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== LET THE FACTS COME OUT ==

Work in progress

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, widely proclaimed as the father of the Indian nation and a practitioner of non-violent civil disobedience, is an icon for many civil rights and social justice movements around the world. He inspired figures such as ex-South African president Nelson Mandela and African American leader Dr. Martin Luthar King Jr., who worked for the emancipation of people of African origin.

Yet many of his critics allege that Gandhi was at a time in his life an exclusivist racist ^[1] or atleast used racism for political gain. ^[2]. Others are convinced that he espoused racial ideas till the end of his life. ^[3] Edolphus Towns, African American US Congressman, has taken up the issue on the floor of the house.

1 Incident at Johannesburg
2 Calls to reinterpret Gandhi's role in history
3 Gandhi's controversial statements in South Africa
4 Later evolution in Gandhi's thoughts on race
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External Links

[edit] Incident at Johannesburg

Though academics and historians have debated Gandhi's contradictory and controversial views on race and caste relations for years, public accusations of racism against him emerged after the incident in Johannesburg in 2003. A statue was raised in his memory in that city, which led to angry protests by black citizens. ^[4]. Ultimately Nelson Mandela had to intervene who claimed that Gandhi had become enlightened later on. Whatever the truth, this sparked curiosity amongst many historians and academics to study in depth Gandhi's career in South Africa as a champion of Indian rights.

[edit] Calls to reinterpret Gandhi's role in history

Calls to reinterpret Gandhi and his role in history came from several politicians and academics around the world. Earliest critics of Gandhi emerged from India itself. Renowned Bengali author Nirad Chaudhry, Secular humanist M N Roy and the principal author of Indian constitution Dr. B R Ambedkar vociferously attacked Gandhi and Gandhi's ideology.

US Congressman Edolpus Towns on the floor of the house of representatives on January 9, 2007 said:

"I have recently encountered a book entitled Gandhi : Behind the Mask of Divinity , which sheds new light on the founder of India. The author, Colonel G. B. Singh, USA, portrays Mohandas Gandhi as a person who was more interested in advancing his own group than in the advancement of all people. Using Gandhi's own words, Colonel Singh portrays a very different Gandhi than you and I have been told about. Colonel Singh argues that the Gandhi we have been told about isn't the real Gandhi . He writes that he hopes that his book will stimulate discussion and provoke people to think about who Mohandas Gandhi really was. Since Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian nation, understanding his character is essential to understanding India. Madam Speaker, there is an excerpt from the book's introduction on the back cover, which has been reproduced, and I would like to introduce that two-paragraph excerpt into the Record at this time to give a flavor of the book and encourage people to broaden their perspective on Gandhi . "

Critics of Edolphus Towns allege that the reason why he is aggressively pushing a "smear campaign" against Gandhi is because he is funded by the Sikh lobby which wants a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan in India.

[edit] Gandhi's controversial statements in South Africa

Please note that the term Kaffir used below is NOT used in its modern sense as a non-believer but rather the way it was used in the Boer language as a "savage" or "impure".

Gandhi left a large body of work - which has been put together as "The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi". While Gandhi has generally be lauded for his role in inventing "non-violence", his alleged role against Black people in South Africa has been overlooked. Gandhi argued and petitioned in many of his letters to the South African government that:

That Indians were of a higher genetic stock than the black people.

"A general belief seems to prevail in the colony that the Indians are little better, if at all, than the savages or natives of Africa. Even the children are taught to believe in that manner, with the result that the Indian is being dragged down to the position of a raw Kaffir. " ^[5]

"the whole objection to the Indian proceeds from sanitary grounds, the following restrictions are entirely unintelligible: 1. The Indians, like the Kaffirs, cannot become owners of fixed property. 2. The Indians must be registered, the fee being 3 pounds 10S. 3. In passing through the Republic, like the Natives, they must be able to produce passes unless they have the registration ticket. 4. They cannot travel first or second-class on the railways. They are huddled together in the same compartment with the Natives. So far as the feeling has been expressed, it is to degrade the Indian to the position of the Kaffir. " ^[6]

"Ours is one continual struggle against a degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of a 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 " ^[7]

That Indians - like the Europeans- craved purity and were of the Indo-Germanic stock.

