By : S. N. Sharma
This day – the 27th of April in 191x Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi agreed to attend a War Conference in Delhi requested by Chelmsford, the then British Viceroy of India.
Gandhi was a mass leader and Chelmsford was pretty sure that only Gandhi could urge Indians to participate in the World War I on behalf of British. MK Gandhi delivered a speech after attending the War Conference, urging Indians to help the British as soldiers in the war. Gandhi moved from place to place asking Indians and offering himself to participate in the war too.
That Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi preached Ahimsa is a myth. He only misused it to his advantage, forcing it to only Hindus when the fight against British gained momentum. Where was his Ahimsa during World War I?
Do you know MK Gandhi even wrote a letter to British Viceroy Chelmsford after he attended the War Conference and agreed to help British recruit Indians for them (preacher of Ahimsa sending his own countrymen to death zones on behalf of British). To quote Gandhi’s exact words from his letter, extracted from the book ‘The Patient Assassin’ by Anita Anand: “I have an idea that, if I became your RECRUITING AGENT-IN-CHIEF, I might RAIN MEN on you.”
Well the British did not invite Bal Gangadhar Tilak, also a mass leader then, as they believed on his patriotism and his refusal.
Many freedom fighters were taken by surprise at Gandhi’s U-turn. How could he support the British and how could he agree to the British of sending Indians to death fields, the war zones? They also questioned how a votary of Ahimsa could agree to ‘Hinsa’.
But Gandhi’s mass leadership bore fruits! His request was accepted! Had he then requested them to fight against the British, History would have been different!
Over a million Indians agreed to be recruited to fight on behalf of British in World War I following Gandhi’s request. Over one million Indians who joined British were sent overseas to participate in War. In this war, at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died and over 67,000 were wounded. All thanks to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi!
I pity myself to have read a whole book on MK Gandhi and on his Ahimsa in school and the myth on how he and his Ahimsa got us freedom. It is high time that truth be told and our history textbooks rewritten!