I have always sensed that generally speaking, a lot of BJP & RSS supporters if not all have an inherent dislike for Mahatma Gandhi. It is not just an ancedotal account but one comes across articles, books, political speeches which give away not just the disagreement but the dislike. It is deeply entrenched in their minds and like all deep hatreds, it is difficult to even get a point across. I have umpteen number of times heard statements like ‘He was the father of the nation, but that nation was Pakistan!’ He has been accused of being a calculative ‘bania’ (references to caste as a behavioural pattern is another characteristic trait of this group) who prolonged India’s freedom struggle to gain more prominence. He has also been blamed for not giving India its best Prime Minister referring to another Congress stalwart Sardar Vallabhai Patel and instead gave them, according to the Gandhi haters, an inept Jawaharlal Nehru. And that’s the reason we suffer from economic backwardness, weak foreign policy and dynastic politics. (Nehru himself wouldn’t have allowed it but their dislike for Nehru is a huge chapter by itself) They blame him for most of the ills that are holding the country back.
Many of them even celebrate the ideology of Nathuram Godse, if not his act. I have been witness to some, albeit fewer even justifying the act! More famously Bal Thackeray did it! So one would presume that when it came to bestow a title upon their beloved leaders, Gandhi would not be in the reckoning of any comparison. But in fact, what happens in reality is exactly the opposite.
So why the fascination with Gandhi?
This group has actually not had an icon in India’s modern history with a national presence and appeal that transcends generations. Like say a Gandhi, a Nehru, a Patel or an Ambedkar did. One of course cannot discount the great leaders like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani. Reasons for this are many. Some of which can be cited as follows- firstly the limited contribution of leaders from this group during a nationally integrating movement like the freedom struggle. Secondly, the non inclusive, sectarian Hindutva outlook in a country which has been a home to people of various faiths, cultures for hundreds of years and has been largely secular during most of its pre & post independent existence. And lastly due to the bend towards the right in a country which has been socialist for most of its part with a huge underprivileged population.Hence, the comparison with stalwarts of the past who were far removed from this group’s ideology.
What has been happening recently is really curious. Anil Ambani & Kiran Bedi have termed Mr. Modi a Mahatma. Now like most of the other corporate honchos, Mr Ambani is enamoured by Mr Modi for his business friendly policies. He had said it nearly three years ago before many even thought of Mr. Modi’s possibility of coming to the centre. But as things stand today, he probably knew something that many obviously did not. The influence of ‘Sea-Wind’ (Original Ambani Residence) on major political appointments has always been a matter of great speculation. His reasons are strictly business. On the other hand, Kiran Bedi’s hero-worship is a more recent one. After fighting for Lokpal at the centre, she went public with her earlier tactical and later a more blatant support to the CM who didn’t even have a Lokayukta for the longest time in Gujarat. But she is known to forgive those who seek transformation even if they may have been on the wrong side of the law. Case in point being her applaudable stint in Tihar jail. To be fair, Mr. Modi has not been indicted in any wrong doing of any kind. But still the comparison is far-fetched to say the least.
Recently, Arun Jaitley likened Ramdev Baba to Mahatma Gandhi. Now not many can challenge his yoga abilities, but this comparison again is unfair. One understands Mr. Jaitley’s compulsion to thank one of his star campaigners but ‘Mahatma’? Seriously? Just like Gandhi, Baba Ramdev too decided to take on the might of the establishment for justice. But when police decided to arrest him unlike Gandhi who always courted arrest lawfully, Ramdev wore female clothes and fled from his ‘satyagraha’. And the British (who saw him as the biggest thorn in their flesh) did not accuse Gandhi of any financial offence. Unlike Ramdev Baba, Gandhi displayed immense physical and moral courage.
Coming back to the question ”When there is such an inherent dislike for the man amongst your supporters then why compare your ‘hero’ to such a man?” Why not claim your heroes to be the reincarnation of someone like Guru Golwalkar? And if you want to compare your heroes to someone like Gandhi then your supporters can’t be dismissing his immense contribution.
We understand the people who for sycophantic (one thought sycophancy would bow out with ousted Congress) reasons compare Modi & Baba Ramdev with Gandhi, have little respect for the father of the nation(India) but why hurt others who do. You cannot represent a group that shares Nathuram Godse’s ideology and still goes around bestowing ‘Gandhi’ as a title. That is a serious disparity.
In his chronicling of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s life, historian Ramachandra Guha in the biography titled ‘Gandhi before India’ lets us in on a fact that not many are aware of. He tells us that a Gujarati businessman and a close friend of Gandhi, Pranjivan Mehta was the first one to refer to him as ‘Mahatma’. In terming someone as a ‘great soul’ the aforementioned people probably want to claim their own place in history. History proved Mehta right, but we need more proof from the present to bestow that title on anyone else.
