| Gandhi Funeral and the Happy Man | |||
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By: Raj Shekhar
February 25, 2005 
FeedbackThere is a well known Chinese saying: ‘In every funeral, there is at least one happy man.’ If you think this proverb has any weight, think about Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral. And who was the happy fellow? Not Gandhiji, as he wanted to live for 125 years! He sincerely believed that living up to 125 years for any human being is natural if they maintain healthy life style. With his superhuman strength quality, proven by coming back to life after his several near fatal fasts as well as maintaining in his life long way of practice in naturopathy, strict diet, exercise and superb will power to keep himself healthy, he would have proven to the world about his believe in this full lifespan of human beings. In our traditional Hindu culture, one strives for Moksha or liberation from the world to find a final abode in God’s shelter. One step to achieve this liberation is to become a Sanyasi by renouncing the worldly possessions. Gandhiji had already achieved this higher plane of existence long before, unencumbered by the desires, material possessions and attachments. Instead of heading for the Himalayas or running towards any caves to chase and find his personal God like many Sanyasi, he was able to show that one can find a true moksha too, in midst of the struggle of everyday life, by following the tradition of simultaneously renounce and remain philosophy. We can rule out this as well that like a true Hindu he would have been a happy person realizing his Moksha from this world when he received three shots in his chest cutting his life short to reach his goal of 125 years of lifespan. Who could be better than him to appreciate the life with his ideology to even protect the enemy- not just friends and neighbors? He must have also realized the value of his own life as well and that could be another reason for him to live up to 125 years. Gandhiji must have sensed that he was more required than ever before by the ordinary citizens of his country as well as people on the other side of the border. He was painfully witnessing increased blood sheds, spreading hatred, more tears and no doubt he was serious not just poetic when he said his work was not over yet as he wanted to “wipe every tear from every eye.” Gandhiji was not a happy old man during last phase of his life when his country was split and he watched in agony, an erected wall between the houses of his sons living in India and Pakistan. His heart must have also ached to ‘split’ his time between these brother’s houses. Not surprisingly, he longed to visit newly created Pakistan to take his message of peace and work towards healing the wounds of partition inflected upon Hindus, Muslim and Sikhs on that side of house as well. He was able to even convince the new Indian Government to provide fifty five Crore Rupees to other infant Government of Pakistan as an act of goodwill. This issue still remains like a thorn in the eyes of many Indians. For Gandhiji, India and Pakistan remained like two houses of his sons and maybe, he felt like any parent coming from our culture to develop a soft and protective feelings towards the younger and asking the elder one to sacrifice for the sake of caring the younger brother. Of course, for many of those who harbour a kind of rivalry feelings towards their own brother would not buy this notion and they would not hesitate to declare it as a pure stupidity. It is kind of a gauge to scale the emotions. Some of them are like ‘business people’ who only see the value of money not in any emotional value in wasting money. Their perception is also absolutely right as they do not have any other way to define the emotional value. On the other hand, there are people who strongly believe in taking care or do not equate money with emotions would genuinely not expect a return of favour from the younger one except wishing them well. It is the 100% Indian value of our culture that you do not find any where in the world. Who could be the mystery man to be happy at Gandhiji’s funeral? His assassin, Godse? No. As like any cold blooded murderer, he was deranged person, and a madman knows no difference in feelings of sorrow or happiness. Therefore, Godse was not the happy person at the funeral per the above Chinese saying. He was brainwashed, repeatedly incited and inspired by the inflammatory speeches made by the leaders of the RSS. The RSS organization has defended their acts very cleverly but with a cowardly reply that they never passed any resolution to kill Gandhiji. The RSS organization got away from the punishment only because the Indian Penal code at that time had no provision of proceeding against organization in spreading hatred. It is well known that Sardar Patel was angrily and bitterly blamed by not only the prominent leaders like JP, Azad and many others in his own camp for his failure as a Home Minister during that period. Sadly, he must have felt the pain of being accused of ignoring the security to protect the Mahatma. But again, who would think that this Saint needed protection when he himself had given a mantra of fearlessness to the entire nation to fight the British, the evils of the society as well as communal beasts with not stones and sticks but non-violent means. All his life, whether in South Africa or in all corners of