E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – His Life & Timeswas victory with tragedy, victory that found the army defeating its owngeneral.'I cannot participate in the celebrations of August 15,' Gandhi announced.Independence brought sadness to the architect of independence. The Father ofhis country was disappointed with his country. 'I deceived myself into the beliefthat people were wedded to non-violence ...' he said. Indians had betrayednon-violence which was more important to him than Indian independence.Mountbatten told the Royal Empire Society on October 6, 1948, that in IndiaGandhi 'was not compared with some great statesman like Roosevelt orChurchill. They classified him simply in their minds with Mohammed and withChrist.' Millions adored the Mahatma, multitudes tried to kiss his feet or thedust of his footsteps. They paid him homage and rejected his teachings. Theyheld his person holy and desecrated his personality. They glorified the shelland trampled the essence. They believed in him but not in his principles.Independence Day, August 15, found Gandhi in Calcutta fighting riots. Hefasted all day and prayed. He issued no message to the nation. Invited to thecapital to participate in the formal inauguration of the nation's Life, herefused to attend. There is disturbance within,' he wrote toRajkumari Amrit Kaur the next day. In the midst of festivities, he was sad. 'Isthere something wrong with me,' he asked, 'or are things really going wrong?'Freedom had come to India and Gandhi was perplexed and perturbed: his Gitadetachment was impaired. 'I am far away from the condition of equipoise,' hedeclared.But faith never left him, nor did he contemplate retiring to a cave or a wood.'No cause that is intrinsically just can ever be described as forlorn,' heasserted."You must not lose faith in humanity,' He wrote to Amrit Kaur on August 29.'Humanity is an ocean. If a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean doesnot become dirty.www.mkgandhi.org Page 534