Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Preface
Dear Friends,
Nenmeli K Srinivasan
1
Years in South Africa
The American hotel owner agreed that Gandhi could stay in the
hotel, but the dinner would be served only in his room. This was
because other guests would not accept a colored man dinning with
them in the common dining room.
Yet, the hotel owner found that the guests did not mind and
Gandhi was later served dinner in the common dining room along
with others.
2
It was 1907. Gandhi described his movement as “passive
resistance” ,as against ‘armed resistance’ .At the end of 1907, he
announced a prize for a new name that would convey the
character of the struggle he had launched.
His nephew ,Maganlal won the prize of two pounds with his name:
“Sadagraha” which was modified by Gandhi himself to
“Satyagraha” meaning “truth-force’ or ‘soul-force.’
3
waypoints .On crossing the border, the government arrested
them and brought them back to Natal in three special trains. In
Dundee mines, they were interned as temporary prisoners. The
mine owners were their jail wardens. The people refused to work
in the mines. Some miners were killed in the firings by the police.
While in jail, Gandhi made a pair of sandals for Gen Smuts who
wrote that there was no hatred and personal ill feeling towards
Gandhi. [ Later Gen Smuts met Gandhi in 1931 when Gandhi visited
London for Round-Table Conference and apologized for his harsh
actions in South Africa.]
The black plague epidemic broke out in the squalid Indian ghetto
of Johannesburg; the sick and dying were taken to an abandoned
building for quarantine. There a heroic English nurse spent long
hours caring for them.
4
Many years later she narrated that in the evening at the height
of the epidemic , a small figure appeared at the door. She
shouted: “Get out ! This is plague.” But the man quietly replied ;”
It is alright; I have come to help you.” She let him in. He went
straight to the sick. Gandhiji attended to the sick men himself
and whispered back: “ He is my brother.” And he stayed
throughout the night until the relief came.
[Adapted from “Gandhi,the man”—Eknath Easwaran.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
5
Gandhiji wrote: “ This was not the first time I had been faced
with such a trial. On all such occasions, God had sent help at the
last moment.” Soon enough, a Sheth , a wealthy merchant, pulled
up at the Ashram and offered to give monetary help. The next
day he returned and placed in the hands of Gandhiji a sum of Rs
13000 and drove away. The merchant was quite a stranger ; he
had never visited the Ashram before.!
[The following is adapted from an article by O.N. Garg, sometime
in 1994]
6
Karaikudi on Sep 21st. He started carrying a sling bag to keep
sundry things as he had no shirt pocket. The watch used to dangle
from his waist. Gandhi told further : “ I adopted this change in
dress because I always hesitate to advise anything that I may not
myself be prepared to follow.”
English watches
7
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad recounted the following anecdote of
Gandhi:
In !931, when Gandhi visited London [for the first Round-Table
Conference with the British Government], two body-guards were
assigned to him: Sergeant Evans and Sergeant Rogers. The
detectives shared Gandhi’s hectic and painstaking schedule
throughout the day. They would wake up at 4 AM and followed
him on his morning walks in cold and foggy weather.This
continued for several days. While leaving England, Gandhiji
became fond of them.
8
When the Govt invited Gandhiji to the Royal Palace, he wore his
usual dress: loin cloth, bare chest, a shawl over the
shoulders,sandals without socks, a pocket watch dangling from
the waist. Someone asked him if he was dressed well for such a
meeting in the palace. Gandhi replied with a wry humor: “The King
had on him enough clothes for both of us.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------
9
that was “tax-free” into it out of a small paper bag hidden in his
shawl and remarked smilingly “ This is to remind us of the famous
Boston tea party “ [when settlers in USA dumped tea packages
into the sea in protest against British taxation during the
colonial rule in the US.
10
One American journalist who has been following Gandhi’s work for
years with growing admiration finally asked him with the
terseness of a newsman: ‘ Gandhiji, Can you tell me the secret of
your life in three words?.”
“ Yes,”—chuckled Gandhi…”Renounce and Enjoy” . Gandhi was
quoting from Isa-vasya Upanishad, one of the ancient scriptural
piece..a part of Vedanta .
Further, for Gandhi , the whole of the Bhagavad Gita [which
contains 700 verses in 18 chapters] was only a commentary on
these three simple words.
Gandhiji’s simplicity
Trains in India had three classes. The first class compartments
were meant for the ruling classes—the British. The second class
was used by the richer people of India. The third class---
crowded,dirty wooden benches ---were left for the vast majority
of poor Indians. Gandhi always preferred to travel third class
.When someone asked him why he traveled in third class, he
quipped immediately ,” because there is no fourth!.”---He taught
always by personal example.
Gandhiji at Naokhali
11
[adapted from the article: Horace Alexander---Gandhi thorugh
western eyes,1969]
India won its independence from the British rule on August ,15th
,1947. Where was Mahatma Gandhi on that day? He was not seen
on the ramparts of Red Fort in Delhi addressing the masses. He
was not with the last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten in a farewell
dinner. He was not anywhere near Delhi at all. He was in distant
Calcutta [Kolkata] ,bringing peace among riotous mobs.
On the way to Naokhali, Gandhiji and his team arrived in the city
of Kolkata….Leaders of muslim community met him and urged him
not to proceed to East Bengal. He , however ,wanted assurance
from them that the Hindus would not be harmed in Naokhali
district of East Bengal when it became part of Pakistan on the
day of Independence.
12
critic of Gandhiji, to join him to bring peace to Kolkata. They
would go to a deserted house in the muslim part of the city and
persuade the local Hindus to invite the muslims to return to their
homes.
They found such a place in Balia Ghata .On August 12th, a crowd
of boys gathered outside the house shouting slogans against
Gandhiji. They pelted stones at the windows of the house. After
sometime they entered the house to talk to Gandhiji. The talks
revealed that many young men had planned to slaughter muslims
after the Independence day and to drive them to East Bengal or
Pakistan [eastern sector]. Gandhiji reasoned with them---this is
not the way to start the life of a new nation. The angry young
men left the place but returned the next day to tell Gandhiji
that they would support his peace efforts so long as he remained
in Kolkata.
On 14th August, at the regular prayer meeting, young men with
hatred towards Suhrawardy wanted him to be present. He was
there in that house , but closeted with Horace Alexander, a long
time associate of Gandhiji. The angry mob wanted to lynch
Suhrawardy. Gandhiji shouted that Suhrawardy had joined the
peace efforts and should be protected.
Later Gandhiji said ‘” in that moment ,he won them over.” Soon
peace descended on the scene and both muslims and Hindus
joined in hoisting the Indian National Flag and celebrating the
event .
13
On 15th August, a small gathering joined Gandhiji in prayer and
fasting .” On this first day of our freedaom”, Gandhiji said ,” We
must not forget the poor and hungry.” Some school girls came to
greet the Mahatma with songs of freedom composed by
Rabindranath Tagore.
14
Towards the end of his second year in England, Gandhiji read the
translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Edwin Arnold, called “ the
Song Celestial” along with some friends. Through these friends,
he also read “the Light of Asia” –the life of Gautama, the Buddha.
At about the same time, he also read the Bible, the New
testament. He wrote later: ”Especially the Sermon on the Mount
which went straight to my heart” ---I compared it with the Gita”.
Gandhiji Quotes
6 The more you act openly, the greater are your chances of
remaining truthful. There is no hatred, there is no place for
fear or despair in the dictionary of the man who bases his
15
life on truth and non-violence. –[speech in Paris, 5th
dec,1931]
11 An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
16
17 India to me is the dearest country in the world, not
because it is my country ,but because I have discovered the
greatest goodness in it.
17