Gandhi’s India Today

Today all across India protests are taking place against CAA, NPR, & NRC. Citizenship Act was enacted on 12 December 2019, since then there have been continuous protests, many lost their lives, hundreds injured & Thousands arrested. In recent incident at Jamia area of Delhi A man shoot at Anti-CAA rally, Shout ‘Jai Sri Ram, Ye Lo Azadi’ this happens around 30 January Martyrdom Anniversary of father of nation M.K Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi as world Knows him was shot by NathuRam Vinayak Godse, NathuRam Godse shot M.K Gandhi in the chest 3 times at point blank range in new Delhi on 30 January 1948. NathuRam Godse was an advocate of Hindu Nationalism; He dropped out of high school & became an activist with Hindu Nationalist Organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang-RSS & Hindu Mahasabha. This week India observed 72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi & other politicians paid their tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. I on behalf of whole humanity will pay tribute by words from Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru’s speech ‘The light has gone out of our lives’ which was delivered on January 30 1948 following assassination of Mahatma Gandhi earlier that evening. Pandit Nehru remarked “The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere”. Away from politics & never ending debates, I want to analyze a common man’s simple question ‘Is today’s India what its founding father had dreamed of?’ as we all have been aware about Inclusivity & Acceptance being one of fundamentals to the powerful ideas that Mahatma Gandhi introduced to world. Present government led by Narendra Modi’s Citizenship Act discriminates Muslim Refugees on basis of their religion; there has been a well calculated confusion in place by IT cells, Media machinery, so-called analysts on prime time debates to confuse masses even politicians didn’t shame away from confusing people, PM in a rally says there are no detention centers in India, while home minister revealed to nation in parliament that there are operational detention centers in India. Mahatma Gandhi who said:”Truth & Non violence are my Gods” today in his India people are been deceived by their own politicians & media. Whom Pandit Nehru in his speech in the constituent assembly on February 2, 1948 called a ‘Madman’ and went on saying “A madman put an end to his (Gandhiji) life, for I can only call him mad who did it, and yet there has been enough of poison spread in this country during past years and months, and this poison has had an effect on people’s minds. We must face this poison, we must root out this poison, and we must face all perils that encompass us, and face them not madly or badly, but rather in the way that our beloved teacher taught us to face them”, Same Godse is hailed as patriot in today’s India by none other than elected representatives of people of India.
The power in a democracy resides with people and government must listen to people if they are democratically elected, as in democracy we say ‘Governments of people, by people, for people’ government should fulfill its democratic responsibilities.
A Member Parliament from ruling BJP Pragya Thakur referred Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin NathuRam Godse as “DeshBakhat” meaning Patriot during a debate in Lok Sabha (Lower House), BJP MPs like Ananthkumar Hegde & Nalinkumar Kateel had posted sympathetic tweets about Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin NathuRam Godse. There is undoubtedly a stark contradiction in attitude of Narendera Modi led BJP government & its professed veneration of Mahatma Gandhi. VD Savarkar a Hindutva ideologue, whom Narendera Modi has described as one of his heroes, had expressed contempt for Gandhiji’s ‘Perverse doctrine of non-violence and truth’ and claimed it was bound to destroy the power of country. PM Modi like many other BJP politicians was schooled as RSS pracharaks, in an intense dislike of Mahatma Gandhi, whose message of tolerance & pluralism was emphatically rejected as minority appeasement by sangh Parivar, and whose credo of non violence was seen as weakness unworthy of manly Hindus. Today we see openly in prime time debates people rejecting ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and advocating a hard line somewhat closer to RSS ideology but we have hope and we have to keep our hope alive in humanity and this hope is been strengthen by people of India who irrespective of their religion came out against discriminatory law & are still protesting across country & abroad. I hope these protests continue to practice Non-violence as they are and with the weapons of truth and unity win the battle against falsehood and communal divide. Why should people of Gandhi’s India fear discrimination on basis of Religion? Whole of India has rejected communal agenda and discrimination on basis of religion and have joined hands together to save Gandhi’s India and uphold the Mahatma Gandhi’s powerful ideas of Inclusivity and Acceptance and to continue spreading message of pluralism and tolerance. History bears witness that Governments that have time & again chosen to suppress & silence people’s voices have never succeeded, the oppressive measures will not stop people, whole world is condemning brutal tactics used by government to put an end to protests, instead we all would suggest government to engage into a meaningful dialogue with protestors and not force a law on to people using power. The power in a democracy resides with people and government must listen to people if they are democratically elected, as in democracy we say ‘Governments of people, by people, for people’ government should fulfill its democratic responsibilities.
( The author is a content writer and a social activist . Views are his own, [email protected])