A lot of people out there are going to probably be upset by this, but Mahatma Gandhi was not the master of peace and pacifistic ideology that we have been mislead to believe. The truth as often is the case is in great contrast to the myth. So I think that I will examine the truth that you are not told about this supposed man of the people and of peace.
First a little background on this man that so many look up to. From his biography on mkgahndi.com here is his humble beginnings. “MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India, which was then one of the many tiny states in Kathiawar. He was born in middle class family of Vaishya caste. His grandfather had risen to be the Dewan or Prime Minister of Porbandar and was succeeded by his son Karamchand who was the father of Mohandas. Putlibai, Mohandas’s mother, was a saintly character, gentle and devout, and left a deep impress on her son’s mind.
While he was still in high school, he was married, at the age of thirteen, to Kasturbai who was also of the same age. For a boy of that age marriage meant only a round of feasts, new clothes to wear and a strange and docile companion to play with. But he soon felt the impact of sex which he has described for us with admirable candour. The infinite tenderness and respect which were so marked a characteristic of his attitude in later life to Indian women may have owed something to his personal experience of “the cruel custom of child marriage”, as he called it.” I would recommend reading the rest if for no other reason than you would have the other side of this arguments story.
Now that you have a basic beginning point let us continue. When the Boer war broke out Gandhi formed with the help of Dr. Booth the Indian Ambulance Corps which consisted of 1100 volunteers and offered its services to the Crown. It is said that he encouraged the Indian people in South Africa to do this because they claimed their rights under the British so it was their duty to Britain.
Later on in his life, Gandhi started a newspaper called the Indian Opinion and made different speeches, where we see the true face of Mahatma Gandhi emerged. Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Bombay on 26 September 1896 he states the following: “Ours is one continued struggle against degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the European, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.” Just to help put his views in perspective the work Kaffir has a word in the English language that means the same thing, the dreaded N word.
Those remarks would not be so bad if it was an isolated occurrence from the supposed great master of peace but it was a running theme with him. Another example of this is an excerpt from his newspaper the Indian Opinion on September 9, 1905 where he is referring to the Black African native as follows: “Now let us turn our attention to another and entirely unrepresented community – the Indian. He is in striking contrast with the native. While the native has been of little benefit to the State, it owes its prosperity largely to the Indians. While native loafers abound on every side, that species of humanity is almost unknown among Indians here.”
Gandhi who was born to the merchant cast had no love for the lower caste Indian. He considered them unclean as can be seen from his comments here: “You say that the magistrate’s decision is unsatisfactory because it would enable a person, however unclean, to travel by a tram, and that even the Kaffirs would be able to do so. But the magistrate’s decision is quite different. The Court declared that the Kaffirs have no legal right to travel by tram. And according to tram regulations, those in an unclean dress or in a drunken state are prohibited from boarding a tram. Thanks to the Court’s decision, only clean Indians or colored people other than Kaffirs, can now travel in the trams.”
In reality the only people that Gandhi wanted to help were the upper caste Indians who he worked to get on the same level as white people in South Africa. He also believed that white British being the predominant race in South Africa was the best choice for that country. Gandhi was also all for segregation against the native black population out of Indian areas as seen by the following quote From the Indian Opinion of February 15, 1905; “Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian location should be chosen for dumping down all Kaffirs of the town, passes my comprehension. Of course, under my suggestion, the Town Council must withdraw the Kaffirs from the Location. About this mixing of the Kaffirs with the Indians I must confess I feel most strongly. I think it is very unfair to the Indian population, and it is an undue tax on even the proverbial patience of my countrymen.”
I could go on and on about this peace maker’s views on racial purity, segregation, and so on but I feel that my point has been made for now. People need to look into those that they consider great, humble people of peace because the truth often obscured or blatantly ignored by blind sheeple as to the true nature of a persons work can paint an unrealistic picture of those that are adored. Here are some links so you my loyal reader can do your own research and make an informed decision if you still feel this imperialist, racist man was actually a man of the people.
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=2419
http://www.sikhsundesh.net/gandhi.htm
http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/gandhi.html
http://www.zimbio.com/Ghandi+quotes/articles/20/Gandhi+racism+truth+behind+mask+Behold+Sergeant
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