"A reference to Hunter's 'Indian Empire', chapters 3 and 4, would show at a glance who are aborigines and who are not. The matter is put so plainly that there can be no mistake about the distinction between the two. It will be seen at once from the book that the Indians in South Africa belong to the INDO-GERMANIC STOCK or, more properly speaking, the ARYAN stock We believe as much in the purity of race as we think they do, only we believe that they would best serve these interests, which are as dear to us as to them, by advocating the purity of all races, and not one alone. We believe also that the white race of South Africa should be the predominating race. "^[8]

That Indians should not be given the same status or forced to share jail cells and/or train compartments with the black people of South Africa. ^[9]

...The petition dwells upon "the co-mingling of the Coloured and white races". May we inform the members of the conference that, so far as the British Indians are concerned, such a thing is practically unknown? If there is one thing, which the Indian cherishes more than any other, it is the purity of type. Why bring such a question into the controversy at all? ^[10]

Why, of all places in Johannesburg, the Indian Location should be chosen for dumping down all the 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 Kaffirs with the Indians, I must confess I feel most strongly ^[11]

It is one thing to register Natives who would not work, and whom it is very difficult to find out if they absent themselves, but it is another thing and most insulting to expect decent, hard-working, and respectable Indians, whose only fault is that they work too much, to have themselves registered... ^[12]

It reduces British Indians to a status lower than that of the aboriginal races of South Africa and the Coloured people. ^[13]

Mr. Stead has boldly come out to give us all the help he can. He was therefore requested to write to the same Boer leaders that they should not consider Indians as being on the same level as Kaffirs. ^[14]

...the Governor of the gaol tried to make us as comfortable as he could...But he was powerless to accommodate us beyond the horrible din and the yells of the Native prisoners throughout the day and partly at night also. Many of the native prisoners are only one degree removed from the animal and often created rows and fought amongst themselves in their cells. ^[15]

That black people were savages and lacked the ability to be human. ^[16]

Apart from whether or not this implies degradation, I must say it is rather dangerous. Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilized -- the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty, and live almost like animals. Each ward contains nearly 50 to 60 of them. They often started rows and fought among themselves. The reader can easily imagine the plight of the poor Indian thrown into such company! ^[17]

When I reached there, the chief warder issued an order that all of us should be lodged in a separate room. I observed with regret that some Indians were happy to sleep in the same room as the Kaffirs, the reason being that they hoped there for a secret supply of tobacco, etc. This is a matter of shame to us. We may entertain no aversion to the Kaffirs, but we cannot ignore the fact that there is no common ground between them and us in the daily affairs of life. Moreover, those who wish to sleep in the same room have ulterior motives for doing so. Obviously, we ought to abandon such notions if we want to make progress. ^[18] ^[19]

[edit] Later evolution in Gandhi's thoughts on race

Another notable view is that while Gandhi might have held these views in South Africa, his views evolved considerably after he reached the age of 60. The argument holds that for Gandhi to have merited the admiration of and to have inspired people like Dr. Martin Luthar King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, he must have made a clear departure from his previous views on the black race. This fact is contested by others ^[20].

In October 1931, speaking at Oxford University, Gandhi declared:

“England has got successful competitors in America, Japan, France, Germany. It has competitors in the handful of mills in India, and as there has been an awakening in India, even so there will be an awakening in South Africa with its vastly richer resources -- natural , mineral and human. The mighty English look quite pygmies before the mighty races of Africa. They are noble savages after all, you will say. They are certainly noble, but no savages and in the course of a few years the Western nations may cease to find in Africa a dumping ground for their wares.” ^[21]

A deputation from South Africa led by Sorabji Rustomji came to India in 1946 ^[22]. It was protesting against racial legislation in South Africa. A member of the delegation asked Gandhi "You have said we should associate with Zulus and Bantus. Does it not mean joining them in a common anti-white front? " Gandhi replied "Yes, I have said that we should associate with the Zulus, Bantus, etc…. It will be good if you can fire them with the spirit of non-violence". ^[23].

[edit] References

^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-3-2005_pg4_24
^ http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/node/237
^ G B Singh, "Gandhi behind the mask of divinity", http://www.amazon.com/Gandhi-Divinity-G-B-Singh/dp/1573929980/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6531384-0467133?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174971450&sr=8-1
^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/southafrica/story/0,13262,1065018,00.html
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", page 150-151
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 1 page 199-200
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 2 page 74
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 3 page 453
^ http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/node/237
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 4 page 89
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 4 Page 130-131
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 4 page 193
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 4 page 419-423
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 6 page 183
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 8 page 120
^ http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/gandhi.html
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 8 Page 135
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", Vol 9 page 149
^ MKG, E: "Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi", 98 Volumes
^ G B Singh "Gandhi behind the mask of divinity"
^ M K Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 48, p.225
^ Ibid Vol 83, pp 352-354
^ Ibid Vol 83, p 353