The Charade of Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Born 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) also known as Bapu was the preeminent leader of Indian independence movement in British-ruled India.It is widely believed that Gandhi led India to independence employing nonviolent civil disobedience. The honorific Mahatma (Sanskrit: "high-soul", "venerable") is applied to him by his Indian followers. He is also called Bapu (Gujarati: endearment for "father") in India.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi was also an excellent PR man, managing to hide the less savory aspects of his character until long after his death. Overtime a number of facts have emerged that describes the man Gandhi was and sheds light on shortcomings in his character. I would try my best to go in details on these failures of Gandhi as a leader and even as a man.

Background

Mohandas Gandhi was born in a well-do-do family on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town in the princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the British Indian Empire. His father, Karamchand Gandhi was the diwan (chief minister) of Porbander state. Gandhi was a mediocre student. He shone neither in the classroom nor on the playing field. One of the terminal reports rated him as "good at English, fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting". In 1887, he passed the matriculation exam at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, with some difficulty. Gandhi's family wanted him to be a barrister, as it would increase the prospects of succeeding to his father's post. 

Karamchand Gandhi, Diwan of Porbandar

In 1888, Gandhi traveled to London, England, where he studied law and jurisprudence and enrolled at the Inner Temple with the intention of becoming a barrister. Gandhi was called to the bar in June 1891 and then left London for India. His attempts at establishing a law practice in Bombay failed because he was psychologically unable to cross-question witnesses. He returned to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants. In 1893, he accepted a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, a part of the British Empire.

Mohandas Gandhi with Dada Abdullah

Gandhi a "Racist"

During his 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi focused his attention on Indians and opposed the idea that Indians should be treated at the same level as native Africans. He repeatedly expressed contempt for the native population, claiming they were no better than the “untouchables” of Indian society. One speech in particular stands out. In 1896, he was quoted as referring to black South Africans as the “raw kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.” For those of you who aren't up on your South African slang, “kaffir” is a direct equivalent of our N-word.

Another time, he complained about finding himself in a “kaffir” prison, claiming Indians were “above” natives, who “are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals." 

In 1906, when the British declared war against the Zulu Kingdom in Natal, Gandhi encouraged the British to recruit Indians. He argued that Indians should support the war efforts to legitimize their claims to full citizenship. The British accepted Gandhi's offer to let a detachment of 20 Indians volunteer as a stretcher-bearer corps to treat wounded British soldiers. This corps was commanded by Gandhi and operated for less than two months.

Gandhi as Indian Ambulanceman supporting British war against African Zulus

He also stated that he believed "that the white race of South Africa should be the predominating race. After several treatments he received from Whites in South Africa, Gandhi began to change his thinking and apparently increased his interest in politics. In South Africa, Gandhi faced the discrimination directed at all colored people. He was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to move from the first-class. He protested and was allowed on first class the next day. Travelling farther on by stagecoach, he was beaten by a driver for refusing to move to make room for a European passenger. He suffered other hardships on the journey as well, including being barred from several hotels. In another incident, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered Gandhi to remove his turban, which he refused to do.

Gandhi, a Bisexual

A rare collection of letters between Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi and a South African bodybuilder with whom he shared a close relationship were published recently. His lover was Hermann Kallenbach, a German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder. The couple built their love nest during Gandhi's time in South Africa where he arrived as a 23-year-old law clerk in 1893 and lived there for 21 years.

Gandhi and Kallenbach

The bond between Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach has been a subject of speculation and gossip for years owing to their closeness, with previously published correspondence suggesting they may have had a physical relationship. One of the handwritten letters from Gandhi to Kallenbach that went on show on the 65th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination, is addressed to "My dear Lower House" and signed "Sinly yours, Upper House"."Your portrait (the only one) stands on my mantelpiece in the bedroom," he writes. "The mantelpiece is opposite the bed."

Gandhi, the Pervert

It was no secret that Mohandas Gandhi had an unusual sex life. He spoke constantly of sex and gave detailed, often provocative instructions to his followers as to how to they might best observe chastity. And his views were not always popular; "abnormal and unnatural" was how the first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, described Gandhi's advice to newlyweds to stay celibate for the sake of their souls.

Gandhi and two young women for company?

But was there something more complex than a pious plea for chastity at play in Gandhi's beliefs, preaching and even his unusual personal practices (which included, alongside his famed chastity, sleeping naked next to nubile, naked women to test his restraint)?

Gandhi with Manu Ben and Abha Gandhi

Gandhi preferred the company of younger women. He would always walk with good looking younger women in his arms.

Gandhi was challenging that abstinence in his own way. He set up ashrams in which he began his first "experiments" with sex; boys and girls were to bathe and sleep together, chastely, but were punished for any sexual talk. Men and women were segregated, and Gandhi's advice was that husbands should not be alone with their wives, and, when they felt passion, should take a cold bath.

