Saturday, June 12, 2010
Mandela v/s Gandhi/Nehru/Patel
While Mandela united a divided nation, Congress trio divided a united nation
There is conventional myth that Gandhi inspired South Africa’s freedom movement and South Africans are generous in acknowledging the debt. However, Gandhi who is such a powerful symbol of justice and fairplay for the discriminated worldwide unfortunately could not do justice to his own nation.
Gandhi, unfortunately joined Nehru and Patel, (the trio that was most powerful after ostracizing Maulana Azad within the inner coterie) and historically stands as THE symbol that failed the United India and agreed to divide the nation.
The relevant question is if the Indian Muslims were as bad and oppressive as the Afrikaans were in South Africa that a case can be made out for partition.
Did Muslims divide the country into castes as the Brahmins had religiously divided over thousands of years?
If Muslims were supposed to be foreigners, were not the Brahmins too from Caucasian region. Urdu poet Iqbal indulges in a nostalgic trance when he fondly asks Ganges to remember the times when Brahmin caravans descended on its banks:
Ae a'abe roode Ganga, woh din hai yaad tujhko
Utra tere kinare jab caravan hamara
Sixty years is long time in a young nation’s freedom history and instead of it getting united, it is continuously threatened with fragmentation and divisions. Something is wrong somewhere in the Idea of India that the Brahmins are imposing on the multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-language continent size nation that is incongruent with building of a strong and united nation.
Is there a Mandela like figure born among us even in this moment in time that arises to unite the nation and put it on the path of peace and prosperity? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is making some moves to improve relations with our neighbours, Pakistanand Sri Lanka. However, unification at least in economic terms to the fullest extant possible, can only become the foundation for a later unification of India, in its real ethos.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
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