#friendship

"‘70 . On the 16th of August 1946 there broke out in Calcutta an open massacre of the Hindus which continued for three days unchecked. At the time, it was considered that the Government which could permit such outrages on its citizens must be thrown out . Gandhiji, however, went to Calcutta and contracted a strange friendship with the author of these massacres; in fact he intervened on behalf of Suhrawardy and the Muslim League publicly described Suhrawardy as a martyr.’ ... ‘70 . Suhrawardy Patronised. On the 16th of August 1946 there broke out in Calcutta an open massacre of the Hindus which continued for three days unchecked. At the time, it was considered that the Government which could permit such outrages on its citizens must be thrown out . Gandhiji, however, went to Calcutta and contracted a strange friendship with the author of these massacres; in fact he intervened on behalf of Suhrawardy and the Muslim League publicly described Suhrawardy as a martyr.’ Attitude towards Hindu and Muslim Princes. Gandhiji’s followers successfully humiliated the Jaipur, Bhavnagar and Rajkot States. They enthusiastically supported even a rebellion in Kashmir State against the Hindu Prince. This attitude strangely enough contrasts with what Gandhiji did about the affairs in Muslim States. There was a Muslim League intrigue in Gwalior States as a result of which the Maharaja was compelled to abandon the celebrations of the second millennium of the Vikram Calendar four years ago: the Muslim agitation was based on pure communalism. The Maharaja is the liberal and impartial ruler with a far sighted outlook. In a recent casual Hindu-Muslim clash in Gwalior because the Musalmans suffered some casualties, Gandhiji came down upon the Maharaja with a vitriolic attack wholly undeserved."

React to this quote

More by Nathuram Godse

See all

“129. Let us then take the case of 55 crores ... The case of Hyderabad had also the same history. It is not at all necessary to refer to the atrocious misdeeds perpetrated by the Nizam's Ministers and the Razakars. Laiq Ali the Prime Minister of Hyderabad had an interview with Gandhiji during the last week of January 1948. It was evident from the manner in which Gandhiji looked at these Hyderabad affairs, that Gandhiji would soon start his experiments of non-violence in the State of Hyderabad and treat Kasim Razvi as his adopted son just as Suhrawardy. It was not at all difficult to see that it was impossible for the Government in spite of all the powers to take any strong measures against the Muslim State like Hyderabad so long as Gandhiji was there. Had the Government then decided to take any military of police action against Hyderabad it would have been compelled to withdraw its decision just as was done in the case of the payment of Rs. 55 crores, for Gandhiji would have gone on fast unto death and Government's hands would have been forced to save the life of Gandhiji.”

“Had this act not been done by me, of course it would have been better for me. But circumstances were beyond my control.”

“‘103. Had Gandhiji a firm belief in the doctrine of non-violence, he should have made a suggestion for sending Satyagrahis instead of the armed troops and tried the experiment. It was a golden opportunity for Gandhiji to show the power of his Satyagraha ‘104. But Gandhiji did nothing of the sort. Gandhiji was reading the dreadful news of the Kashmir war, while at the same time fasting to death only because a few Muslims could not live safely in Delhi. But he was not bold enough to go on fast in front of the raiders of Kashmir, nor had he the courage to practise Satyagraha against them. All his fasts were to coerce Hindus.’”

“Bhajans were also not spared . The soul-elevating chanting of "Raghupati Raja Ram patita pavana Sita Ram" was intoned on the lips of millions of our countrymen for the last several centuries. A new line "Ishwar Allah tere nam, sab so sanmati de Bhagavan" was added to the original.”

“‘16. On 13th of January 1948. I learnt that Gandhiji had decided to go on fast unto death. The reason given for such fast was that he wanted an assurance of Hindu-Muslim unity in Indian Dominion. But I and many others could easily see that the real motive behind the fast was not merely the so-called Hindu-Muslim Unity, but to compel the Dominion Government to pay the sum of Rs. 55 crores to Pakistan, the payment of which was emphatically refused by the Government.’”

“‘136. There now remains hardly anything for me to say. If devotion to one’s country amounts to a sin, I admit I have committed that sin. If it is meritorious, I humbly claim the merit thereof. I fully and confidently believe that if there be any other court of justice beyond the one founded by mortals, my act will not be taken as unjust.’”