yrork. Ithas no conception ol the nero co-operative social orders whlch edu-cation must help to br.ing into ex-istence, to replace the presentINDIA 'S PREMIER THEATREM E T R ODatty3-30, 6-30&9-30 p.M.

anal bis otch.Sunday Morning at lOA DATE WITII JUDY--4Mlthr: lr!""_ _

politicians--turned---statesmen.Brltish Cbampiolts cf l,,.rdia,ssi,ruggle for independence havenot been lacking iil ar]y genera-tion since the Congfess Molementstarted. From A. D. Huloe, Wed-derburn, B. G. Hornirnan to CatrFtain Woodrow lwyaft, they havesoine time or othef sL.en ight anda .+6 .1 o .n ^ r . l l h c l v

We can quote typical words fromc full-blooded Brrtisher calledLord Hailey, v{ho said recently inI'ondon."Britistr rule in lildis ha^snotsircceeded n solvin:I tlte problemof l:teracy, and orr;anisationofeciucation began ai the wrong end,I.'he Company GoYernmeni, hav-ing in mind the questr'onof com-pl.ent men to ruo the adrainistra-tlcu in ihe lower rteks, devotedt])eir thought to high.)r educaiionr.rtircr than elenrr)ntaxy F.luca-tion.' It is the "1orlrer. anks" ofour civil servants thar stung ust(r the quick. Tilaj


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GANDHISMcompetative and inhuman regimebased on exploitation and viclentforce."Total overhaul ncessaly

National leaders have not beenslow in demanding a total over-haul. Under the natural urge forchanging over a new leaf, theyhave scrutinised the "question ofevolving a system, which is adap-ted to the needs and ideals of ournational life, in harmony with thegenius of the Indian People, andryhich is a short-cut to mass lite-racy." Among such leaders, Ma-hatma Gandhi topped the list. Hehad new ideas about national edu-cation, and a new orieDtationnearer to the soil ' He expoundedhis ideas in his own tabloid-cum-personal-opinion paper "Harijan."With the advent of Popular gov-ernment in seven of the most im-poftant provinces, his uilique lea-dership in the fleld of educalionhas flnaly turned out what ispopularly known as the WardhaEducation Scheme.IIe Pushed forward his schemeon the occasion of the celebrationof the Silver Jubilee at lvardha ofthe Marwari Education society lat-ter renamed the Navs- BharatVidyalaya. The silver jubilee YJasmarked bY the Managemenn'ssDonsoring Mahatma's educatlonplan and calling for a conferenceot our educationalisis of ra-tion-wide reputation Gandhiiiwas not averse to the caling of aConference. So on 22 and 23 Oc-tober, 193?was hetd at Waldha anunspectacular conference whichwas PureIY a business meeilng'The conference was orily visited byeducational elite, The agenda be-fore the Conference Put forth a?-year programme of Primary edu-

cation, general knowledge uP to' matriculation, less English andplus a plump vacation. Emphasiswas laid on a Proflt-Yielding voca-tion, the craft system.occupationscovered a wide range: sotton, wool,silk manufaciure, carding' spin-ning, dyeing, sizing, wal P-ma'klng'' weaving, embroidery. tailoring'paper making, and other handi-cratts wnicn could be easily learnt ,and easily paid for.The Candhian method was ttresetf-supporting type of educationwhich put into practice the smile-l0

sian adage that self-help is tirebest help. The Wardha experi-ment has been a big stone thataims at too .ma,nybirds. It hasbeen variously scofied at as a"back-to-primitive" and "anti.-in-dustrial-prcgress', contrivance

whictr wiU stutt the grovthnation in large doses,The sof course, s opposed o thechine-age civuisation whiploits the poor and ties thto the machines; but itagainst industrial progr.es

DI SCR M NA. f NdFn, rEuEaehZenithwatch s a worthy exampleof the finest craftsmanship;slim aldelegant, with unquestioned accuracy.day in and day out, Men throughout'the world prbfer Zenith, for here is

, the watch of renowned reliabilig yetmoderate n price-No. 1254- on tell, s.Jevt lzenitblrovemeot, wi& chrome platedcase a.nd .steel back. ,AJabisnumerals, aS llustfated, Rr, lZ0.l,Io. 1234-On rjghr, 1S-JewelZenith rcorr'ement, wi0l chromeplated qase and sieel back,Roman figures wjth raised gjltdots, as llust aied_F, tl0.

