Savarkar On Gandhi’s Non-Violence
Besides Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, it was Savarkar who had exposed Gandhi’s hypocrisy in many of his books.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s books consist of articles that were released during pre and post-independence period. His collection of articles titled- The Gandhian Confusion, highlights how Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi kept on meddling in politics in spite of giving assurance that he would stay away from political affairs and focus only on Khadi. Most importantly, it points out how the so-called Mahatma Gandhi had two faces when it came to his non-violence theory. This book was released in 1927.
Gandhi’s Fake Non-Violence Theory
While sharing his opinion about killing rabid dogs, Gandhi had said minor violence is justifiable to avoid significant violence. People, notably Jains, had condemned his idea about killing dogs.
At the same time, when it came to satyagraha against the British, the same Mahatma urged Satyagraha is to not to take a weapon in their hand even to kill rabid dogs. No matter if the Satyagrahi has to die while practicing the truth.
The advocate of non-violence always asked Indians to protest for freedom in a non-violent way, without weapons. But the same person was quick to suggest that Indians should join the British and fight for them against the Germans.
So, to put it in simple words, using weapons to fight against the British was violence, but helping the British Army to kill Germans in the name of training was non-violence. Holding arms for self-defense was a sin according to Gandhi, but using the same weapons to kill the innocent Germans was OK on behalf of British. This theory promoted by Gandhi sounds ridiculous, and Savarkar pointed out precisely the same in The Gandhian Confusion.
Muslim Appeasement Of Gandhi
The Gandhian Confusion also highlights how Gandhi rushed in support of Muslim fanatic Abdul Rashid after Rashid murdered Swami Shraddhanand. The so-called Mahatma even said that Rashid is his brother and should not be considered guilty of killing Swami Shraddhanand as he was under the influence of evil fellows who spread hatred.
In reality, Swami Shraddhanand was the primary target for every Hindu hater back then, as he was running several campaigns to reconvert followers of Islam to Hinduism. After Swami’s murder, Gandhi defended Rashid, but, the same Gandhi tagged activist and freedom fighter Gopinath Saha as a murderer when he killed Ernest Day. Gandhi also criticized Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das for coming out in support of Saha. As Savarkar has rightly pointed out, Gandhi had no problem defending a “Muslim” murderer, and he considered every Muslim as his blood relative. On the other hand, he never showed same respect and regard for Hindus.
According to the founder of Abhinav Bharat Society, Gandhi’s contradictory opinion on certain issues was good enough to make someone burst out laughing. He has wonderfully highlighted Gandhi’s hypocrisy in The Gandhian Confusion. You can read this as well as the Hindu leader’s other books on this trust’s website.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Swatantryaveer Savarkar have written several books that deserve the next generation’s attention. Their writings reflect the sparkling intelligence and sincerity in their approach towards solving critical issues that India was facing back then. Some books offer a remedy to problems that India faces even today.