E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – His Life & TimesThe agreement to be valid has to be real. If the Hindu mass mind is not yetprepared to banish untouchability root and branch it must sacrifice me withoutthe slightest hesitation'While the negotiators parleyed, therefore, the Hindu community—closes to aquarter of a billion persons—experienced a religious-emotional upheaval. At thevery beginning of the fast week, the famous Kalighat Temple of Calcutta andthe Ram Mandir of Banares, citadel of Hindu orthodoxy, were thrown open tountouchables. In Delhi, Caste Hindus and Harijans demonstratively fraternizedin streets and temples. In Bombay, a nationalist women's organizationorganized a poll in front of seven big temples. Ballot boxes, watched byvolunteers, were placed outside the gates, and worshippers were asked to casttheir votes on the admission of untouchables. The tally was 24,797 for 445against. As a result, temples in which no Harijan foot had ever trod wereopened to all.The day before the fast started, twelve temples in Allahabad were madeaccessible to Harijans for the first time; on the first day of the fast, some ofthe most sacred temples throughout the country opened their doors tountouchables. Every subsequent day, until September 26, and then every dayfrom the 27 to October 2, Gandhi's birthday, which was Anti-UntouchabilityWeek, scores of holy places lowered the bars against Harijans. All temples inthe native states of Baroda, Kashmir, Bhor and Kolhapur cancelled templediscrimination. The newspapers printed the names of the hundreds of templesthat lifted the ban under the impact of Gandhi's fast.Mrs. Swarup Rani Nehru, Jawaharlal's very orthodox mother, let it be knownthat she had accepted food from the hand of an untouchable. Thousands ofprominent Hindu women followed her example. At the strictly Hindu BanaresUniversity, Principal Dhruva, with numerous Brahmans dined publicly withstreet cleaners, cobblers and scavengers. Similar meals were arranged inhundreds of other places.In villages, small towns and big cities, congregations, organisations, citizens'unions, etc., adopted resolutions promising to stop discriminating againstwww.mkgandhi.org Page 360