WAVR!.IUBA O "Ot" *' Ut,rAOHEAY & CAICU? 'A

F'ORUM, January 30


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GANDHISMcaiiln is imparted through craftsand productiye work, ohrough thetra,ining i.n the use oJ hand andeye, in praciical and manuallabour, eschewing text-books andnote-books, making the pupil aself-sumcient citizen or- the state.The ecorxomicsWaralha SchemeTtre economics of the Waldhascheme must be assessed n termsof modern scientifi.c methods. ffLhe scheme .is put under rhe mi-croscope, t ma y be Iound wantingby the standards of Marxism aDdLord Keynes.It may not nnd votaries outsldeoux own couniry because outlooksand cultures of other countrieshave undergone a xapid change-over, A literary prophet likeAldous lluxly, \ryho wrote ,,TheBrave New World" as a deadlysatire on the coming-ol ol theMechanical Civilisation had to eathi s own words recenLlyairei look-ing lorward to a radicatjy differ-ent Atomic Age with a chiu in hisspine. Whether or not the Wa.-dha Scheme will keep step withthe present day Vitamin-televisioncivilisation remains to be seu. Butil, can be said for 1,heeandhianexperrment that it suiis the bul-lock-and-wooden plough economyof Indian vil.iage liie. 't'he migra-tion of people from village totown and city has made the pea-sant life distastelul to the cou[-lryman. T'he revival of vil lageeconomic and industrial develop-ment is the only answer to ruralpoverty and unrest.Gandhiji will have a l)ermanentplace among India's Educationistsand pioneers of the present, dayBasic National Education, Hebrought the real essenceof truthand non-violence to the problem.What was Gandhiji's idea of pro-per education?"By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best 1nchild and man body, mind and spi-rit. Literacy is not the end ofeducation, not even the begin-ning."Dnemy of CommunalismSpeaking at the historio ;sessiortof the Indian National Congresson 8th August, 1942, hu$ said theMahatma to the nation:"Ilindu Muslim unity is f,rot anew thing. Miuions uf HindusFORUM, January 30, 1949'

and Mussalmans ha,ve sought efterit. I consciously strove for itsachievement from my boybood.While at school I made it a pointto cultivate the friend;hip of Mus-lim and Parsi students. I believedeven at that tender age that theHindus in India, if they wished toIive in peace and amity $/iih olhercommunities, should assiduouslycult ivate lhe virlue ot Cighbour-liness. It did not matter, I felt,if I made no special eflolt to cul-tivate the friendship with Hindus,but I must make frierlds wj.th atleast a few Mussalmans. It wasas a counsel for a Mussalman mer-chant that I went to South Africa.I made friends with the otherMussalmans tbere, everl wiib theopponents of my client, and gain-ed a teputation for int0grity andgood faith. f have anong myfrinds and co-workers Muslim aswell as Parsis. I left them sad andshedding tears at the seperation."Cow & I are the crea,tivcsof the6ame Goal""In India too f continued myefforts, and left no stone unturnedto achieve that unity. It was mylife long aspiration for it thatmade me ofler my fuilest co-ope-ration to the Mussaimans in theKailafat movement, Iuuslimsthroughout the country acceptedme as their true frierd. How thenis it that I have now come to beregarded as.so evil and deiestable?Had I any axe to grind in suppcrt-ing the Khilafat movement? True,I did in my hearts oI hearts cire-rish a hope that it might enableme to save the cow, I believe thatthe cow and myself to be the crea-tion ol the same God, and I amprepared to sacriffce my life inorder to save her. But, whatevermy philosophy of life and my ulti-mate hopes, I joined the movementin no spirit of bargain. I co-ope-rated in the struggle for Khilafatsolely in order to discharge n}y ob-tigation to my neighbour who, Isaw was in distress. The AU Bro-thers, had they been alive, rrouldhave testifled to the truth of thisassertion. And so would manyother bear me out in l,hat it wasnot a bargain on my part for sav-ing the cow. The cow, like theKhilafat, stood on her own merits.As an honest man, a true neigh-

