Ayodhya Issue & Gandhi ji

Baapu’s birth anniversary coincides with the Allahbad High Court judgment on Ayodhya dispute. I wonder what would have been Bapu’s reaction on the judgment. Justice SU Khan, one of the three judges who delivered the judgment on Ayodhya dispute said in his judgment "Indian Muslims have also inherited huge legacy of religious learning and knowledge. They are, therefore, in the best position to tell the world the correct position. Let them start with their role in the resolution of the conflict at hand." What justice Khan said is about sacrifice. Ahimsa of Mahtma Gandhi was nothing but sacrifice. His teachings are his experience. Some people criticize him for his words but before commenting on Gandhi one should study about him. Whatever he said first he experimented with it. He always talked about change of hearts and he adivised to do so even in case of external threats to the countries. His fasts were to clean the hearts of people. But most probably Mahtma would have appealed to Hindus to leave their claim on the site. But today justice Khan has appealed Muslims to do that Bapu’s soul must be happy to see that.

Gandhi, untouchablity and Ambedkar

    Recently I landed in to Sabarmati Ashram once more. ‘Landed’ as the visit was unplanned and incidental. This ashram is as sacred to me as The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to Christians, Kotel/Western Wall to Jews, Mecca to Muslims, Golden temple to Sikhs and Kashi to Hindus. I am not a strict follower of his principles but some times I practice them in my life. And I believe, firmly, in his teachings and his ahimsa. In India we don’t mind criticizing a thing without having proper knowledge about it. And it’s done with Mahatma Gandhi, often. Time and again I pick debate with those ill-equipped with the knowledge of freedom struggle, Gandhian principles and his philosophy.

    It is often said about Geeta that one finds some thing new, each time one reads it. This happens to me with Sabarmati Ashram, I discover some untouched parts of Mahatma’s life, each time I visit there. This time it was about his words and action on untouchablity. I ve never thought so deeply about his philosophy, before, in this regard.

    When it comes to untouchablity there is another big name, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, he himself being a dalit bore the brunt of untouchablity; obviously he was aware of the problems faced by them. As he had undergone the humiliation since his childhood, when upper cast students refused to study with him in the same classroom and when he was a minister, in the government of Baroda state, the Brahmin peon used to throw the files on his hands so as to avoid an untouchable’s touch. Whereas Mahatma Gandhi was a Baniya, an upper cast Hindu.

    I took many days in writing this blog. I wanted not to be prejudiced or say didn’t want to jump to a conclusion in haste. The subject of my thinking was depth of gandhi’s stand on untouchablity vis-à-vis Ambedkar. The later being an untouchable fought for the rights of the untouchables. Though the plight of untouchables in British India can not be disputed but again and again I came to the point of my thinking. Whereas the method of Ambedkar was to secure rights of his community, untouchables, the Gandhi wanted the upper class Hindus to accept them as equal. Here lies the difference, while the path adopted by Ambedkar was of conflict rather a struggle with in the society. He advocated the communal awards and he almost got separate electorate for dalits. It was due to Mahatma’s fast unto death a historical error was averted. Otherwise there would have been three warring communal groups in India namely Hindu, Muslims and Dalits. But Gandhi ji emphesised on the acceptance of dalits by other sections of society as their brothers. Again his ahimsa! He was liked even by his adversaries for his ways. He always believed in changing the hearts and not in conflict. In case of untouchablity too, he wanted to change the heart of upper cast people. And for this, he was nearly ostrasized. He even in a way boycotted Kasturba who was told to leave the ashram if she could not stay with dalits staying in Sabarmati Ashram! But finally ahimsa won!
    If seen in its nackedness, Ambedkar struggled for the community he belonged to. He would have fought for Brahmins had he been a Brahmin. But Mahtma thought about a society equal for all, without prejudices and discrimination, which was a thing, in those times, only he could dream about, but he did, that’s why he was Mahatma!

Happy Journey

      Two days back I was on railway platform to board the train to my home town. While I was approaching my coach I saw a long ‘Q’. I wondered, why the queue was, but it din’t take me long to recognize poor general compartment passengers. The recent tragedy at New Delhi railway station struck to my mind. Those who died and injured all were poor people who travel in general compartment. I am not sure how many of the readers of this blog ever traveled in general compartment and how many even travel by train. I was satisfied to see the arrangement by the railway police, who kept strict vigil on the activities of those willing to board the train; they maintained the Q and video graphed the whole arrangements. Other day a woman lost her leg in the chaos on the same Ahmedabad station. It was a mistake of the driver who stopped the train at the wrong place and the train started backing up to reach to its original place of halt. This resulted in to breaking of the Qs. Ppl ran behind the train and all arrangements were waste. Question is this, why general class passengers! Mahatma Gandhi always traveled by third class. It was his way to know and express the misery of a common man. Railways then did ehsaan to Mahtma, banished third class coaches from passenger trains. But the misery of common men was no third class coach. Those who make polices in air-conditioned rooms with Bisleri bottles on their tables do not seem to be worried about the doomed living of the poor! And those luckier ones traveling in the reserved coaches are not aware how the ppl in the general coaches of same train are hanging, climbing, squeezing, fighting, quarrelling and arguing.

         Lot of hue and cry is made over security checks on airports, abroad but who cares about Haryanvi speaking Blue Line bus conductors, in Delhi,  who ill treat thousands of Bihari labourers daily.