India is rapidly forgetting the Father of the Nation. There is widespread propaganda by some forces that Mahatma Gandhi was anti-Dalit, anti-Hindu and even that he was the chief villain responsible for Partition in 1947. Social media is filled with these motivated lies. This has created hatred towards Gandhi among a section of the youth who receive most of their information about history from what has come to be known as WhatsApp University.

Sadly, most leaders and supporters of today’s Congress lack both historical knowledge and deep conviction to counter this propaganda. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not do so because it obviously does not suit the party’s interests. Many in the Sangh Parivar are themselves creating an anti-Gandhi atmosphere because they are keen on rewriting the history of India’s freedom movement.

As a result, Indian society is showing ingratitude towards not only Gandhi but also countless Gandhians belonging to all castes and communities in every nook and corner of our country, who struggled for India’s freedom, faced untold hardships and made sacrifices worthy of the purest patriots.

Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership of the struggle to liberate India from British slavery is unique in the history of national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He was the only one who made truth (“satya”) and non-violence (“ahimsa”) his weapons in the war against a mighty colonial empire.

Our world has seen – and has continued to see – countless wars, civil wars, bloody revolutions and instances of genocide. Even violent struggles against injustice produced regimes that degenerated into new spirals of violence and injustice. Gandhi sought to present a different example for humanity. He did not succeed fully. But even his failure continues to be a source of introspection and action for India and the rest of the world that dreams of a future without wars and violence.

India’s freedom struggle, which he led, was not aimed at simply transferring political power from the British to Indian hands. Rather, it had a greater and nobler aim inspired by many social, cultural and spiritual ideals.

Some of these were preventing India’s division (“Akhand Bharat”) by uniting it on the foundation of strong Hindu-Muslim unity; eradicating untouchability and caste-based discrimination by reforming Hinduism; empowering women; developing a nature-friendly, cooperation-based green economy that fosters social equality and ecological sustainability; ecouraging healthy lifestyles through self-help and naturopathy; reorientating the education system (“Nayee Talim”) for the all-round development of children by cultivating ethical values as the focal point; and recasting international relations by promoting healthy ​​nationalism (not jingoism) to maintain world peace and advance global cooperation.

Above all, he insisted that self-improvement is a precondition for social transformation.

Even though he had incredible sway over the masses, he never used it to get political power for himself or his family. In the end, the Mahatma became a “hutatma” (martyr) when he fell to the bullets of an extremist.

A difficult phase

Gandhi dominated India’s political scene for over three decades right from the time he returned from South Africa in 1915. However, he became president of the Indian National Congress only once and only for one year ─ and that too most reluctantly. It was the good fortune of Karnataka (my home state) that he presided over the annual session of the Congress held in Belgaum (my home district) on December 26 and December 27, 1924. It may be mentioned here that he visited Karnataka as many as 19 times between 1915 and 1937.

The freedom movement was passing through a difficult phase. After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, there was a wave of anger and unrest in the country due to the brutality of British rule. An atmosphere of despair and hopelessness prevailed after the failure of the non-cooperation movement. Gandhi had withdrawn it when it took a violent turn. Hindu-Muslim riots had erupted in several places.

Moreover, there was a looming split in the Congress party. Gandhi and many Congressmen were of the opinion that the Congress should not enter the central and regional legislative councils. (They were called “No Changers”.) But he was opposed by Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das and some other Swarajist leaders. (They were called “Pro-Changers”.)

The 39th annual session of the Congress unfolded in this state of crisis. Gangadhararao Deshpande, a prominent Congress leader from Karnataka, took the lead in organising it. He and others urged Gandhi to preside over it, since they believed he alone was capable of keeping the Congress united.

Manoj Patil, a veteran journalist from Hubballi-Dharwad, has written an illuminating book about this session. There is also a detailed description of this session in another book titled Gandhi and Karnataka published by the Gandhi Memorial Fund, Bangalore. A hundred years later, five messages of this session are still relevant today – and will remain so.

1 Simplicity and transparency

At Gandhi’s insistence, the Belgaum session was held with unbelievable simplicity and frugality. He led by example by staying in a modest hut. He ordered that the delegate fee be reduced from Rs 10 to Re 1 ─ and exemption of even that amount for those who couldn’t pay so that ordinary Congress workers could attend in large numbers. He asked the organisers to keep an account of every paisa collected and spent, and present it to the public after the conference.

Today we see almost all political parties, be it the Congress or the BJP, wasting enormous amounts of money on their conventions and mass rallies. Most of this money is collected and spent with no accountability. Where has all that simplicity and transparency disappeared now? And what does its disappearance do to our political culture?

