Messages of Mahatma Gandhi to Country

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

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Messages of Mahatma Gandhi to Country 

 

Mahatma Gandhi loved his country and countrymen very much. He gave some message to them. They Are: If any sister carries my message to the country, I would bow to her in all reverence. But, at the moment, I want to tell you that she has delivered to you not my message but Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Chowdhari's. On an occasion such as this, this lady, ever doting on her husband, thought only of conveying her husband's message, and so put him on a pedestal. Well, Chowdhariji's message is the message of the entire Punjab. It asks you never to fear, never to accept defeat come what may, to love God and work on with patience and fortitude. We would do well to inscribe this message in our hearts. 1

A strange anonymous letter has been received by me, admiring me for having taken up a cause that was dearest Lokamanya’s heart, and telling me that his spirit was residing in me and that I must prove a worthy follower of his. The letter, moreover, admonishes me not to lose heart in the prosecution of the swaraj programme, and finishes off by accusing me of imposture in claiming to be politically a disciple of Gokhale. I wish correspondents will throw off the slavish habit of writing anonymously. We who are developing the swaraj spirit must cultivate the courage of fearlessly speaking out our mind. The subject-matter of the letter, however, being of public importance, demands a reply. I cannot claim the honour of being a follower of the late Lokamanya. I admire him like millions of his countrymen for his indomitable will, his vast learning, his love of country, and above all, the purity of his private life and great sacrifice. Of all the men of modern times, he captivated most the imagination of his people. He breathed into us the spirit of swaraj. No one perhaps realized the evil of the existing system of Government as Mr. Tilak did. And, in all humility, I claim to deliver his message to the country as truly as the best of his disciples. But I am conscious that my method is not Mr. Tilak’s method. And that is why I have still difficulty with some of the Maharashtra leaders. But I sincerely think that Mr. Tilak did not disbelieve in my method. I enjoyed the privilege of his confidence. And his last word to me in the presence of several friends was, just a fortnight before his death that mine was an excellent method if the people could be persuaded to take to it. But he said he had doubts.

I know no other method. I can only hope that, when the final test comes, the country will be proved to have assimilated the method of non-violent non-co-operation. Nor am I unaware of my other limitations. I can lay no claim to scholarship. I have not his powers of organization, I have no compact disciplined party to lead, and having been an exile for twenty-three years, and I cannot claim the experience that the Lokamanya had of India. Two things we had in common to the fullest measure—love of country and the steady pursuit of swaraj. I can, therefore, assure the anonymous writer that, yielding to none in my reverence for the memory of the deceased I will march side by side with the foremost of the Lokamanya’s disciples in the pursuit of swaraj. I know that the only offering acceptable to him is the quickest attainment of swaraj by India. That and nothing else can give his spirit peace. 2

I am delighted that heavenly peace reigned supreme throughout the country during the last six days. If it continues to the end of the chapter, it is bound to be brief and illuminating. 3 I am deeply touched by manifestation of deep affection shown to me by my countrymen during the critical period of my health. They need have no anxiety because every possible attention is being given me by medical authorities here. 4  

The suspension of Satyagraha has connection only with the present condition of the country, and I want every single man who thinks with me to remain outside and do work rather than go to jail and read the Koran and the Gita and lead an easy life there. I won’t let them lead an easy life. Jawaharlal will ask for diaries from thousands of men. He is not going to sleep. Therefore, if you will go away with the real message to the country, do not criticize this resolution. Nobody is rendered incapable of giving the fullest possible service; in fact he is made capable of the fullest growth, by reason of this resolution. Civil disobedience remains under my control, and the reason for its suspension is wholly extraneous to my retirement from office. Every one of you has to give a good account of yourself. If all will pull your full weight in the fulfillment of the constructive programme, you will find a different India in six months’ time.  5 There again I disagree. A reformer has to sail not with the current, very often he has to go against it, even though it may cost him his life. You must not be carried off your feet by unthinking, popular applause. The essential part of your message to the country is not how to wield the sword but how to cease to be afraid of it. 6

 

References:

 

1. Navajivan, 7-3-1920
2. Young India, 13-7-1921
3. Speeches and Writings of M. K. Gandhi, p. 758
4. Young India, 17-1-1924
5. Harijan Sevak, 25-1-1942
6. The Bombay Chronicle, 23-5-1946