The nation paid ritualistic tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary, with leaders from all sections of society and across the political spectrum expressing their appreciation of the principles by which he lived. His great achievement was to bring together the diverse streams of India’s independence movement on one platform and an under an overarching philosophy that allowed a civilised and amicable transfer of power. That he drew inspiration from India’s civilisational past not only made his ideology acceptable and comprehensible to the majority of the population but also sent across signals to those with varying ideologies about the shape the future would take.
The likes of Jinnah, for instance, were unwilling to function under the Indian civilisational umbrella as it would deprive them the privileges they had enjoyed for centuries. On the other hand, having placed their trust in Gandhi, the believers in ‘Akhand Bharat’ felt betrayed when Partition became a reality with large scale migration and massacres taking place. Perhaps they should have been patient and stayed the course. Instead, he was assassinated and the ‘civilisational’ approach died with him. The Mahatma’s party did not waste any time in using this event as an excuse to narrow its focus to a more ‘modern’ Nehruvian socialism, resulting in a large number of Congress stalwarts breaking away in waves, thereby no longer contributing to the nation’s governance.
What would have happened had Gandhi not been assassinated? For one, he would have cared little for the borders between India and Pakistan. He would have found some or the other cause to launch a protest fast in Karachi, Peshawar or Dhaka. Would he have been able to launch an alternative politics in the newly established Pakistan? He had staunch and influential followers there such as ‘Badshah’ Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who carried the flag till the end.
In India, he would have continued his grassroots activism to develop an alternative economic model. This would have focused on using local resources and community efforts to establish livelihood. Gandhian style communes and cooperatives would have ensured development not just in the economic sense but also in the education and health sectors. Some reflection of what could have been possible can be seen in Vinobha Bhave’s ‘Bhoodan Andolan’. The spirit of ‘do it yourself’ was also killed when the bullets were fired at Gandhi. The economic model adopted, no matter how sincere, had the people looking at government for doles, and that mindset continues till today, indeed is even encouraged.
Someone should make a movie on what could have been!
