Bomb At The Prayer
Speaking after prayers on Wednesday evening, Gandhi referred to the
previous day's bomb explosion in the Birla House compound. He had
been receiving anxious enquiries and praise for being unruffled at
the accident. He thought that it was military practice and,
therefore, nothing to worry about. He had not realized till after
the prayers that it was a bomb explosion and that the bomb was meant
against him. God only knew how he would have behaved in front of a
bomb aimed at him and exploding. Therefore, he deserved no praise.
He would deserve a certificate only if he fell as a result of such
an explosion and yet retained a smile on his face and no malice
against the doer. What he wanted to say was that no one should look
down upon the misguided youth who had thrown the bomb. He probably
looked upon Gandhiji as an enemy of Hinduism. After all, has not the
Gita said that whenever there was an evil-minded person damaging
religion, God sent someone to put an end to his life? That
celebrated verse has a special meaning. The youth should realize
that those who differed from him were not necessarily evil. The evil
had no life apart from the toleration of good people. No one should
believe that he or she was so perfect that he or she was sent by God
to punish evil-doers, as the accused seemed to flatter himself he
was.
He (Gandhiji) had heard that the youth had without permission
occupied a masjid for lack of other accommodation and now
that the police were getting all mosques evacuated, he resented the
act. It was a wrong thing on his part to have occupied the masjid
in the first place and it was doubly wrong to defy the authorities,
who asked him to vacate it.
Serving Hinduism
To those who were at the back of the youth, he would appeal to
desist from such activity. That was not the way to save Hinduism.
Hinduism could be saved only by Gandhiji's method. Gandhiji had
practised Hinduism from early childhood. His nurse had taught him to
invoke Rama when he feared evil spirits. Later on he had come in
contact with Christians, Muslims and others and, after making a fair
study of other religions, had stuck to Hinduism. He was as firm in
his faith today as in his early childhood. He believed God would
make him an instrument of saving the religion that he loved,
cherished and practised. In any case, one had to have constant
practice and acquaintance with the fundamentals of religion before
being qualified for becoming God's instrument.
Pity The Bomb Thrower
He had told the Inspector General of Police also, not to harass him
in any way. They should try to win him over and convert him to right
thinking and doing. He hoped that the youth and his guides would
realize their error. For, it was a wrong done to Hinduism and the
country. At the same time Gandhiji warned his hearers against being
angry with the accused. He did not know that he was doing anything
wrong. They should pity him. If they harboured resentment against
Gandhiji's fast and had still pledged themselves to maintain peace
in order to save an old servant of the nation, the guilt was theirs,
not that of the young man who had thrown the bomb. If, on the other
hand, they had signed the Peace Pledge whole-heartedly, persons like
the young man were ultimately bound to come to their way of
thinking.
Gandhiji said that he expected the audience to go on with the
prayers in spite of bomb explosions or a shower of bullets. He was
glad to learn that a poor unlettered woman was the cause of the
arrest of the miscreant. If the heart was sound, if there was right
thought, lack of letters was not of any consequence. He
congratulated the unlettered sister on her simple bravery.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
21-1-'48
Poverty No Shame
A difficulty to which his attention was drawn was that while the
Congress had been in the wilderness it had set before the people the
ideal of service, self-denial and simplicity. In those days it was
difficult to collect even a lakh of rupees. Today, the Congress
Government was in charge of crores of rupees and could raise as much
as it liked. Were they to spend it as if there was no change from
foreign rule to indigenous rule? Some people seemed to think that
India's leaders and ambassadors must live and spend money in a style
befitting their independent status and vie with independent America
and England in stylishness. They thought that such expenditure was
necessary in order to uphold India's prestige in foreign countries.
Gandhiji did not think so. There was no merit in hiding our poverty.
India's status in the world depended upon her moral supremacy which
her passive resistance had brought her. In this she had no rival as
yet, for the other nations, great or small, were proud of their
armaments and military valour. That was their capital. India
possessed only her moral capital, which increased with the spending.
