David Hardiman - Gandhi:In His Time and Ours

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GANDHI
In His Time and Ours

DAVID HARDIMAN

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Copyright Permanent Black 2003

eISBN 978 81 7824 428 0

e-edition:First Published 2013

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Preface

In this book I examine Gandhi's legacy as the creator and advocate of a radical style of politics that fought the many insidious divides found in his own and other societies. Political culturesboth democratic and authoritarianhave had a tendency to give rise to a populist demonising of people who are considered to be 'different' in one way or another. This may be directed against an external enemy, or it may be engaged within a society against minorities or those who lack social and political power. Often, though not necessarily, it is associated with a chauvinistic nationalism. Many examples may be cited, of which the case of Nazi Germany is only the most striking. In India, in Gandhi's own time, Hindu extremists spouted a hate-filled bombast against Muslims and Christians, who were depicted as 'traitors' and 'anti-nationalist'. Separatist Muslims countered them, demanding their own nation statePakistan. This led to inter-community strife and a series of tragic massacres.

This divisive politics had, and continues to have, several features. It involves defining an antagonistan 'other'who is seen to stand apart from the community to which the self' is perceived to belong. The difference might be perceived as religious, ethnic, racial or caste-based. It might target a minority or an assertive lower social class or community that 'needs to be taught its place'. All members of the 'other' community are seen to be culpable, and all may become objects of what is held to be a legitimate attack, regardless of any particular individual attitude or loyalty. Such enmity might also be directed against an occupying or colonial power that is defined on racial, religious and other such grounds, leading to terrorist attacks that are fuelled as much by a spirit of hatred and revenge as by any tactical need in what might well be an otherwise legitimate struggle. Debate and discussion with the 'other' is avoided lest it compromise the resolve to eliminate. The aim is always to bring about a polarisation of sentiment, leaving no middle ground between 'self' and 'other'.

Gandhi, I argue in this book, resisted such a politics with his whole being. He refused to accept the validity of such divides, arguing that humans everywhere share much in common, and that there are always grounds for a fruitful dialogue that can lead to a resolution of conflicts and a breaking down of difference. He resisted nationalists who preached hatred against the coloniser and who tried to assert a warped sense of masculinity through assassinations and terror-bombings. Instead, he validated what he depicted as 'feminine' principles of non-violent opposition and civility. He insisted that Britishers were welcome to stay in India if they relinquished their domineering and exploitative sovereignty and applied their many talents to improving Indian society in harmony with Indian sentiments. He forged a method of resistance that sought to build bridges with an opponent, while at the same time refusing to accept injustice. He directed a powerful spotlight on the injustices that ran through his own society, such as the practice of untouchability and the exploitation of low-caste and 'tribal' groups by the high castes, and he fought these abuses with great energy and commitment. He abhorred conflict based on the hatred of one religious group for another, seeing it as a negation of all that he defined as 'religion'. He was disgusted by Christian missionaries who railed against Hindu 'superstition' and 'idolatry', as well as by Hindus and Muslims who attacked one another for various alleged violations of their religious sentiments.

In resisting such polarities, Gandhi put his life on the line, and in the end was assassinated by a votary of the politics that he abhorred. In the process, he forged a method of moral activism that was to provide a beacon for many women and men in subsequent years. Such people, in speaking what they believed to be the truth to those in power and in fighting injustice through non-violent civil resistance, have also laid their lives on the line, and they have suffered and sometimes died for their principles. The final three chapters of this book examine Gandhi's legacy in this respect, both in India and on a global stage.

The book began as a result of a suggestion from Ramachandra Guha that I write a book on 'Gandhism in the Twentieth Century'. I took up the idea because I felt that Gandhi's beliefs, practice and legacy were due for reassessment in the light of many disturbing developments that had occurred during the 1990s both in India and the world, and no more so than in Gandhi's home region of Gujarat, where Hindu chauvinists carried out murderous attacks on Muslims in 1992. The events of 2002 in Gujaratwhen the same elements launched a carefully planned pogrom against Muslims, and then months later swept the polls in the state elections through playing on fears of 'Muslim terrorism'have strongly reinforced my feelings in this respect.

For reading and commenting on the manuscript, I would like to thank David Arnold, Ramachandra Guha, Gyanendra Pandey, Parita Mukta, Mahesh Rangarajan, Ajay Skaria; for the editing, Rukun Advani; and for invaluable help with my research in India, Kanu Bhavsar.

While I was writing this book, and within the space of less than two years, my father, John Hardiman, and my father-in-law, HarshadbTrivedy, died. Both, in their own and very different ways, put into practice their admirable visions of public and private civility. I dedicate this book to the memory of them both.

Note: The references to Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG) are from Mahatma Gandhi: Electronic Book (CD Rom version of CWMG), Publications Division, New Delhi 1999. The version of the CWMG used for this CD Rom differs from some of the earlier versions of CWMG,