Adolf Hitler, one of the most hated men in human history, uttered an eternal truth: “The great masses of people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one. Especially if it is repeated over and over.” The masses are to be-fooled in the name of religion and patriotism and those who do so are the biggest beneficiaries of their pretentious moves and designs. The victims of deception and perfidy—the great masses—cannot conceive, much less demolish, them because the cheats are defended and protected by strong walls raised by their powerful devotees and state authorities.  This is the unfortunate experience of India for ages. It will continue for many more decades. Illiteracy has offered the most spacious room for perpetuation of the crime against the victims for benefit of the charlatans and  deceivers who are placed in vintage positions in every branch of the society.

The enemies of the nation struck the innocent and ignorant masses long ago. One of the trendsetters was a tall man, revered as a saint and apostle of non-violence—so-called father of the nation. It is unfortunate to name such a man of history responsible for be-fooling the lowliest, the most underprivileged and accursed souls on earth.

See the level and scale of his hypocrisy, “The Sudra, who only serves (the higher castes) as a matter of religious duty and who will never own any property, who indeed has not even ambition to own anything, is deserving of thousands obeisance. The very gods will shower down flowers on him.[1] This squarely fits into Hitler’s aforementioned prescription and prognostication! None questioned him. Placed on a high pedestal, he is beyond reach of the common man. He went unchallenged. Any attempt to accost him will be shouted down. Questioning him or his wisdom is viewed as blasphemy, an inevitable sign of slavery of thoughts. He has left even the malicious Manu miles behind in putting a glow on the chain of slavery for the Sudra!  A known enemy with an open sword in hand is better than a deceitful angel reciting scriptures. That’s why Dr Ambedkar advised us to be aware of him!

None harmed the Bhangi more than this Mahatma, worshipped almost as an avatar.

The Mahatma’s further testament to the countrymen was not only mind-boggling but inexplicable and untenable.

“I have often declared that if I am destined not to gain redemption in this very birth it is my aspiration to be born as a Bhangi in my next birth. I believe in varnashram and in both janma and karma (birth in particular caste and fate fixed by actions in past birth) associated with it but I refuse to believe that a Bhangi is a sinner. I have, on the contrary,  seen countless Bhangi who deserves my veneration and many Brahmans whom it becomes a very difficult task to adore. I shall be able to render more service to Bhangis by being born as a Bhangi and be able in addition to make other communities see the light in the matter than I can to the Brahmans or recluses by being born as a Brahman. I wish to serve the Bhangis in numerous ways. But I do not wish to advice them to detest and hate Brahmans Hatred, disgust causes deep pain. I do wish the uplift of the Bhangis but do not regard it my duty to teach them to wrest the rights by the way of the West. It is not our dharma to gain anything by that method.” [2]

The gloss of divinity applied on the declaration is awe-inspiring. Intellectual class with vested interests usually presents national heroes fully sanitized and artfully done up erasing every trace of ugliness from their action and character, hyping their idiosyncrasies as the height of transcendental accomplishment and spiritual wisdom. The fiction of ‘next birth’, rebirth and transmigration is the most horrible and unmitigated humbug propagated in the scriptures with no scope for verification, scrutiny,  monitoring, or auditing. He is a perfect replica of the enemy of humanity, i. e., Hitler in terms of his big lies he wanted to preach for the bhangi.  And thus incalculable harm to the untouchables has been inflicted on innocent and unsuspecting masses under ‘big lie’ propagated over and over again for ages. The result was doubtless.