2 Respect for opponents

Anyone who reads Gandhi’s presidential speech will be astounded by his honesty, self-examination, truthfulness, and unshakeable commitment to his principles. No less striking is his enormous respect for his opponents. Since he bore the responsibility of protecting unity in the Congress and the country, he said, “My opponents are not traitors. Those who criticise me and those who support me have an equal place in the Congress. So long as there are different minds in the world, there will always be different opinions. But we wish to embrace all, and to promote tolerance towards them. Mutual tolerance and cooperation are the hallmarks of non-violence in politics.”

Are there leaders today who think and act like this? Isn’t our democracy greatly debilitated due to the evaporation of this Gandhian political ethic? For proof, just look at the ugly scenes in Parliament these days.

3 Egalitarian economic system

In his speech, Gandhi took pains to explain why he used khadi, charkha and village industries as powerful weapons to unite Indians against economic exploitation by the British. Khadi for him was not only aimed at making the poor self-reliant, but also to instil a sense of equality, solidarity, self-respect and national pride.

Today’s India has of course changed unrecognisably due to widespread prosperity and adoption of modern technology. Nevertheless, doesn’t khadi’s basic message that a nation’s economic system should always be non-exploitative, egalitarian and sustainable still resonate?

4 Social harmony

Gandhi offered a sound mantra for Hindu-Muslim unity at the Belgaum session: “It is the duty of every Hindu to be partial to the Musalmans, and it is the duty of every Muslim to be partial to the Hindus. I am a sanatani. I have as much place in my heart for Maulanas Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali (prominent Muslim leaders of the time) or any other Muslim as I have for Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya ji, even if the former treats me as an enemy. If I have learnt anything from my reading of the Gita, the Bhagawata and the Ramayana, it is this.?

Thus, from Belgaum he sent a powerful message that national unity and social harmony are possible only if people of different castes and religious communities know each other, respect each other and co-exist. Has this message lost its relevance a hundred years later?

5 Abolishing untouchability

Many years before Babasaheb Ambedkar entered national life, Gandhi had begun his struggle for the abolition of untouchability. He emphatically said: “Untouchability is a poison. We must remove it from the body of Hindu society. It is a sin and a crime against God to regard people born in particular castes as inferior to ourselves. Untouchability is a hindrance to Swaraj. Its eradication is as essential to attainment of India’s freedom as Hindu-Muslim unity. Untouchability is essentially a Hindu question, and Hindus cannot claim or take Swaraj till they have restored the liberty and dignity of the suppressed classes. To remove untouchability is a penance that caste Hindus owe to Hinduism and to themselves.”

It is notable that Gandhiji paid tribute to Basaveshwara, the great 12th century social reformer born in Karnataka, in his speech. “I cannot practice all the teachings of Basaveshwara,” he said. “I am still a sadhak (one who is trying to evolve) and not a siddha (one who has evolved). But two of his teachings I scrupulously follow and propagate ─ removal of untouchability and caste discrimination; and the critically of right actions. If he were alive today, he would have been a holy teacher to entire mankind. If all of us follow his principles, we can make not only India but the world a better place.”

Also notable is that Gandhi cautioned the Congress against using Harijans (the word he had coined for Dalits, meaning Children of God) only for political purposes.

Among the resolutions adopted at the conference was one that committed the Congress to intensify its work to abolish untouchability. One of the speakers supporting the resolution was EV Ramaswami Naikar (later known as Periyar Ramaswami).

Gandhi believed that a principle, howsoever noble it may sound, is only as good as its practice. Therefore, he instructed the Congress Seva Dal, under the leadership of its founder Dr NS Hardikar, to entrust the responsibility of sanitation at the venue of the Belgaum conference mostly to Brahmin volunteers. Accordingly, nearly 75 Brahmin volunteers, led by Kaka Kalelkar (who had established an ashram school for Dalit children in the historic city of Bijapur) took to cleaning the toilets.

One of the young volunteers was Vamanrao Desai Bidari, the maternal grandfather of Manoj Patil, the author of the book on the Belgaum conference. Inspired by Gandhiji’s ideals and personality, he and his wife Padmavatibai later devoted their entire lives ─ also all their wealth ─ to the freedom movement, communal harmony and the welfare of Dalits.

The Belgaum session of the Congress showed India a new path. Not to remember such proud milestones in our history is not only an act of ungratefulness, but also an unwise step towards national degeneration.

The writer, who served as an aide to India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is the author of Music of the Spinning Wheel: Mahatma Gandhi's Manifesto for the Internet Age. His X handle is @SudheenKulkarni and he welcomes comments at sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com