{"id":3822,"date":"2018-09-24T20:57:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/?p=3822"},"modified":"2018-09-27T09:41:27","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T04:11:27","slug":"gandhi-in-kashmir-narrative-my-take-on-ramachandra-guha-biography-of-gandhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/editors-take\/gandhi-in-kashmir-narrative-my-take-on-ramachandra-guha-biography-of-gandhi\/","title":{"rendered":"Gandhi In Kashmir Narrative- My Take on Ramachandra Guha Biography Of Gandhi"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like>

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PUNCHLINE<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Mahatma Gandhi\u2019 In Kashmir \u00a0Narrative <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

By<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Z.G. Muhammad <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Couple of weeks back another voluminous biography was added to grand list of biographies on Mahatma Gandhi. \u00a0Seventy years after the British sailed across the Indian\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/a> Ocean \u00a0\u00a0the stories of the two protagonists of the India\u2019s independence movement Mahatma Gandhi and Quaid Azam \u00a0\u00a0Jinnah continue to engage scholars and biographers. Notwithstanding, the two charismatic leaders of the subcontinent\u00a0 largely forgotten by their respective nations and\u00a0 reduced to emblematic representation on the currency notes continue to be towering in the congregation of great world\u00a0 leaders. Stanley Wolpert an American historian, author of many important works on the birth of India and Pakistan, for their charm and place in the history of the sub-continent, was enthused to write biographies of the two leaders. So were many others. Wolpert\u2019s biography of father of Indian nation, \u2018Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi\u2019 was not well received in India. Nevertheless, he sums up his greatness in one sentence, \u201cHe was never easily dissuaded or intimidated from doing what he believed to be right.\u201d Calling Jinnah as a lofty minaret, he writes, \u201cFor more than a quarter of century I have been intrigued by apparent paradox of Jinnah\u2019s strange story, which has never been told in all fascinating complexity of its brilliant light and tragic darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the contemporary history of the sub-continent, Gandhi and Jinnah are so intensely dovetailed to each other that delinking them from each other and telling their stories is next to impossible. The two silently enter into each other\u2019s story that the biography of the one turns out to be of the both. \u00a0The new 1129 page biography \u2018Gandhi \u2013 the years that changed the world 1914 -1948\u2019 by Ramachandra Guha his second and concluding volume of the biography of Gandhi. The first one was titled as \u2018Gandhi before India,\u2019 it told story how Mohandas Gandhi less known Indian shot into prominence in South Africa. \u00a0Latest volume, in fact, is third in the series books authored by Guha carrying name of Gandhi in its title. The first one that made a fascinating reading is \u2018India after Gandhi\u2019. Minus serious reservations about his take on the migration of a section of Kashmir society in 1990, the book\u00a0\u00a0 in bits and pieces provides good leads for writing a holistic story of the Kashmir Dispute.<\/p>\n

