Gandhi : The Man & The Myths

I was raised in a typical so called "Upper" caste, Middle class setup. Like everyone else I saw people abusing Gandhi. I picked up on it and started abusing Gandhi without knowing/reading anything about him. And then I read about him, a lot.

I read Godse's book "Maine Gandhi ko kyu maara" before Gandhi's "My Experiment with Truth".Then I read a lot about India,Indian History,History of National Freedom struggle ,about Gandhi.I read almost all books that you can fine on India.I was convinced.That Guy was a gift to us

Did He alone give us the Freedom and Independence? Obviously not.Just like Neither Alaxender nor Napolean conquered the world.But Gandhi was the centre around whom the whole freedom struggle revolved.He brought everyone together,he united us& created a single front against Brits

In 1915 when he arrived in India he had already fought for 20 years for Indians in South Africa. He wandered in villages ,met people ,understood the real India , which was till them untouched by Freedom struggle. He brought the weakest to the centre of struggle.

Bhagat Singh deeply admired Gandhi . Infact he was inspired by Gandhi's Non Cooperation movement. He accepted Gandhi's influence before he turned Leftist and Communist. Gandhi inspired the whole generation to fight for our freedom. He gave them hope .

He chose Non Violence because he understood very early that We could not win against the biggest force on earth through violence. It would hv been easy fr British to suppress.He provided moral superiority to his cause through Satyagraha & Non violence.Brits had no answer to this

People talk about Gandi and Bose. But you know it was BOSE who first called Gandhi the Rashtrapita..The Father of the Nation .He was inspired by Gandhi and deeply admired him. When he formed INA he told if we win,I would put this victory in the feet of Gandhhi jee.He will decide

They talk about Sardar Patel and Gandhi . Well , Sardar Patel respected Gandhi more than anyone else. He was his desciple , his Bhakt , his follower. It was Gandhi who bound all the different opinion and never let freedom struggle be divided. Yes He gifted us freedom.

When India was Independent . People were celebrating in Delhi. Gandhi was walking alone on the streets of Noakhali pleading , saving Hindu families from the ongoing riots . He stopped the riot alone . Mountbatten said, Gandhi did what even an army could not have.

During Civil Disobedience it was Gandhi who advocate the active role of Women in freedom struggle. It wasunprecedented.Women till now were strictly within 4 walls of home.Gandhi brought them out.He did 2 things
Domestication of public sphere
Politicization of the domestic sphere

He was a staunch Hindu. And he worked tirelessly for Hindu Muslim unity , and abolition of untouchability all his life . So yes everyone was responsible for India's Freedom . But they all were tied in a single thread by the person called Gandhi. He was always the unifying force

It is not to say Gandhi was perfect . No. He had his failings . He had his failures. He had his weaknesses. But that guy is the reason we can breath the air of freedom. He deserves some respect. Read him . Read about him. Read about India. You will understand . #GandhiJayanti

He left well paying job opportunity of Barrister in London, India& in S Africa.After coming to India Lived his whole life in one piece Dhoti,in an ashram with his followers.Built no home,no saving.Did not take any post,dint ask fr ny position.Gave us freedom and left.Judge urself