24

Oct

Unholy Attacks On Mahatma Gandhi's Image In His Motherland

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Dr. R.K. Paliwal 

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New Delhi | Thursday | October 24, 2024

( The month of October is very important for all of us because of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary and Lal Bahadur Shastri's birthday.  We will keep publishing good articles on Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and Shastriji on Media Map News this month. This article has been written in this series by a well-known Gandhian thinker Dr. R.K. Paliwal for Media Map - Editor )

There were many false rumours against Mahatma Gandhi during his lifetime as well. Due to his liberal and inclusive views, many organisations like the Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, some members of RSS, people of leftist ideology and even personalities like Dr Ambedkar had made allegations against Gandhi from time to time. Some of these people also received lucrative positions and facilities from the British government. However, at that time, such ugly allegations were not made about Gandhi's character as mud is being thrown on social media today as part of a well-planned conspiracy.

The irony is that while Gandhi's image is getting stronger across the world, the United Nations is showing his respect by recognizing his birthday as "International Day of Non-Violence", some people in our own country are trying to belittle his stature. These people try to tarnish Gandhi's image in three different ways:

1. Some people make the mistake of calling him a traitor, considering him the main culprit for the partition of the country.

2. The second group is those people who indirectly spread propaganda to prove Gandhi a criminal by calling Nathuram Godse a patriot.

3. The third category consists of those who tried to replace Gandhi with his followers like Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar.

Article at a Glance

False rumours are being spread against Mahatma Gandhi even today. Some people do the stupidity of calling him a traitor by calling him the main culprit of the partition of the country. Others spread propaganda to indirectly prove Gandhi a criminal by calling Nathuram Godse a patriot.
The third category consists of those who tried to replace Gandhi with his followers like Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar. An attempt is being made to tarnish Gandhi's image through these rumours.
We need to convey Gandhi's thoughts to the people in simple language so that people do not fall into the trap of misinformation.

Unfortunately, some MPs, ministers and former bureaucrats are also involved in these efforts. Also, part of this campaign are those who collected half-baked information against Gandhi and spread it exaggeratedly. These people spread false information by resorting to ridiculous means like WhatsApp University.

A semi-literate section of the country easily believes such fake information. Countries in America and Europe honour their great personalities, but people in Asia suffering from a slave mentality do not hesitate to insult even their great personalities. Recently, the statues of Sheikh Mujiburahman, the father of their nation, were vandalized in Bangladesh, which is similar to the rhetoric against Gandhi in our country.

What is most worrying is that such misleading information is shared even in the WhatsApp groups of some doctors, engineers, and teachers. Especially, these rumours have a deep impact on the tender minds of the youth, whose minds can be easily instigated. Terrorists and organized criminals also misuse such hate-mongering information.

When Gandhi was alive, he used to respond to the allegations against him in a logical manner. He used to convey his side to the public through prayer meetings and newspapers. Now that he is no longer among us, it is the responsibility of the government and all those who consider Gandhi as an ideal to face the false allegations against Gandhi. For this, a strict law is also needed, under which those who make false allegations and spread rumours against Gandhi can be punished.

Along with this, it is important to convey Gandhi's thoughts to the people in simple language so that people do not get trapped in the web of misinformation. Gandhi's life and his struggles should be taught interestingly in schools and colleges. The media should also not limit Gandhi only to his birth and death anniversaries, but his contributions like the Dandi March, Satyagraha movement, and Quit India movement should be prominently remembered from time to time.

About ten years ago, when attempts to spread lies against Gandhi increased, I thought of writing something about this. My Gandhian friends also urged me, and in this sequence, I wrote the play "Gandhi Ki Chargesheet". In this play, Gandhi himself has answered the allegations against Gandhi in the country's Supreme Court. This play was staged at many places and the audience appreciated it very much. After watching the play, people start understanding Gandhi's personality more deeply, because in it they get factual information that the allegations are false.

Gandhi is such a great hero of Indian civilization and culture, whose thoughts and actions should make every Indian proud. Gandhi is our heritage, which is our duty to preserve and carry forward. This is possible only when all of us imbibe his thoughts in our lives and give correct information about him to the new generation. In this way, while maintaining respect for Gandhi and the importance of his thoughts, we can follow his ideals.

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Author: Former Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax has retired from the posts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is involved in various creative works of holistic village development based on Gandhian ideology. He has played a leading role in making some villages in different parts of the country ideal villages.

 

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