India, he always moved around unprotected as he himself was the source of protection for his people. Can anyone imagine Gandhiji walking around surrounded by the commandoes like some of the current days politicians like Mayavati, who walks with her machine gun- trotting bodyguards? Sardar Patel, an image of him with hardened heart, must have suffered and grieved in silence from the pain of loosing his spiritual, political and personally very affectionate Guru as he suffered a massive heart attack within two months after this tragedy. This deep shock took his life within four years after Gandhiji’s death. It is also equally sad that he is being perceived like a person who protected the Hindu interests only and was soft on these RSS people. The anti Patel groups always cite about his letter to Nehru in Feb.1948 saying he “did not believe that RSS had committed the Crime.” That was Patel as the Home Minister reporting his views as well as a brilliant lawyer who worked within the frame of existing penal code. Patel’s ‘legal mind’ respected this penal code but not his ‘moral mind’ when he wrote few months later in July 1948 in a letter to Dr. Shyamprasad Mukherji, one of the only few leaders with a sense of courage in the RSS / Hindu Mahasabha camp that he could communicate : “As … the case relating to Gandhiji’s murder is sub judice I would like not to say anything about the participation of these two organizations ( ie RSS & Hindu Mahasabha),but our reports do confirm that, as a result of the activities of these two bodies, particularly by the former (ie RSS), an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible”. It is worth noting Patel’s observation in disgust “the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death”. While the RSS’ joy was short lived as the nation overwhelmingly moved by this tragedy and the wrath of the common people from all sectors turned against the RSS and their leaders could not come out to face the angry people. Slowly however, the situation cooled down and some of the leaders started to show their faces again with a nervous and shaky behavior by twirling their moustache as if to show they were brave and beautiful. Thus, RSS is also being ruled out on a technical legal ground under then existing Indian legal panel code to be directly involved in the murder, as well as to be a happy person at the funeral simply because an organization could not be considered as a person. We have to still find a happy person at that funeral. Any guess with proof? Mohammed Ali Jinnah? No, he was not at the funeral besides he himself was a sick man dying of TB to feel any happiness in his life to enjoy his shrewdly hard bargained and newly carved nation to realize his dreams. One person who was the mastermind and quietly enjoying himself was Veer Savarkar- his dream came true to get Gandhi out of his eyesight, put the nation in a state of confusion and shake the religious harmony in an unstable equilibrium to reap the political gains suiting his ideology. Savarkar’s lifelong antipathy to those he considered Hinduism’s foes started with a more virulent extremist views to use violent methods and his obsession to militarize the Hindu population. Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi had disagreed from the time of their discussions in London in 1909. He made no bones about his conviction that Gandhi’s doctrine of non violence was “absolutely sinful.” Although always overshadowed in early stage by the Congress Party, as the only party to appeal people as freedom fighter’s united political movement under the leadership of Gandhiji, Savarkar’s political rivalry is well known. Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1919 and they elected him as their president for seven consecutive years. Under his leadership Savarkar played a dubious and opportunist role in the “Quit India” movement of 1942. While addressing the Hindu Mahasabha session at Kanpur in 1942, Savarkar declared: “As soon as congress was removed from the political field as an open organization under the government ban, the Hindu Mahasabha alone was left to take up the task of conducting whatever Indian National activities lay within its scope.” While large sections of the Indian Population faced immense repression and the whole nation was turned into jail, Hindu Mahasabha under him decided to co-operate with the British and in fact, Savarkar was jubilantly thankful to the British rulers for banning the Congress Party. A happy man indeed, first, he was successful in getting a fall guy like Nathuram Godse to do the ghastly murder and secondly he was sure of himself to be acquitted of this crime. No doubt he himself lived a double life of political assassin whose unseen hands had controlled his lieutenant Godse, and a freedom fighter with his one time proud, nevertheless, a tainted record. A life, no matter how painful or distressing, one hopes to remain alive as even life wants to enjoy the life itself. It is very well expressed by Pundit Narendra Sharma’s poetry: “Jivan phir bhi jivan, Jine ko machalta hai !” Yes, maybe Gandhiji’s jivan might have faced the same sense of eagerness to live longer. Not only he, but the rest of India also wanted him to live longer to give a solid foundation to a newly librated nation as well as reinforce his message of brotherhood to people on the both sides of the fences. Raj Shekhar
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