The party was also grappling with caste conflicts within. It was only after Gandhiji took over that the freedom movement took shape and gained momentum. Hindu-Muslim conflicts were a worrying factor. Untouchability was rampant and certain sects were reeling under social oppression. Gandhiji brought all religions together and paved the way for the freedom struggle to became a unifier of people from different ethnicities, linguistic backgrounds, cultures and religions, notes Louis Fischer in his book The Life of Mahatma Gandhi.
To expect Gandhiji to be faithful to only Hindus in itself is a mistake. Gandhiji was against partition. At that time, a voice from the crowd shouted that a Muslim has killed Gandhiji. But what Kamal Haasan has done now for gaining votes is not right. According to him, there is no space for inequality in Hindu dharma and treats not only fellow human beings but all living beings as equals. Tolerance, sacrifice and no harm to living beings are the ways to attain salvation. However, all fundamentalists take refuge in religion to justify their acts and Godse was a fundamentalist.
Fundamentalists who say that they are fighting hard for their religion can be dangerous for their own people, making them objects of shame and suffering. From a position of power, satyagraha does not possibly work, it seems. Fourth, lets address the current issue: Patriotism.
A dictionary definition suggests it is "the feeling of loving your country more than any others and being proud of it". There is no doubt that right-wing nationalists like Godse were proud of India; we can question and discuss the love. Nationalism can be of two sorts, cultural nationalism and people's nationalism — the first one is characteristic of right-wing ideology and the second is the trait of the Left.
Vladimir Lenin was a patriot too since he loved and cared about the Soviet Union before other countries. But he also had problems with Gandhi holding prayer meetings in the Bhangi colony and reading phrases of the Quran in his prayer meetings.
As a person, Godse was problematic, but still the question remains: If violence delegitimises one's patriotism, then why do we have an India Gate and a National War Memorial at all? All soldiers are professional killers. Godse considered Gandhi an enemy of the State, so he killed him. One can question his politics as well as his problematic social positions, but cannot question his patriotism on the basis of a political murder.
Also, Gandhi advocated non-violence. But that does not make the use of violence obsolete. India has fought six wars with its neighbouring countries and commands one of the largest armies in the world. Finally, let us understand the Mahatma — the father of the nation. We have made a god out of a man in Gandhi. Historian Bipan Chandra in his popular book India's struggle for freedom refers to all top leaders of freedom struggle by name Nehru, Patel etc. But, when it comes to Gandhi, he refers to him as Gandhi ji.
Gandhi was made a Mahatma slowly and gradually after his death. In conclusion, it ought to be pointed out that Godse is as much a patriot as Afzal Guru or Bhagat Singh.
And if that statement equates to sedition, so be it. It needs to be resisted in court like Gandhi himself would have done. There was a deep silence when he Godse ceased speaking. Godse has been named a terrorist, a murderer, an anti-national, and what not.
One must read about Godse before creating a love or hate campaign in his name. The author writes at urbangaonwala. Godse sought this by participating in programmes such as inter-dining.
His second method of uniting Hindus was to identify and define the other, the Christians and Muslims, by subjugating them for the pain and torment their ancestors were supposed to have inflicted on them. In assassinating Gandhi, Nathuram gave his otherwise ordinary life a new meaning.
This was perhaps the reason why he pleaded with the government not to show him mercy and send him to the gallows. His masculinity had been asserted. He had sacrificed himself for promoting the idea of militant Hinduism.
He had killed the man who was sacrilegiously turning Hindus effeminate. Godse acquired esteem through the assassination of Gandhi.
His new-age followers can find their esteem by turning militant, by vanquishing Muslims and Christians in the 21st century, or by converting them and bringing them back into the Hindu fold, in the hope of effacing these religions from the country. It will then turn India akin to a modern European nation-state — one country, one religion — which is the model a large segment of the Hindu Right favours.
This is as true of his new-age followers. His love, as also that of his followers, is destructively obsessive. They can neither accept competing ideas in the religious realm nor the free choice of the other. It was this illegitimate passion of Godse which inspired him to kill Gandhi. It is this which usually inspires myriad outfits worldwide to hitch religion to the creed of violence. This post first appeared on Scroll. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy.
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