On any other condition the Congress claims to revolutionize values,
when they came into power, would be forfeited. People criticized the
Ministers for accepting high salaries and not bringing the
artificial British standard down to the natural Indian standard.
These critics knew nothing of the private life of their Ministers.
But the fashion was for Congressmen and others to expect high
emoluments wholly out of keeping with what one was making out of
office.
One who managed to live on Rs. 150 per month would not hesitate to
demand and expect Rs. 500. Such persons felt that they would not be
appreciated unless they demanded high salaries and lived in the old
Civil Service style and dressed up as such. That was not the way to
serve India. They should not forget that a man's value did not
depend upon the amount of money that he earned. The process of
self-purification, which they all must share, demanded right thought
and action.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
22-1-'48
How to Deal with Traitors
Gandhiji had received a telegram from Meerut. It said that they had no ill
feelings against the Nationalist Muslims, but they did not believe
that those League Muslims who, until yesterday, had been collecting
arms and even now intended to help Pakistan, could ever be loyal to
the Union. He (Gandhiji) would have to repent if he put his trust in
them. They also said that religion and politics were quite separate
and non-violence could never work in politics.
It was rather late in the day to tell him, he said, that
non-violence could not work in politics. In politics they could not
begin with distrust. Those in charge of the Government were men of
great courage and self-sacrifice. They would deal with traitors when
the occasion came. Traitors might be found in any community and not
only among the Muslims. They had decided to live with the Muslims as
brothers and he wanted them to stick to their resolve. All Leaguers
were not bad. They should report against those who indulged in
questionable activities and let the Government deal with them as
severely as it liked. They must on no account take the law into
their own hands. That would be barbarous.
Birla House, New Delhi, 23-1-'48
Independence Day
This day, 26th January, is Independence Day. This observance was
quite appropriate when we were fighting for independence we had not
seen nor handled. Now! We have handled it and we seem to be
disillusioned. At least I am, even if you are not.
What are we celebrating today? Surely not our disillusionment. We
are entitled to celebrate the hope that the worst is over and that
we are on the road to showing the lowliest of the villager that it
means his freedom from serfdom, and that he is no longer a serf born
to serve the cities and towns of India but that he is destined to
exploit the city dwellers for the advertisement of the finished
fruits of well thought out labours, that he is the salt of the
Indian earth, that it means also equality of all classes and creeds,
never the domination and superiority of the major community over a
minor, however insignificant it may be in number or influence. Let
us not defer the hope and make the heart sick. Yet what are the
strikes and a variety of lawlessness but a deferring of the hope?
These are symptoms of our sickness and weakness. Let labour realize
its dignity and strength. Capital has neither dignity nor strength
compared to labour. These the man in the street also has. In a
well-ordered democratic society there is no room, no occasion for
lawlessness or strikes. In such a society there are ample lawful
means for vindicating justice. Violence, veiled or unveiled, must be
taboo. Strikes in Cawnpore, coal mines or elsewhere mean material
loss to the whole society not excluding the strikers themselves. I
need not be reminded that this declamation does not lie well in the
mouth of one like me who has been responsible for so many successful
strikes. If there be such critics they ought not to forget that then
there was neither independence nor the kind of legislation we have
now. I wonder if we can remain free from the fever of power politics
or the bid for power which afflicts the political world, the East
and the West. Before leaving this topic of the day, let us permit
ourselves to hope that though geographically and politically India
is divided into two, at heart we shall ever be friends and brothers
helping and respecting one another and be one for the outside world.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
26-l-'48
Urs At Mehrauli
Gandhiji described his morning visit to the Dargah Sharif at Mehrauli.
The urs had attracted a large concourse of Muslims and what
gladdened Gandhiji was to find an equal number of Hindus and Sikhs.
Due to some wild and misleading rumours, however, the attendance of
Muslims was thinner than in the previous years. It was a matter of
shame that man should have to be afraid of man. Gandhiji was also
distressed to see the costly marble trellis damaged. It was no
answer to say that similar or worse things had happened in Pakistan.
