New
Book:
GANDHI
THE OTHER SIDE
GANDHI
THE OTHER SIDE
(Quotes
from the Book)
Study
the past if you would divine the future.
– Confucius
– Confucius
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
—Mahatma Gandhi
I never in my life called him Mahatma.
He doesn’t deserve that title not even from the point of view of his morality!
—Dr BR Ambedkar
It seems
presumptuous to pick holes in Gandhi’s campaigns and strategies, and
appear to
belittle a man of epic dimensions, especially when the nationalist
mythologies
render it sacrilegious to re-evaluate his achievements. Great men of
action,
who perform great deeds, do commit great mistakes. And there is no harm
in
pointing these out. In one sense it is a Gandhian duty, as he equated
truth
with God.
—SS Gill
I see it as clearly as I see my finger: British are leaving not because of any strength on our part but because of historical conditions and for many other reasons.
—Mahatma Gandhi
And, the “historical conditions and other reasons” were not of the Congress/Gandhi’s making
—they were despite them.
Here is what Gandhi
stated in his speech at
a prayer
meeting in New Delhi on 19 July 1947{CWMG/Vol-96/86-87}:
“I have been asked some questions. Here is one: ‘One
understands
that the national flag that has been proposed will have a little Union
Jack in
a corner. If that is so, we shall tear up such a flag and, if need be,
sacrifice our lives.’… But what is wrong with having the Union Jack in
a corner
of our flag?
“If harm has been done to us by the British it has not
been done
by their flag and we must also take note of the virtues of the British.
They are voluntarily
withdrawing from India,
leaving power in our hands. A drastic bill which virtually
liquidates the
Empire did not take even a week to pass in [the British] Parliament.
Time was
when even very unimportant bills took a year and more to be passed.
Whether
they have been honest in framing the bill only experience will show.
“We are
having Lord
Mountbatten as our chief gate-keeper. So long he has been the servant
of the British
king. Now he is to be our servant. If while we employed him as our
servant we also had the Union Jack in
a corner of
our flag, there would be no betrayal of India in this. This is
my
opinion. It pains me that the Congress leaders could
not show this generosity. We would have thereby shown our friendship
for the
British. If I had the power that I once had I would have taken the
people to
task for it. After all, why should we give up our humanity…”
There is an ocean of books eulogising Gandhi. This
book has
consciously chosen not to be yet another drop in that ocean. This is
also not a
‘balanced’ book. It does not attempt to offset good with the bad, or
vice
versa. This book looks hard at the other side.
“Truth stands, even if there be no public support.
It is
self-sustained,” said the ‘Apostle of Truth’ Gandhi; and this book
looks hard
at the truth about Gandhi.
This book brings out the fact that most of the
Gandhian
thoughts and ideas were regressive, backward, irrational, illogical,
impractical, and products of faulty comprehension. They were founded on
very
limited study, and on stubborn egoism born out
of ‘I know best’. No wonder the ‘Mahatma’ has no legacy worth
the name!
Most of his ideas were discarded soon after his death—actually, much
before his
death: from 1944 onwards he stood sidelined. His only visible relevance
that we
see today is in ‘Swachh Bharat’. True, he advocated cleanliness, but
then millions
too have been advocating it!
It was Gandhi who won us our freedom—so it is
claimed. If it
were true one would generously ignore all acts of omission and
commission, and
shortcomings of Gandhi. But, it is not true. Please refer to the
chapter ‘What
Really Led to Freedom?’ Gandhi had himself admitted: “I see it as
clearly as I
see my finger: British are leaving not because of any strength on our
part but
because of historical conditions and for many other reasons.” Most
likely,
without Gandhi India would have won its freedom, or at least
self-government,
many years before 1947.
Apart from the history of the Gandhian Freedom
Struggle, this book brings out Gandhi's detailed biography, his
beliefs, and the principal aspects of his character and personality.
Those interested can click on the book-image on the
book's Amazon
page to check on the book's "Table of Contents", "Detailed Table of
Contents" and initial pages.
Book
Availability:
Please Click Here for the Kindle Digital Edition.
Please Click Here for the Paperback Edition Abroad (other than in India).
Please Click Here for the Kindle Digital Edition.
Please Click Here for the Paperback Edition Abroad (other than in India).
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