The Father of Our Nation
Monday, October 2, 2023
When the people of the land were hit by terror and uncertainty,
when small groups of men failed to voice their minds,
When truth was well suppressed and the oppressive forces were draining India of its glory.
He appeared as if light and his ray was followed by the common men leading them to the divine freedom.
The fight for independence had witnessed bloodshed and terror, and ultimately, disaster in most countries which sought its freedom through war.
Mahatma Gandhi offered a non-violent alternative to this recurring cycle of hatred and violence.
Having studied law in London, Gandhi ji pursued the same as his profession. He was a lawyer in South Africa for almost two and a half decades. There too, he had led several disobedience movements to combat racist laws on various occasions. He returned to India in the year 1915 and started the Non-violent revolution.
He is laudably the father of our nation and is the one who taught us satyagraha, which he describes as "firmness in a good cause” for the much sought after independence.
He brought us together, clearing our minds and hearts of the poison of hatred against one another, the poison fed by those who wished to deviate our attention from the real evil; their evil.
His role was prominent in our country's freedom struggle.
He led the Champaran Satyagraha in 1916, Kheda Satyagraha in 1917, the Ahmedabad mill strike in 1918 and the Non-cooperation movement in 1920.
While leading the Indian independence movement, he also worked as a journalist, and edited Young India, Navajivan and the Harijan. On march 18, 1922, he was imprisoned for 6 years for publishing seditious materials. This led to the suppression of the movement. Yet again he led the Quit India Movement in 1942. Here is what he had to say “Here is a mantra, a short one that I give to you. You may imprint it on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The manta is ‘Do or Die’. We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery. Every true Congressman or woman will join the struggle with inflexible determination not to remain alive to see the country in bondage and slavery.”
In his speech “Quit India” Mahatma Gandhi said “I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle’s French Revolution while I was in Prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that in as much as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal.” He also stated “The people make no distinction between British imperialism and British people. To them the two are one and this hatred would even make them welcome the Japanese. It is most dangerous. It means that they will exchange one slavery for another. We must get rid of this feeling. Our quarrel is not with the British people; we fight their imperialism.”
As Gandhi ji demanded immediate independence as India's price for aiding Britain in WWII, he was imprisoned again from 1942 to 1944. But the British officials had to release Gandhi from jail on 6th May 1944 pertaining to his deteriorating health. Upon his release, he continued his resistance and went on a 21-day fast.
Gandhi Ji continued to aid the needs for Independent India until 1947.
August 15th that year, was the dawn of a new beginning. India was finally independent from the British crown. The Indian Independence bill was hard on Mahatma as he was striving for unified India. But the agreement ended the 200 years of British rule and was hailed by him as the ‘noblest act of the British nation.’
After independence, Gandhi ji spent most of his time praying, fasting and discussing the duties of citizens. He was assassinated in the year that followed our Independence-1948.
“My life is my message” ~Mahatma Gandhi
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