Like his earlier two books, \u2018Gandhi \u2013 the years that changed the world\u2019 is well-researched work based on some untapped archives and source materials. It lucidly explores new grounds in Gandhi\u2019s relations with Jinnah, \u00a0\u00a0Ambedkar, and Subhas Chandra Bose. Gandhi saw the three as his rivals and bitterest enemies. Of the three he shared a few things in common with Jinnah. \u201cBorn in 1876, like Gandhi he was from Kathiawar; he had studies law likewise in London, and sought to build his career at the Bombay Bar.\u201d \u2018Jinnah was an eloquent speaker in English; he was much in demand at public meetings. In 1909, still in his thirties, he was elected to the Imperial Legislative Council, an elite body of the policymakers which had only sixty members from across India.\u2019 On 9 January 1915, when Gandhi disembarked from ship at Bombay \u201cJinnah was, counted as the most influential Gujarati alive.\u201d To quote Stanley Wolpert, \u201cstory of his unique achievement was so inextricably product of his genius as a barrister, perhaps the greatest native advocate in British Indian history.\u201d Jinnah was a leading light of Indian National Congress and had very high credentials as secular leader of the party. \u201cHe had spoken several times in support Gandhi\u2019s struggle in Transvaal.\u201d In his very first speech in the Imperial Council, he clashed with Viceroy when described treatment meted out to Indians in South Africa as \u201cCruel.\u201d On Gandhi\u2019s arrival in Bombay Jinnah he was the main speaker at the Gurjar Sabha, Guha stating that his speech was \u2018carefully crafted\u2019 has reproduced the speech a bit in detail. Gandhi\u2019s brief reply to the welcome address was communal in its tone and tenor: \u201cI am Glad to find a Mohammedan not only belonging to his own region\u2019s Sabha but chairing it.\u201d \u2018Thus informing every one of his minority religious identity.\u2019 The biography from this day takes us on a whole journey of Gandhi with its triumphs, failures, contraventions, controversies that ultimately ,ended in the birth of two nations-India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Similar to many biographers of Jinnah, Guha \u00a0\u00a0also has largely glossed over the role of Gandhi\u2019 in Kashmir- he makes a brief mention about his visit to Kashmir and role at the time of landing of troops in Kashmir. True, in the story of Kashmir Struggle, against bigoted and discriminatory rule of British Vassal, dating back to 1924, there is no presence of Indian National Congress. Against this \u00a0\u00a0the All India Muslim League, after 1918, every year adopted resolution on Kashmir in its annual conference demanding justice and fair play for the deprived majority of the state. For the first time, Congress shows its presence in Kashmir not as the supporter of the people\u2019s movement but as an ambassador for the Maharaja. On the request of Maharaja in the wake of after 13 July 1931 massacre, the Congress had deputed two of its top leaders Sir Taj Bhadur Saproo and Abul Kalam Azad to the state to pacify the agitated overwhelming majority.\u00a0 Nevertheless, Gandhi marks his presence in Kashmir narrative through a letter dated 15 May 1934, in response Prem Nath Bazaz\u2019s long letter dated 8 May 1934. In this letter, he spares no words in calling the Kashmir Freedom Struggle as \u201ccommunal\u201d and describing its leaders as \u201cdisgruntled.\u201d Gandhi tersely replies the letter; \u201cSeeing that Kashmir is predominantly Mussalman. It is bound one day to become a Mussalman state.\u201d After this Gandhi never replied to him and Bazaz complained about it to Nehru. Thereafter, Gandhi is missing from the Kashmir narrative except Sheikh Abdullah, who is titled by none but Bazaz as Kashmir Ki Gandhi<\/em> mentioning him in his speeches after the conversion of the Muslim Conference into the National Conference. And it was \u00a0\u00a0after the partition of India was announced that Gandhi once again entered into the Kashmir narrative. Guha briefly makes mention about Gandhi\u2019s visit on last day of June on the request of Jawaharlal Nehru. ( Guha has got the date also wrong Gandhi arrived in Kashmir on 1st August 1947 not June)\u00a0 He tells us Sheikh Abdullah wife organized a reception and public meeting for him’. There is devil in detail, so Guha has chosen not to go into the details what prompted Gandhi to take this visit to Srinagar after Mountbatten had failed to pin down Maharaja Hari Singh for talks. \u2018He had to content himself with presenting Prime Minister Ram Chand Kak \u00a0\u00a0summary of main points he wanted to discuss with the Maharaja.\u2019 The whole theme of the note was that the only hope for survival for the Dogra Dynasty was for the Maharaja to throw his lot with the Congress and the Indian Union. Mountbatten on this visit was convinced that \u2018real force behind Maharaja\u2019s reluctance was Pandit Kak.\u2019 Seeing Pandit Kak as first impediment in the way of Nehru\u2019s move to annex Kashmir to Indian Union, his removal had become imperative. Gandhi during his meeting with the Maharaja suggested to him dispensing the services of R.C. Kak. In view of the Maharaja note dated 8 July 1947, Gandhi only had prayer meetings in Srinagar. In one of these meetings held at Solina, Srinagar Begum Akbar Jahan, wife of Sheikh Abdullah also participated and recited the Holy Quran. On the invitation of the National Conference, he visited its headquarters Mujahid Manzil for meeting workers. Nevertheless, despite insistence by the National Conference leaders he declined to make a speech. In fact, he did not address any public meeting but succeeded in creating a constituency within the family of the Maharaja for persuading him to accede to India. Sometime, later Prime Minister Kak was dismissed and placed under house arrest. In second week of September, with the Government of India making available services of Lt.-Colonel Katoch a serving officer of India Army \u00a0to the Maharaja preparation started for strengthening arsenal in Kashmir started, \u2018Indian border road near Madhopur to Jammu was \u00a0improved by of a float bridge over Ravi leading to Kathu by Indian army engineers.\u2019 In spite of all these behind the scene development Gandhi at prayer meetings when asked about Kashmir said, \u201cIf people of Kashmir are in favor of opting for Pakistan, no power on the earth can stop from doing so.\u201d Nonetheless, despite these assertions, he \u2018consented for sending of Indian army to Kashmir.\u2019<\/p>\n

Guha \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in his biography of Gandhi has glossed over these \u00a0\u00a0historical realities. Nevertheless, there is a lot of literature that tells the whole story about Gandhi\u2019s role in Kashmir in 1947.<\/p>\n

Z.G. Muhammad is Srinagar based author and writer<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 
\nPUNCHLINE
\n\u2018Mahatma Gandhi\u2019 In Kashmir \u00a0Narrative
\nBy
\nZ.G. Muhammad
\n 
\n 
\n\u00a0
\n 
\nCouple of weeks back another voluminous biography was added to grand list of biographies on Mahatma Gandhi. \u00a0Seventy years after the British sailed across the Indian\u00a0 Ocean \u00a0\u00a0the stories of the two protagonists of the India\u2019s independence movement Mahatma Gandhi and Quaid Azam \u00a0\u00a0Jinnah continue to engage scholars and biographers. Notwithstanding, the two charismatic leaders of the subcontinent\u00a0 largely forgotten by their respective nations and\u00a0 reduced to emblematic representation on the currency notes continue to be towering in the congregation of great world\u00a0 leaders. Stanley Wolpert an American historian, author of many important works on the birth of India and Pakistan, for their charm and place in the history of the sub-continent, was enthused to write biographies of the two leaders. So were many others. Wolpert\u2019s biography of father of Indian nation, \u2018Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi\u2019 was not …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-take","category-point-of-view"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3822"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3830,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions\/3830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}