Why Gandhi is called the father of the Nation?

Why Gandhi is called the Father of the Nation?


Perhaps the question of why Gandhi is called as the father of our nation was never adequately addressed to many. Merely categorizing Gandhi as one of the freedom fighters seems to do injustice to his vision his life and his ideals. To answer this question, we must dip into history, perhaps no other individual in the Indian History has shared the position as that of Gandhi. He was a leader revered and loathed in equal measure. While leaders like Mao of China or Stalin of Russia would hold an undisputed canonical and deity like status with their followers, Gandhi on the other hand, in India would be heavily criticized with bitterness and acrimony by a large section of the society any time in his history. His position was unique. Some saw his as a messiah of the poor, a prophet of interfaith harmony and others saw him as a Muslim stooge and a muslim supporter.


But perhaps what is more interesting is that he allowed himself to be criticised and actively encouraged dissent. He loved his detractors as much as his compatriots while still standing by his principles steadfastly.


Living his principles


For example his principles of loving ones enemy and leading a simple transparent life is revealed in his own actions.


Consider that all his travel plans were made public in advance, all his speeches would be published without any editing and would be open to scrutiny and dissent. He would always smile and welcome his detractors and those who dissented with him with compassion not malice. We note this when Gandhi went on recommend the name of Dr.Ambedkar as the nation’s first law minister to Nehru, this despite years of bitter criticism and personal attack on Gandhi for his failures on Caste front from Dr Ambedkar.


Consider another case. When Gandhi returned from the second round table conference. He was welcomed by black flags by supporters of bhagat singh who were shouting slogans against him. The reason was that his negotiations with England failed to get an acquittal for Bhagat singh who was charged for murder but had also caught public imagination due to fast in the jail. When protesters shouted “Gandhi down down and death to Gandhi” slogans, he accepted those slogans with equanimity and graciousness. He was offered black roses which he thankfully accepted.


Another episode which captures the attention is his behaviour when India achieved Independence. On 15th August 1947, there was celebration in the air. The congress leaders were busy with festivities for celebration of independence of the newly born nation. The leaders distributed sweets and party workers were busy with crackers. However there was one man who welcomed Indian Independence with a 24 hour fast. He sat sadly in his room and when he was asked to join celebration he replied “How can you hold celebrations when people are dying everywhere?”. He neither attended any function nor hoisted any flags nor took any sweets.


Gandhi was referring to famines that was struck India causing large deaths in August 1947 as well as the Hindu-Muslim riots that killed a large number of people due to partition. Independence to him was a sad proposition as it had come with an unacceptable price of partition.


Prophet of Peace in the Hindu Muslim Riot of 1947


It was september 1947, the Hindu-muslim riots had reached their zenith in Punjab and Calcutta killing thousands of Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi immediately reached calcutta and announced that he would fast unto death to stop the Riots.


“But how can you fast against Goondas?” His friends and followers asked. “I am just doing my bit he replied I cannot allow this conflagration to spread”. “But what if you die” they asked. He replied “I cannot witness this bloodshed. Atleast If I die I wouldn’t be there to see this mayhem. I would have done my bit”. Then he started to fast. Initially no one seem to care. The riots went on unabated. His kidneys began to fail. Gandhi was losing weight very fast. The sugar levels were dropping. The doctors after failing to persuade him to break his fast issued a statement that Gandhi was on a road to suicide and was dying. The fast continued for days. Death of Gandhi was almost certain. Now the leaders of Hindu Mahasabha (old Rss) and the leaders of the muslim league came to visit him together. They asked him to end his fast. The goondas of Hindu and muslim parties came and laid down all their weapons before him and gave him reassurance that they would not indulge in violence. They hugged each other publicly and called to stop all violence against Hindus and muslims.


