MAHATMA GANDHI-THE LEADER
I read an article in HT BRUNCH..and I just could not resist to express my opinion on it..So here it is..(All the stats and quotes are taken from there only..)
12th March 1930..
Mahatma Gandhi and 79 SATYAGRAHIS left SABARMATI ASHRAM in Ahmedabad and marched to DANDI to protest against the tax on salt, a basic necessity for everyone..
6th April 1930..
By extracting salt from the sea-sand, the first act of NON VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE was displayed..Mahatma Gandhi lead it..and lead it successfully..
He was arrested and his incarceration was followed by all his followers being LATHI-CHARGED..but those followers didn't even raise their arms in retaliation..coz Mahatma Gandhi had urged every INDIAN to do so..to willfully surrender and undergo the movement NON-VIOLENTLY..!!..
So what happened was that swarms of people were brutally knocked down by the BRITISH ARMY..and none of them fought back..they marched..they shouted..they cried..but police methodically beat them..their white clothes were drenched in RED..
An extract from GANDHI'S SPEECH on April 5 1930(before he got arrested)...
.... "If the government arrest me or my companions tomorrow I shall not be surprised, I shall certainly not be pained...What if all the eminent leaders in Gujarat and in the rest of the country are arrested? This movement is based on the faith that when a whole nation is aroused and on the march, no leader is necessary..."
This was a slight snapshot of one of the major risings of our country for the INDEPENDENCE..
Guys,I am actually not a supporter of MAHATMA GANDHI..I hardly believe in his ideologies..in fact I despise him for lots of reasons..be it curbing extremists..or be it teaching INDIANS how to suppress themselves and never to retaliate..Shedding our own blood...and showcasing our miseries in media to the world..so that they could feel sympathetic and painful for us..Sometimes I realize that probably WE GOT INDEPENDENCE OUT OF PITY..WE NEVER EARNED IT...
Probably, MAHATMA GANDHI just got lucky to be there as a leader at the right time..when BRITISH power was already so much weakened due to World War 2..and they could hardly focus on administering such an aroused nation....
But whatever be the reasons..one thing is for sure..no matter how much I loathe him..I will always respect his ability to INFLUENCE PEOPLE..Come on guys..his followers believed in his words to the extent that they were ready to die for the cause..for the INDEPENDENCE..He gathered masses against BRITISH and lead them in his OWN WAY..He truly was an ORATOR extraordinaire..!..
Today...63 years after INDEPENDENCE..When I look at all the problems and evil practices...forever Inflated Inflation..Impasse Corruption...Indigence..and above all..those bunch of crooked and self centered money collectors or in short ..our POLITICIANS..those who only mean to fill their pockets out of the hard earned money of COMMON PEOPLE.... I just realize that we actually need LEADER like MAHATMA GANDHI to lead us against them..to fight for our our rights..to agglomerate us..and to instill a common feeling within ourselves..so that we will become a force to defy the POLITICAL GIMMICK that these POLITICIANS play with us..
As he said ..."..When a whole nation is aroused and on the march, no leader is necessary..."...I cant agree more... I believe.. WE NEED A LEADER..