Had we fallen so low as to stoop to such acts of vandalism? Granting
that such incidents had occurred on a larger scale in Pakistan, it
would be improper to institute comparisons in evil doing. Even if
the whole world did wrong, should we do likewise? If today Gandhiji
took to evil courses, would it not distress them? For him it would
be worse than death. Similarly, they had reason to feel ashamed at
the damage done to the Dajrgah. The friend in charge had
related to the audience the history of the shrine and Gandhiji felt
that it behoved them all to show to such a holy place the veneration
due to it.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
2 7-1-'48
Satyagraha in South Africa
Gandhiji referred to the Satyagraha launched by the Indian community in South
Africa. Indians in South Africa were not permitted free entry into
the various provinces. In defence of their honour as men and women,
the Satyagrahis had marched to Volkurst and then motored to
Johannesburg where they held a meeting. This was a courageous step
and if the people as a whole became Satyagrahis in the right spirit,
victory was sure to crown their efforts. In the question of the
march the Government had shown a degree of tolerance and not
effected any arrests. But with the progress of the movement, it was
feared that arrests would follow. So long, however, as the movement
was conducted peacefully, there was no reason for the Government to
resort to persecution. Why should whites consider it infra dig
to talk matters over with non-whites? Gandhiji suggested that the
authorities should contact the Satyagraha leaders and satisfy their
reasonable demands. Today, India and Pakistan, just become new
Dominions, were entitled to expect friendly treatment from sister
Dominions of the Commonwealth. But if the South African Government
still treated Indians as inferiors on the score of colour, he had no
hesitation in declaring that they would be putting themselves in the
wrong. It was unthinkable that Dominions should quarrel among
themselves.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
28-1-'48
Their Servant
Gandhiji next spoke of a deputation of about forty refugees from Bannu, who
had called on him in the afternoon. Poor men, they were in an
afflicted state and he prized their darshan. As he had other
engagements, they were good enough at his request to have their
statements recorded by Shri Brijkrishna. One of them, however,
exclaimed that they owed their miseries to him and angrily asked
him to leave them alone and retire to the Himalayas. Gandhiji asked
him at whose bidding he should go. Some were annoyed and a few went
to the length of abusing him, while many eulogized his efforts. The
only course, therefore, open to him was to follow the dictates of
God who spoke to men in the inmost chamber of the heart. There were
women too in the company. He regarded them as his brothers or
sisters. God was our one true friend. We were entirely in His hands.
He would not care to go and enjoy the peace of the mountains but
would be content with what peace he could extract from the
surrounding turmoil. He, therefore, preferred to stay in their
midst, adding that if they all went to the Himalayas, he might
follow them as their servant.
Bread Labour
Proceeding Gandhiji referred to the complaints brought to him that
the refugees, though provided with food, shelter and clothing, were
averse to any work. If a man was in distress, the key to his
happiness lay in labour. God did not create man to eat, drink and
make merry. The Gita taught that one should perform yajna
(bread labour) and partake of the fruits of that labour.
Millionaires who ate without work were parasites. Even they should
eat by the sweat of their brow or should go without food. The only
permissible exception was the disabled for whom society provided.
There was a variety of work for the refugees to do, such as
maintaining sanitation including cleaning of latrines, spinning and
other crafts. They should learn to make the best of the situation in
which they found themselves.
Kisans
Gandhiji then spoke about peasants. If he had his say, our Governor-General
and our Premier would be drawn from the Kisans. In his childhood he
had learnt from school books that the Kisans were heirs to the
kingdom of the earth. This applied to those who laboured on the
land and ate from what they produced. Such Kisans to be worthy of
high offices might be illiterate provided they had robust common
sense, great personal bravery, unimpeachable integrity and
patriotism above suspicion. As real producers of wealth, they were
verily the masters while we had enslaved them. It had been suggested
to Gandhiji that the higher secretariat posts should also be manned
by Kisans. He would endorse this suggestion provided they were
suitable and had knowledge of the work expected of them. When Kisans
of this type were forthcoming, he would publicly ask ministers and
others to make room for them.
Birla House,
New Delhi,
29-1-'48
Harijan,
8-2-1948