bour and faithful friend, it wasi]Icumbent on me to stand by theMussalmans in the hour ot theirtrial."The Mahatma was thus abovecaste colour or community. Hebelonged to the whole world as theworld loved his ideals intenseiyalthough due to various obviousfactors the same could be transla-ted into a vigorous political force.The king of Abyssinia and theJapanese monarch, Ilirhito, thepeoples' chosen prime Minisiersand the presidents of the repub-lics and men, women and cltildren-all contrasting people Irol11 a.llthe v/orld over represeniing them$eries and hopes oI mankiDd,have all bowed at the martyrdollloJ the Mahatma, Very tew mighthave known the mission intimate-ly for which the Mahatma hadworked, the circumstances underwhich he moved. Many might rroteven agree with the politisal andsocial philosophy, his deep reli-grous mental makeup" But all olthem found in him a prince ofpeace and a prophet ol loye, whopreached the gospel of truth aloudand practiced them in day-to-dayafrairs of mankind. For the un-

happy giobe, where men resolt toarms to settle their disputes, itwrings a hope an d fresh cout.age,That th e heart should triumphfollowed by different pecples byover the cunning des;glls of themind, is not a nev/ gospel for theworld. ft is no new religiot thatGandhiji taught, no r hc intendedto found a new church. Thenames of eoutama Buddha,Christ, Zoroaster and Mohahedare already too many to divide th$world into many sectors. Garldhijionly retaught the truths and gavea new shape to the concept ofnolr-violence as a positive .iJhilo-sophy capable of being uniyersanypracticed and yielding wonderfulresults.My lessonGandhtji, no doubt is essentiallya religious man. When he saysthat for him there is no politieswithout religion, he perhaps em-phasises the molal aspect of poli-tics. But religion in his sense wasnot an instmment of conquest.He appreclated different waysworshipPing God, ,tt is not theI I


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GANDHISMIlindu religion which I certainlypraise above all others but thereligion whiqh transsends Hindu-i,sm, bhich ctranges one's natufe,which binds one lndissoluably inthe truth within and s'hich everpurines." lre said on another oc-easion the same wlth greater em-phasis equallsing religion rvithfundamental humanism, .,you can-not divide social, politisal andpurely religious work Into watertight compartments. I do notknoq' any religion apart fromhuman activity."Political alivision aliit not sapsDiritual unityIhough served as we are to-dayflom the brethren beyond theSindh and the Brahmaputra, theunlty between us ls deep in ourblood. Politics might have cut usasunder; but our centuly-old civi-lisatlon pulsates with unity. Hisown experiences too, constitute along story of Aght against all tra-ces of colnmunalism, Years ago,. even belore the turn of the lastcentury, Gandhiji rras nrst to takehis voyage to South Africa, whichhad ultimately proved to be thetesting ground for hts philosophy,only.on the invitation of a Mus-llm. We have a record in his au-

tobiography, of his early conver-'sations on Islam with his employ-er, Abduua. His ngbt against themcial intolerance and for therights of the Indians tesiding inthat country, are ln a sense bat-tles, waged for the benent of theMuslims, because they form a ma-jority. On hls tnal return toIndia, he found innumerablefriends among Muslirns. Ali Brc-thers' gakim Ajmal Khan, AbdulBeri and Dr. Ansari have all beentlis life-long associates. KhanBrothers of the frontier ardMaulana Abul Kalam Azad haveborne an unparalled devotion forhim. In worshipping the Ma-hatma, they became candhisthemselves. It was ln the days ofthe flrst non-cooperation move-ment that Gandhiji had broughtforward the slogan of Hindu-Mus-lim unity as ilxdespensable or theattainment of Swaraj, and thecountrywide lreternisation achiev-ed during the Khilafat movementwas the work of that single indi-vidual.Fasteil for others sitlI'he fast at Parnakuti (Poona)for the removal of separate elec-torates for the scheduled castes,of Delhi at Ansari's residence for

the restoratton of communaln the wake of the distuwhich followed the assasof Swami Vidyarthi, havehim a champion and proteminority communities. Huplift in not a mere weaponpolitical armoury. He aimthe creation of such an phere ir:r India, that aU thmunities could live with eadwith legal and social equais for the same end, he up the Malabar HiU and kat the doors of the Muslim chief, the late Quaid-IMohamed Ali Jinnah. Agathe midst of the ghastly enal calnage which fouowesad Partition, he strove in hway, touring on foot fromto house in Noakhali and ding the message of love andbourliness to both the victothe vanquished of the blindthoughtless battle of commHis convietion is unquestiWhile fasting at Calcutta, h"I t is clear to me that if Ito retain her dearly won indence, all men and womencompletely forget lynch-lawGandhiji attained at his

