India's mighty gentle giant

Among the valiant freedom fighters of India’s colonial era was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (popularly referred to as Mahatma Gandhi). He neither preached violence nor displayed aggression in the nationwide struggle against oppressive British rule.

The deep empathy of Gandhi was evident in his Sarvodya (service to all people).

This was vital in shaping a national consciousness to appeal to India’s culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse society. The stratification of India’s society into five classes or varna had created misery and unhappiness for centuries. The maintenance of this rigid caste system with its different sub-classes (Jati) and particular prescriptions made it difficult for the lower classes to gain social mobility.

The Mahatma has also been deemed a reformer of Hinduism.

One of his most notable contributions was a genuine concern for the plight of the despised "untouchables" or Dalits (now designated as Scheduled Castes) who occupied the lowest rung of the caste system. He renamed this scorned and marginalised group- Harijan (Children of God) and placed them in the forefront of India’s national movement.

For Gandhi, the emergence of a new, free Indian individual would reflect true freedom. It was a reflection of Gandhi’s unfailing and consistent efforts to bridge the heterogeneity of the Indian population.

Gandhi’s attempt to free India from the colonial shackles of British rule involved the "weapon" of passive resistance termed Satyagraha (holding fast to truth).

This symbol of resistance incorporated not merely truth and non-violence as reflections of cosmic law but also had political connotations. Gandhi believed, “Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.”

The injection of Satyagraha into India’s nationalist movement meant maintaining equilibrium between concession and aggression. Such was his unique political philosophy that as a satyagrahi, he not only trusted human nature but soon his politics became almost indistinguishable from his religion.

Not surprisingly, he won the support of many enlightened thinkers and anti-imperialists in Britain and across the globe.

The British feared Gandhi’s resilience and uncompromising attitude. This frail, practical idealist protested against anti-Indian legislation and inspired thousands to participate in peaceful fasts, hartals (strikes) and marches.

For instance, in 1927 Gandhi played a crucial role in the boycott of the Simon Commission (chaired by Sir John Simon) which investigated the next stage of India’s constitutional evolution.

The constructive aspects of civil disobedience were evident in Bombay with the boycott of foreign cloth, picketing of liquor stores and a call for no-tax agitation among peasant cultivators. The non-payment of taxes and rents created the most alarm among the British administrators.

In 1930, the Mahatma led the famous march in Dandi to protest the government’s unbearable tax on salt.

In post-colonial discourse, it is acknowledged that Gandhi was influential and achieved reforms, but the anti-colonial nationalist is also seen as having failed in creating a stable nationalist movement. For instance, he undertook a 21 day fast in October 1924 to resolve Hindu and Muslim differences. This act failed to create permanent peace.

Undoubtedly, the problems facing India seemed insurmountable. In 1946, there were riots between Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta and other parts of India. The failure to achieve consensus proved that religious forces and demagogues were stronger than Gandhi’s cohesive nationalistic sentiment.

Additionally, the formation of the Swaraj Party, riots in Bombay and Punjab, violence accompanying civil disobedience and economic discontent among the lower classes were disturbing signs of a growing contempt and disillusionment of the direction in which Gandhi was leading the nationalist movement.

Brinsley Samaroo in the co-edited book, India in the Caribbean, noted the impact of these monumental developments, in the motherland, on the Indo-Caribbean. “From the 1930s, their heroes became Gandhi and Nehru and their newspapers were filled with news of the agitation in India,” he wrote.

The peaceful revolutionary eventually achieved his vision as India became independent on 15 August 1947. However, his beloved country was partitioned and a separate state for Muslims was founded – Pakistan.

The life of this advocate of nonviolence abruptly ended in New Delhi. Gandhi, 78, was killed by an extremist Hindu who belonged to a right-wing Hindu paramilitary group. His assassination on 30 January 1948, was a loss to India and the world.

Gandhi once said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

His messages are relevant today and in the future. In today’s war-torn world with volatile societies, we should strive to adopt and promote some of Gandhi’s principles and practices of perseverance, discipline, humility and understanding.

Humanity must allow the lights of understanding, tolerance and peace to shine into their lives.