Gandhi

Once in many centuries, such a man is born; when he walks the path of his life, even Gods raise their fingers to salute. He is born is to show the humans, that love does conquer all. All the people who told you that power, and strength makes a winner were wrong. The only qualification for victory is the firm belief in yourself, and truth. Mahatma Gandhi was one such man, he was never a national leader. He was the leader of the whole humanity, his actions changed the future of the world, not just India. The birth of Gandhi was the stimulus which made the world a better place.

My only regret is that I was born many decades later, and missed to see the great man in action. Worse, I was brought up in a nation which wasn’t overwhelmed by his birth, but overshadowed by his death. In our country, I’ve heard so many times, how Gandhi’s action were against India. In fact, this is what got me interested in Gandhi. You see, I love to study contradictions. I wondered why Gandhi led a long-drawn struggle for India’s independence, if he was so much against India. It didn’t make sense.

After a research on Gandhi, I was glad he was born. I’m among the few who think pre-independence India wasn’t worth living. I’m thankful to him for the part, he played in our independence. Now, I wasn’t sure why would any Indian hate him? It was then I heard about the term do-gooder derogation. It means that overtly moral behavior can elicit annoyance and ridicule rather than admiration and respect. I can totally understand this attitude. There is no way any of us can measure up to his high standards of morality. The best, we can do to feel equal, is derogate him. If you acutely observe, most of the people who hate Gandhi are those who claim to be champions of morality in our society.

This is not a post, to make you respect or like Gandhi, what you do is your choice. I’m not even going to write and justify his views. All I ask is read everything he wrote, before you decide what you feel about him. It is never good to form an opinion based on hearsay.

Whenever, I’m depressed about the way world works, I think of this:

“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.”

― Mahatma Gandhi, in The Story of My Experiments With Truth

It helps me to maintain my optimism. Mahatma Gandhi has proved beyond doubt, “you don't need to terrorise others to gain respect and obedience, love is enough".

Read more about do-gooder derogation here.
Read about Jawaharlal Nehru's views on state of India on the eve of Gandhi's entry in the country in emergence of Gandhi.