Gandhi: Storm in guise of cool breeze

Coming into close proximity of his magnanimous personality would change one’s life forever. No one could ever imagine that a feeble looking man could be in possession of such an indomitable spirit. Such was the demeanor of Mahatma Gandhi — the Father of the Nation. He was a storm in the guise of a cool breeze.

On his 150th birth anniversary, when I flip back the pages of the bygone era, I counter numerous adventurous tales of the majestic soul. But one episode which left an indelible mark on my heart and soul was of Champaran.

Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi became a saintly figure for India and people. Especially, the marginalised community relied on him big time. One such downtrodden peasant Raj Kumar Shukla from Champaran met Gandhi and explained the miserable condition of peasants in his region.

They were at the mercy of the British landlords who had a shady agreement with the former. As per that, the peasants had to grow Indigo in 15% of their land and surrender the entire harvest as rent. Later when synthetic Indigo was developed by Germany, the British hatched a conspiracy against the farmers stating that if they want to severe this agreement, they would have to compensate for it. Many agreed to this, and the ones resisted were pestered to comply. Shukla wanted Gandhi to intervene as the peasants weren’t courageous enough to stand up against the British landlords.

Gandhi, after a great deal of coaxing and cajoling by Shukla, decided to accompany him to Champaran. He halted at Mujjafarpur for gathering information about the pending cases against the British. After learning that the lawyers charged a hefty fee to the farmers, he reprimanded them for betraying their own flesh and blood.

Seeing the enormous support for Gandhi, the administrative body summoned Gandhi to court and ordered him to quit the city. Gandhi refused to oblige and launched the first-ever civil disobedience movement. The movement made the British put down their weapons.

During the trial, Gandhi asked for 50% of refund which astonished many as he was in the driving seat and could have asked for 100%. The British offered only 25% of the total amount. To everybody’s amazement, Gandhi accepted it with gaiety. In this case, money was not important for Gandhi. He wanted to shape a new India that could stare in the eyes of the odds with utmost conviction. His hidden motive was to teach every Indian a lesson in self-reliance.

We have come a long way ever since, but Mahatma’s teachings have played a pivotal role in shaping the country. His mortal remains may have gone, but his essence will always be with us.