The transition of India from a British colony to a sovereign, secular and democratic nation was indeed historical. Many Indians sacrificed their lives to free India from British rule. One of the most prominent names is Mahatma Gandhi. This year he not only was abused and shrunk but his existence was questioned in this country. Nationalists assassinated three important leaders in post-independent India by the surname Gandhi. The first was Mahatma Gandhi who was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse. The second was Indira Gandhi (no family relations with Mahatma Gandhi) who was assassinated in 1984 by her own bodyguards. And the third was her son, Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991 by the LTTE. Out of the three, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated because of Indian nationalism, whereas the other two were assassinated because of regional hatred. And their family members are not practically assassinated but eliminated from politics in present India.
During India’s Independence struggle, there were organisations in the nation who wanted to establish Hindu state where British were ruling. These organisations opposed the partition of ‘Great India’ into India and Pakistan. After the partition of India, these organisations blamed the Indian National Congress and especially its spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi as responsible for the partition. They saw in Gandhi a ‘traitor’. Mahatma Gandhi also took some steps that made him anti-India in the minds of Hindu nationalists. Because of all these reasons, a group of Hindu nationalist assassinated him.
While the debate on Ghar Wapsi or conversion is still on, Hindu outfit announced that it will build a temple in the name of Nathuram Godse in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, 80 km away from state capital Lucknow. The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha plans to lay the foundation stone of the temple on January 30, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in Delhi. The organisation also plans to launch a massive campaign to effect a change in the negative image of Nathuram Godse and project him as a true nationalist and freedom fighter. No one ever dreamt that the massive win of BJP will bring this situation in India. Modi and the BJP received huge mandate because 70 per cent of Hindus have voted for them. The voters wanted them to safeguard Hindutva and their related interests. If they choose to ignore the aspirations of the people, it’s up to them. However, 2019 Lok Sabha election results will show their performance of five years and either they have fulfilled the expectations of the people. BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj stirred a huge controversy, when he called Godse a nationalist and a patriot. In October, a Malayalam mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had said that Nathuram Godse should have killed former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and not Gandhi.
Suddenly, a demand for Godse statue is unfortunate. The blame will squarely rest on BJP government and on the PM. If Hindu outfits demand installation of statue of Lord Ram or any other Hindu Gods, they might be acceptable and welcomed. Hindu outfit’s leaders and their supporters must understand that their demands and acts are damaging the unity of Indians. The leaders who are demanding Godse’s temple should rethink on it and justify his action. If it is ever accepted then it will ignore the sentiments of the masses.
Shame on people who forgot Indian history! These ‘Gandhis’ are responsible for today’s modern India and we should be thankful to them for that. Honouring the murderer of the father of the nation is ridiculous. These people became blind and thankless, to those who drag this nation for powerful situation. Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later asking the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India. Gandhi attempted to practise non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated others to do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as the means to both self-purification and social protest.
Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a free India based on religious pluralism, however, was challenged in the early 1940s by a new Muslim nationalism which was demanding a separate Muslim homeland carved out of India. Eventually, in August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal. Eschewing the official celebration of independence in Delhi, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to provide solace. In the months following, he undertook several fasts unto death to promote religious harmony. The last of these, undertaken on 12 January 1948 at age 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Some Indians thought Gandhi was too accommodating. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by firing three bullets into his chest at point-blank range. Indians widely describe Gandhi as the father of the nation.
Though, India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it enjoyed the true spirit of Independence on January 26, 1950 when the Constitution of India finally came into force. The Constitution gave the citizens of India the power to govern them by choosing their own government. Dr. Rajendra Prasad took oath as the first President of India at the Durbar Hall in the Government House and this was followed by the Presidential drive along a five-mile route to the Irwin Stadium, where he unfurled the National Flag.
Even today whosoever is the President or Prime Minister is celebrating the independence from Red Fort. However, the real heroes are killed, forgotten and humiliated. This is where our India stands after independence.
Jai Hind
