If any one says that Gandhi was a traitor, he or she is ignorant of our history and politics. His autobiography ’My Experiments with Truth’ is an open book on his life and mission. For Gandhi ’Truth stood supreme in his scheme of things. He used to say, ’’ One can afford to cheat God, but one can not cheat arithmetic. 2 + 2 is always 4. And this is my ’Truth’ and my God.
It is a pity that in Today’s India, unless you say or write Mahatma Gandhi, it may not refer to Gandhijee. We celebrate his birth anniversary on 2 October, calling it Gandhi Jayanti, and also celebrate 30 January, calling it the Martyr’s Day in the most ritualistic way, and on the rest 363 days of the year, we do not hesitate to butcher him,
his values and principles. We take the VIPS from India and abroad to Rajghat to pay floral tributes at his Samadhi. We are worse that Nathuram Godse.
I have seen the film Gandhi more than once. It is Richard Attenborough who has brought Mahatma Gandhi to every home in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Ben Kingsley’s superb portrayal of Gandhi is unparallel in contemporary cinema. In South Africa, the film had run for many days making people to recall Gandhi and his mission. It is also a pity that in his State of Birth, in the name of Hindutwa, many things are happening which are purely non-Gandhian in nature. His Sabarmati Ashram stands as a mute witness to all that is happening in Ahmedabad, and the present administration is not at all ashamed of it. Let us see what the people’s verdicts are.
India should have a trained cadre of Gandhian Workers, dedicated to social service. This is the need of the hour.