Alok da, the other day my son came from school and he was so irritated he had to do a write up on Mahatma Ghandhi and he just did not want to, he said I have had it ahimsa and all that, then I remember that when I was a child I myself was irritated to study about him, all that was do boring and then why son asked me why is he even called the father of the nation ? And I know studying ghandhi ji is so boring oh these dharam karam ki baatein as a teenager I could not relate to him, he is not like Shivaji or Rama or Krishna or Sri Aurobindo.. what should I tell him…🤔?

You can tell him that everyone has his own ideas and so did Gandhi ji have his own.

As far as his ideas go, they are certainly not aligned to the spiritual ideals of ancient India that once made her great. Especially the ideal of ahimsa cannot be turned into a national ideal given the dangers that surround us. Indeed trying to follow this ideal has already done lot of harm to India including the partition and the giving away of Tibet. However this sort of slogan suited the British hence they tacitly encouraged Gandhi ji to have his name and way while keeping India with themselves. It is only due to the changed world conditions after the second world war that the British had no option but to leave India.

But both the British and the then government of India launched him into the ‘father of the nation’ status mainly for getting political mileage.

In truth, however, India is a very ancient civilisation that has shown its continuity over thousands of years. It is the ancient Rishis and the glorious names of Rama and Krishna who gave birth to India. And it is Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo who revived its sinking spirit.

Affectionately,

Alok Da