On coming to know that the violence had suddenly stopped due to Gandhi’s fast. The British press which had called him “a Naked fakir of India” was in praises for his fast, Lord Mount Batten remarked “one man had put an end to bloodshed through a fasting which 50,000 armed soldiers in Punjab and Calcutta could not achieve with guns and weapons in quelling the riots. One man was more effective than 50,000 British and Indian troops”. Gandhi had successfully appealed to the moral conscience of both Hindus and Muslims in ways like none other had done before. After the riots subsided Gandhi would travel 116 miles on foot travelling village to village to spread the words of communal harmony, begging the hindu and muslim communities to give up the feeling of revenge and start afresh their lives in brotherhood.


Gandhi’s Practical & Ecumenical Hinduism


Another interesting facet of Gandhi’s life is that his Hindu faith was more practical and result oriented than a mere belief. Interestingly Gandhi never visited any temples and conducted large hindu Poojas and ceremonies. He saw faith as a means of bringing salvation to the poor and the sick. An interesting incident brings out his unique Hindu faith which was less faith and more love for the poor and the weak. When someone tried to justify untouchability as sanctioned by Hindu scriptures he replied “If I discover that the Bhagvad gita, the upanishads, smritis clearly showed divine authority for untouchability then nothing on earth would hold me to Hinduism. I should overthrow it overboard as I should overthrow a rotten apple”.

Another instance is even more interesting. Nehru was wished by Kasturba Gandhi in Hindi while boarding a train back to Delhi. She said “Ishwar aapke saath rahe” ie Let god be with you. Nehru a staunch Atheist lashed out at Kasturba that there was no God and that God is imaginary idea quoting holocausts and other evils as evidence. Kasturba was shocked and devastated and turned to Gandhi for help. Gandhi replies Ye ishwar se hum sab se adhik nikat hain “Nehru is closer to god than all of us”. He was referring to Nehru’s work on communal harmony and secularism in building Hindu-Muslim unity.


A Civilization cannot be built on imperialism


When Gandhi landed for the second round table conference in London, an English reporter asked Gandhi what he thought of the Western Civilization. He replied immediately “I think it would be a great idea”. The western media was baffled at his response. This historic sentence pulled the rugged under the feet of Britishers because Gandhi had refused to recognize an empire of the west as a civilization. An empire built on exploitation and subjection of other poor and weak nations surely cannot be called a civilization he perhaps thought.


Espousing Environmentalism


Gandhi foresaw threat to environment by Industrialization and consequent destruction of natural habitats and depletion of forest reserves far ahead of other thinkers. He therefore wanted people to balance the hunger for modernization and industrialization by adopting a balanced life style encompassing environmental friendly atavistic ways of life.


He once wondered loudly that “the economic imperialism of a single tiny island (England) is today keeping the world in chains. If the entire nation of 300 million took to similar economic exploitation then it would strip the world bare like locusts”. Gandhi’s fear was that the mad rush for resource exploitation could lead to anarchy, chaos, enslavement of the local populace if demand of the Industrial production are not met.


We have largely seen this to have come true in many African countries like Libya, Sierra leone and Nigeria where global demand of natural resources like Oil, gold, diamonds, coal etc has led to serious conflicts in the nation. The natural resource has not only failed to benefit the local population and uplift it from poverty but has also lead to crony capitalism, mad rush for ruthless dictatorship and killings by rival mafias to the point that the researchers now call the natural resource as “Resource Curse” which becomes a threat to the population of a place.


An inspiring life for all eternity


His life would go on to arise a moral consciousness and ethical conscience like none other before, all over the world. The idea of non-violence will go on to inspire many like Aung sung suu kyi and Martin Luther king to adopt non-violence as a political tool of dissent in their struggle for freedom and Independence. Perhaps the best quote that sums up the life of Gandhi was by Albert Einstein who said “Generations to come would scarcely believe that a man as such of flesh and blood ever walked on this earth”. Ramachandra Guha sums up Gandhi’s life in his own style calling him “the conscience of humanity”