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GANDHiSM VaUi covtntl jIDEFel-(formarly, one of llab&tma'8Secretaries)I have been looking inio can-dhiii.'s nco:romi0s ot Khadi (NaYa-A jivan) for the last few days, andbn the occasion of the nrst anui-versary of his lllessed.martyrdomI cannot do better than plesent tothe readers o.f Forum seven briefpassagesuhich struck me as im -poriani for us all:(a)Of all my outward activitiesI do belieYe that the spinningwheel is the most permanentand the most, beneflciai. Itr willsol.ve he prolllem of the economicdistress in millions of India'shomes, and it constitutes anefieciive insulance againsL famin-The millions are living in en-Jorced idleness for atleast fourm o n i h s i n t h e y e a r " . ." . . . , , , T h eresioration therelore ol thc spin-oing lvheel soives the econonric

, . problem at a stroke. . . " , . . . ,I do say that to suppll,r Indiav{ith cloth manufastured eitheroutside or inside throilgh gigailticMills i.s an economic blunder cfl,he lirst magnltude, Just as ltwould be io supply cheap breaclthrough huge bakedes establishedin the chief centres in fndia andto destroy the family stove {Eco-

nomics oI. Khaali, P. ?1-?2).'Qloth i6 dear whieh savesa fesannas to the buyer while it cheap-ens the lives oi tbe men, womenaud children who live in the Bom-bay chawls,' reroie Sir DanielHamilton to candhiji in thecourseof a letter, (Ibid, p. ?3)"(b )I should use only things that, areproduced by my immediate neigtr-bours and serve those industriesby making them efncient and com-plete where they might be foundwant ing , . . . , . such swadesh i ,f re -duced to practice, wul lead to themillenium (Ibtd p" 4) ,{,eIf rve follow ihe swadeshi doc-i . : h o P i " r v u i l r r c . n t T n . l i a

will almost be a seu-suppoltingand self-contined unit, exchang*lng only such necessary commodi-ties with other Yillages as are notlocally producible (Ibid, p. 8) "( d )India is really a republicancountry and it is because t is thatihat jt has survived el'erY shockhiiherto delivered, PrincesF andpotentates haYe hardly touchedthe vast masses except ior eolleet-ing revenue. The villagers maR-

aged their internal afialrs through

" GETOFTFBOMTHEBACKSOT THEPOOR" the caste system,and through itthey dealt with any oppresslonlrom the ruling power or powers.tlbid P. s). (e )If I had my qray, would makeevery available ndian learn spin-ning or weaving and make him ordo that work for a certain flxedportion of everyday. I would startin the school and colleges, pre-senting as they do ready madeorganizedunits. (Ibid P. 16).(f)The revival of hand spinningand hand weaYing will rnake thelargest contribution to the econo-mic and the moral regeneraiion ofIodia. (Ibid L. 23).I am conlident of earning (the)blcssings (of posterity) lor sug-gesting a revival of the charkha.I stake my all on it. For every re-volution of the wheel spin peace,goodwi l land love. ( Ib id . L . 6B) .

(CotLtinued ron paEe 12)

zenith ol his glory. His Himala-yan achievements, \Yon sirigle-handed, took him to dizzt lreights."clory in excess is fraught withperjl, its is the left peak which issmitten by the lleaven's thur.rder-bolt," said AeschYlus, and the boltor devil did strike t!im. "Death atany time is blessed," toid Mahatmato his audience at the Prayermeetings, "it is twice blessed fora warrior who dies for hls causei.e. t ruth."

"Bui if some one were to ki]] mein the belief that he i.sgetting rialof a rascal, warned Gaudhiji onanother occasion, "he vill kill notthe real Gandhi but the one ihatappeared to htn a rascal."

The real Gandhi, the shrine oldevotion and the fountain of in-ipiration to the millions of Hin-dus, Muslims and others oI ihjsland, is alive, The one $'ho re-deemed him from his ealthly ex-istence has to redeem 1,he eugionin which he claims to have beenborn. But Gandhiji redpemcdhi mand the nation and million oihersfrom the sin of exploitationthrough his sufferings.Valji Govinclji Desai rvith Gandhiji on the historic Halijan touroll m.en are equal , ,

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