Page 5 - Final Gandhi AnniversaryOct 2020

Gandhi Legacy Beyond Independence of India
Truth Hindu and Hindu Rastra

he tendency in the current political wind is to infuse the terms Hindu and Hindutva
in the context of India as a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state. However, there
Tare distinct differences between these two terms.
Gandhiji called himself a Sanatan Hindu because, he believed in the Vedas, the
Upanishads, the Puranas and scriptures. Gandhiji believed that all religious texts were
divinely ordained. He was heavily influenced by Jainism in his youth and that probably
was reflected as he took the religious principle of ‘Ahimsa’ (doing no harm) and from it
developed his own famous principle of Satyagraha (truth force) later on in his life.
Gandhiji’s era had witnessed a period of violently conflicting communal identities
in the midst of extreme poverty, unjust conditions and atrocities. When time came for
"Truth alone triumphs" independence, it represented a choice between the inclusiveness of Gandhi’s ideology
against that what was on offer that supported exclusion of others from power. Proposing
an exclusivity for one specific group, a new would have been Hindu Rastra (Hindu Nation).
Instead, the people, preferred India to be a secular and inclusive nation.
The use of the political ideology of Hindutva was aimed at attract people belonging to a
particular faith and exploiting their religious sentiments to provide maximum engagement
and creating a large pool of voting fodder. The strategy effectively helped raise the cry for
a kind of nationalism in parallel that sympathised with their particular kind of political
ideology.
The Hindutva, as a political ideology differs from the very fundamentals of what
Gandhiji was advocating at the time. It was based on a narrow and exclusivist in its conflation
of janma bhoomi (motherland) and punya bhoomi (holy land). While, in Gandhiji’s Hindu
dharm, it was a matter of self consciouses of goodness that impacts upon our conduct
of being a good Hindu. Thus, he did not separate religious impact from politics. In fact
he brought more clarity of religious ethic to political behavior as individuals rather than
political militancy into religious communities. Gandhi ji’s Hinduism gives space to all,
while the Hindutva- a political ideology, although presented as nationalist and modern,
its militant chauvinism and authoritarian fundamentalism defines India as Hindu and
wants all Indians to be promoting the aspirations of Hindus. Gandhi ji’s sarva-dharma- The spirit of Gandhi is very much
alive in India today. Some of his
samabhova can possibly be an effective basis for a tolerance on which to premise a just
disciples have misgivings about
inter-religious peace and harmony; that we often explain as embracing the diversity.
this when they remember the
In Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership the majority of Indians — Hindu, Muslim and of
drama of the fight for national
other faiths — shared his vision of a country resolutely inclusive and humane, which
independence and when they look
would welcome people of every belief and ethnicity to be equal citizens with equal rights. around and find nobody today
This ideal lay at the foundations of the constitution of the new republic, crafted under the who comes near the stature of
care of Babasaheb Ambedkar. This was bitterly contested by bodies such as the Hindu the Mahatma. But any objective
Mahasabha, founded around (1915), and by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS 1925) observer must report that Gandhi
with a vision of their own for India, a nation exclusively for India’s Hindu majority. And, is not only the greatest figure
in that Muslims and Christians would be ‘allowed’ inclusion not at an equal class citizens. in India’s history but that his
influence is felt in almost every
Though less explicitly enunciated, people of disadvantaged castes and tribal ethnicities
aspect of life and public policy
would also be seen as somewhat a group with limited recognition in society. Gandhi ji was
today.”
absolutely clear about the fundamental differences between the two.
Gandhi ji: “ BY RAMARAJYA I do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean by Ramarajya Divine Raj, My Trip to the Land of Gandhi”
the Kingdom of God. For me Rama and Rahim are one and the same deity. I acknowledge King, Martin Luther, Jr. July 31, 1959
no other God but the one God of truth and righteousness”.
Generations to come.........

Albert Einstein said of Mahatma Gandhi that: "Generations to come will scarce
believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." A
deceptively simple man, Gandhi overturned the greatest Empire the world has
ever seen”.
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed
the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. His work
is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.

“ India's secular constitution is its soul. I am confident India will remain a cradle
of civilisation where diverse people can live in harmony. In the words of my late
father, www.shaheednanaksingh.com "India's diversity is like the colours of a rainbow,
its charm will diminish if one is removed".
Wrote Lord Ranger CBE, British Peer, on the even of 74th India’s independence Day.
14th August 2020
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Published by Gujarat Publications Ltd Gandhi Birth Anniversary: 2nd October 2020