Decades later tissues of unverifiable lies were picked up by no less a person than Gujarat chief minister to refurbish his government’s plan for the Bhangis.  “I do not believe that they (Valmikis) have been doing this job to sustain their livelihood. Had this been so, they would not have continued with this type of work generation after generation. At some point of time, somebody must have got the enlightenment that it is their (Valmiki’s) duty to work for the happiness of the entire society and the gods; that they would have to do this job bestowed upon them by gods; and that this job of cleaning up could continue as an unintentional spiritual activity for centuries. This should have continued generation after generation. It is impossible to believe that their ancestors did not have the choice of adopting any other work or job.” [3]

No elucidation, no more explanation of the inherent implications of their sayings, unique in its own way,  is needed. Our great leaders from the same soil of Gujarat, how wonderful, stand on the same footing. But there is still more to the taller soul of Gujarat.

The unknown face of Gandhi exhibited in public domain

We may underline the deep imprint Bhangi made on Gandhiji. By laborious research, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre exhibited a glimpse of his love for the despised humanity.  Sarojini Naidu, poetess, orator and freedom fighter was ‘one of Gandhi’s closest associates’. Shortly after the Governor-General’s arrival in Delhi, Lord Mountbatten asked the poetess during a meeting whether in view of the determined poverty in which Gandhi chose to live the Congress party really could protect him.“His effort was not without the disadvantage of the Congress party.”  ‘Ah’ she heartily laughed, ‘you and Gandhi may imagine that when he walks down Calcutta station platform looking for a suitably crowded third-class carriage that he is alone, he’s unprotected. What he does not know is that there are dozen of own people dressed as untouchables walking behind him crowding into that carriage.” The poetess let the cat out of the magic bag. A least known but well guarded secret thereby has been exposed to public gaze. The poetess informed Mountbatten, “When he moved into Bhangi colony in New Delhi, she explained, a score of Congress workers again unscrupulously clothed as Harijans were sent to live with him. My dear Lord Louis,  she concluded, you will never know how much it has cost the Congress Party to keep the old man in poverty.” [4] The hero of the national movement was prefabbed in workshops of skilled manipulators and committed workmen away from public view only to charm and deceive people by creating a mirage around him for mass consumption.  The gainers and beneficiaries have much to lose if the hallow crafted by immense mischief and manipulation is blasted.  Nation of billions should be ashamed of such mean designs.

The secret though exposed,  but the Mahatma’s  sham of love for the Bhangi  is a gigantic tragedy. This is overemphasized everywhere. His antipathy against an untouchable, even though  meritorious and adequately qualified, holding an elective or high office, however, exploded over  Rameshwar Agnibhoj, who was included in the Cabinet formed by Dr. Narayan Bhaskar Khare, chief minister (then called Prime Minister) of Central Provinces & Berar from August 1937 – July 1938. A graduate, Agnibhoj was a well known freedom fighter and patriot. Gandhi publicly admonished Khare for his action, saying he, “was opposed to the creation of such high ambitions among persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes.” [5] A chastised Khare dissolved his Council of Ministers and fell in line to please the inveterate dictator in no time! Because, he hated ambition in untouchables. Deception as a cultural heritage has been bequeathed for every Indian to follow without qualms and much less retribution to treat untouchables across the subcontinent. Ambition in untouchables is bad. It is good in hearts of others.

Let a day be earmarked for celebrating both hypocrisy and deception in honour of  the Mahatma without resorting to symbolism.

[1] Quoted by Dr B.R. Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, vol. 9, Government of Maharashtra, Bombay, p. 276.

[2] Navajivan, 11 January 1912. (From Day to Day Gandhi, Mahadev H. Desai, vol V, p. 334.)

[3] The Telegraph, Calcutta, August 21, 2016, Scavenging jab at Modi.  The agitators cited ‘Karamyog’, published by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation,  November, 2007; Chapter  ‘Sadhna Parva’, pp. 48-49 when he was the chief minister, Gujarat.

[4] Lapierre, Dominique And Larry Collins,  Freedom At Midnight, 1975, Footnote 123.

[5] Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings & Speeches, What Congress & Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables, vol. 9, p. 98.

Author – Dr A K Biswas

The writer, a retired IAS officer & former Vice-Chancellor, B R Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar can be reached for comments and observation at biswasatulk[@]gmail.com

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