Gandhi sharing a private joke with Manu Ben and Abha Gandhi

The rules did not, however, apply to him. Sushila Nayar, the attractive sister of Gandhi's secretary, also his personal physician, attended Gandhi from girlhood. She used to sleep and bathe with Gandhi. When challenged, he explained how he ensured decency was not offended. "While she is bathing I keep my eyes tightly shut," he said, "I do not know ... whether she bathes naked or with her underwear on. I can tell from the sound that she uses soap." The provision of such personal services to Gandhi was a much sought-after sign of his favor and aroused jealousy among the female ashram inmates.

Gandhi with Dr. Sushila Nayar and Abha Gandhi

As he grew older (and following Kasturba's death) he was to have more women around him and would oblige women to sleep with him whom – according to his segregated ashram rules – were forbidden to sleep with their own husbands. Gandhi would have women in his bed, engaging in his "experiments" which seem to have been, from a reading of his letters, an exercise in strip-tease or other non-contact sexual activity. Much explicit material has been destroyed but tantalizing remarks in Gandhi's letters remain such as: "Vina's sleeping with me might be called an accident. All that can be said is that she slept close to me." One might assume, then, that getting into the spirit of the Gandhian experiment meant something more than just sleeping close to him.

Gandhi with Dr. Sushils Nayar and Sarojini Nayadu

Meanwhile, it seemed that challenging times required greater efforts of spiritual fortitude, and for that, more attractive women were required: Sushila, who in 1947 was 33, was now due to be supplanted in the bed of the 77-year-old Gandhi by a woman almost half her age. While in Bengal to see what comfort he could offer in times of inter-communal violence in the run-up to independence, Gandhi called for his 18-year-old grandniece Manu to join him – and sleep with him. "We both may be killed by the Muslims," he told her, "and must put our purity to the ultimate test, so that we know that we are offering the purest of sacrifices, and we should now both start sleeping naked."

Dirty old man in loin cloth

But while he was becoming bolder in his self-righteousness, Gandhi's behavior was widely discussed and criticized by family members and leading politicians. Some members of his staff resigned, including two editors of his newspaper who left after refusing to print parts of Gandhi's sermons dealing with his sleeping arrangements.

Gandhi with Manu Ben and Abha Gandhi

But Gandhi found a way of regarding the objections as a further reason to continue. "If I don't let Manu sleep with me, though I regard it as essential that she should," he announced, "wouldn't that be a sign of weakness in me?"

Let the world say whatever it wants - Gandhi with Manu Ben

Eighteen-year-old Abha, the wife of Gandhi's grandnephew Kanu Gandhi, rejoined Gandhi's entourage in the run-up to independence in 1947 and by the end of August he was sleeping with both Manu and Abha at the same time.

Gandhi, the British Agent and Master Manipulator

In fact, I would go beyond the statement made by Markanday Katju that Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah were all British agents. All three were educated in Britain, most probably trained by the secret service, and planted as leaders of Indian Independence movement. Their propaganda, image manipulation, PR, and coverage in international media was directly managed by the British secret service. This was done to marginalize nationalist freedom fighters like Madan Mohan Malviya, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Vallabh Bhai Patel, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, and many other revolutionaries. The Indian freedom movement was massive in its sweep. Armed revolutionaries were not only carrying on guerrilla wars at home, they even took the battle to England, where they assassinated British officials.

Gandhi with his protege Nehru - was it a another bisexual relationship?

However, Gandhi severely reprimanded such acts, calling the Indian revolutionaries like Bhagat singh, Udham Singh, and Chandrashekhar Azad as misguided people. "There should be no malice or vindictiveness in our resistance," he said. But his statements condemning such acts only hurt India and Indians. One, it froze Indian anger and two, it made it easier for the British to hang the revolutionaries. 

Gandhi with Lord Mountbatten and Lady

It is worth noting that while Indian freedom fighters experienced third-degree torture in jails on remote islands, Gandhi never got a scratch. For all his protests, fasts-unto-death, marches and sloganeering, he only got short-term sentences in comfortable, minimum security prisons, where he could leisurely churn out his theories on non-violence. 

Gandhi with fellow Gujarati - Mohammad Ali Jinnah

Subhas Chandra Bose's political views were in support of complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas Gandhi and most of the Congress Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Their opinion was based on "political arrangement" that was fixed between the British and the Congress leadership. Gandhi's dirty tricks prevented Subhash and Vallabh Bhai Patel being elected the leaders of Congress party in two separate elections. Both times, Gandhi intervened to annul the election and select Nehru as the leader of the party.

Gandhi with Subhash Chandra Bose

The British official files related to independence and Partition, and the creation of Pakistan will be released in the year 2022, the longest release date for British state papers. Normally they are released within 30 years. They must contain controversial information for them to be released at such a late date. Obviously when they are released they will be sanitized for public consumption, but one speculates whether Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah were British agents. 

Gandhi, the Segregationist

The creation of Pakistan was a direct result of politicking by Gandhi. Both Jinnah and Nehru were lobbying for the post of "Prime Minister" of United India. Gandhi favored Nehru and marginalized Jinnah, pushing him for a separate nation for Muslims.

Gandhi with Mountbatten

Jinnah was disappointed for failing to grab all the power. The British Mission proposed formation of an interim government for united India, having equal number of Hindu and Muslim representatives. Muslims, being only about 20% of the population to 75% Hindus, the Congress objected to this arrangement.

A Muslim League propaganda pamphlet, read out in mosque sermons, said:

Muslims must remember that it was in Ramzan that the Quran was revealed. It was in Ramzan that the permission for Jehad was granted. It was in Ramzam that the battle of Badr, the first open conflict between Islam and Heathenism [i.e., idolatry, which equates Hinduism] was fought and won by 313 Muslims; and again it was in Ramzan that 10,000 under the Holy Prophet conquered Mecca and established the kingdom of Heaven and the commonwealth of Islam in Arabia. Muslim League is fortunate that it is starting its action in this holy month. By the grace of God, we are ten cores [100 millions] in India but through our bad luck we have become slaves of the Hindus and the British. We are starting a Jehad in Your Name in this very month of Ramzan. Pray make us strong in body and mind—give Your helping hand in all out actions—make us victorious over the Kafirs…

Declaration of Independence of Pakistan

How did Gandhi react? His weak knee reaction was first to deny the existence of Pakistan. The Hindu and Sikhs rallied around his call and opposed the creation of Pakistan. Master Tara Singh, the leader of the Sikh Akali Dal led a procession in Lahore tearing the flag of Pakistan. This created more backlash against the Sikhs in West Punjab. 

And the rest is history. Excited by inflammatory speeches of Muslim League leaders, the Muslim mob, after the rally, attacked the innocent Hindus and other non-Muslims of Calcutta, unleashing horrible slaughter, rape and arson for one-and-a-half days, before the Hindus and Sikhs hit back in like manners. Nonetheless, this set off chain-reaction of violence from East Bengal to West Punjab leading to eventual partition in August 14-15, 1947. And until July 1947, violence was committed almost exclusively by Muslims, except in Bihar (Oct. 1946), where Hindus retaliated against Muslims, reacting to local Muslim instigation, and to their attacks and massacres of Hindus in Calcutta and East Bengal.

Massacre of over 2 Million Hindu. sikh, and Muslims during partition of India

Thereafter, the Sikhs and Hindus hit back in East Punjab, as the partition was eventually agreed upon. The rest we all know: massacre of up to two million (evenly divided between Muslims and non-Muslims), rapes of hundreds of thousands (mostly Hindu & Sikh women), forced conversion of millions of non-Muslims and displacement of some 20 million across the border.

What was Gandhi doing all this time? Remember, when he went on a self-imposed fast to stop violence against the Muslims. But he did not do the same when Hindus and Sikhs were being slaughtered on the streets of West Punjab and East Bengal.

Here I would like to recall a real life story as told to me by my Dad. He was 14 year old when he once accompanied his father to listen to a speech by Gandhi in a Harijan Basti in Delhi. He was very excited to see the national hero in person. But when they arrived there, they notice a protest by the Hindu and Sikh refugees uprooted from West Punjab, now Pakistan, These homeless and battered people were protesting peacefully at the entrance when Gandhi arrived. Their complaint was that Gandhi did nothing to protect them from genocide in Pakistan, but he preaches Hindu-Muslim Bhai-Bhai to them. 

When the protesters refused to move or be quiet, the Delhi Police beat them up with canes - known as "Lathi-Charge" in India. The messiah of non-violence did not stop the Police beating up the unarmed peaceful protesters. 

Later on, during his speech, Gandhi went on to denounce the protesters and justified the violence by Indian police, " These Punjabis ... and Sikh people are very violent and "Badmash" ... Now if you they misbehave and do "Badmashi" then the Police has to do their job."

This sums up my characterization of Mohanchand Karamchand Gandhi. Was he a British agent, sycophant, manipulating politician, racist, bisexual, pervert, religionist, and a weak leader, it is for the readers to judge for themselves.

 Bibliography:

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9836759/Was-Gandhi-gay-Intimate-letters-go-on-display-in-India.html

2. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gandhi-book-claims-indian-leader-bisexual-racist/story?id=13255847

3. http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/09/08/gandhi-was-a-creepy-racist/

4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-monroe/the-gandhi-none-of-us-kne_b_842941.html

5. http://www.rajmohangandhi.com/why-partition-occurred-understanding

6. http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/bhupinder-singh/

7. http://lovkap.blogspot.com/2010/12/was-mahatma-gandhi-responsible-for.html

8. http://dougsaunders.net/2007/07/india-pakistan-blame-gandhi-churchill-partition-wanted/

9. http://www.quora.com/Who-was-a-better-leader-between-Mahatma-Gandhi-and-Subhas-Chandra-Bose

10. http://www.sikhfreedom.com/the-sikhs-and-gandhi
11. https://shakilakhtar.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/mahatma-gandhi-with-his-girls/