(Un)Forgotten Heros

(Un)Forgotten Heroes

With the passing of Gandhi Jayanthi, a number of thoughts hit me hard and made me realise a few points about the national hero of India. Before I go ahead and explain my critique of this man, let it be understood that Gandhi was and is a national hero and I consider him a man of extraordinary spiritual calibre. However, in light of all his achievements, the actions and sacrifices of a large number of heroes must not go unforgotten.

Gandhi was given the leadership of the congress, and he was(and is) exalted to the point of a near god. This is a common occurrence with the Indian masses. A little media coverage, a couple of biographies, and suddenly, the individual has a temple built for him/her (consider, for example, actor turned politician MG Ramachandran, actress turned politician Jayalalitha, actress Kushboo etc). This was also the case of the good Karamchand Mohandas Gandhi. He was given such overwhelming fame and recognition for his actions as a freedom fighter that the actions of those equally forgotten were almost completely forgotten. Let us take a few examples:

Chidambara Pillay - This great soul was forced to become an agriculture farm animal. He was worked like a bullock on the mill with the heat of sun scorching on his back. He was a millionaire born to a wealthy merchant and turned to a slave for the freedom of India.
1. Veer Savakar - Sent to the Andaman Nicobar islands (Similar to Alcatraz of San Francisco) and made a political prisoner for writing letters and poems against the British Raj. Later imprisoned for life after Gandhi's assassination for incite of murder, a claim which he denied to his dying day.
2. Bhagat Singh - Considered one of India's greatest warriors against the British Raj and when standing on top the gallows facing death by hanging, refused to cover his face as he wanted to see Bharat Mata while facing death.
3. Dr.Ambedkar - Born to a low cast Dalit (untouchable) family, he was a noted freedom fighter and was considered a founding father by Barack Obama in his speech addressing the Indian parliaments.
4. Veerapandian Katabomman - Considered one of India's first freedom fighters. His famous Veerapandi Kotai (fort) was looted and he was hung after he waged a war against the British well before the Indian war of Independence.

Now these men were but a few of the thousands who fought valiantly and courageously against the British for the freedom of India but they are nearly forgotten and not given nearly enough credit as the god man K M Gandhi. Isn't it unfair that no rupee note has any mention of these freedom fighters?Did not these people suffer devastating misery for Mother India?

Gandhi was very influential and very popular among Hindus and Muslims alike. It is said that he unified the nation, and perhaps this was one of the reasons he was made the head of the INC (Indian National Congress). There is also widespread belief that it was his inspirational abstinence from food and charismatic negotiations that won India its independence. Before we draw conclusions however, let us look at the Indian situation with benefit of historical hindsight during this struggle.

• The growing freedom movement was weakening British hold on the nation due to the actions of the aforementioned freedom fighters
• World Wars 1 & 2 had significantly weakened British military and they were fearful that they might not be able to hold a nationwide revolution


A great famine hit India at a 1943 leaving the nation's population starved and weak, almost useless for most manual labor
The British had looted most of the temples, architectures and wealth the nation had and India was now becoming a burden to the British Raj both to rule and to sustain
• There was international pressure on the British as various civil disobedience movements around the world were taking place. Mandela's voice was being heard, Jomo Kenyatta was marching with his band of followers, India was slowly uniting.

Although under all these pressures, the British were still hesitant to give India her freedom and it is a widely accepted fact that Gandhi put the last straw on the camel's back. For this he certainly deserves credit. So much so that he is depicted in all the rupee notes from 1 rupee to 1000. His birthday is considered a national holiday and various temples and statues have been erected on his honour. All perfectly valid, of course- but what of the others?

A lot of Gandhi's godhood has been attributed to political movements. Nehru's daughter, the scion of the Indian throne, fell in love with a man named Feroz Khan. This essentially demolished any hope for presidential election for two reasons: firstly, his background was not Hindu (in a predominately Hindu civilisation) and secondly, she would be seen as a mere housewife instead of the much expected 'Indra' overlord of the Vedic pantheon her father intended. He quickly arranged for his last name to be changed to Gandhi and altered any possible mention or relation to his religious background there-by essentially solidifying the Nehru dynasty over several generations. This, to the layman, made the late Gandhi seem like a distant relative of the Nehru dynasty, securing the vote bank for decades to come. In order to ensure further votes, the Nehru dynasty constantly marketed and propagated the Gandhi trademark, leaving behind the glorious Bhagat Singh, Pillay, Ambedkar and many others.

Gandhi has made a significant contribution to Indian history. He unified India, which was a feat no single man has ever managed to do in the past millennium of India's existence. Indeed, the division of India (both in religious ideals and in culture) was one of her greatest weaknesses and the greatest strategic strength of the British as they played on this weakness using the divide and conquer methodology. This is a great and worthy achievement by Gandhi. However, the fact that Gandhi has become a political pawn to serve the Nehruvian kingdom is indeed a worrying turn of the future. So when Gandhi Jayanthi is celebrated, please remember our fallen heroes as well.

India where she was, where she is. What she can be. . .

India, the land of the legendary Aryans. The dispensers of Dharma. The land of the righteous King Rama, King Yudhisthira, King Siddhartha *Who became the Buddha*. The land which gave birth to the very concept of spiritual enlightenment, where the intellect of beings like Aryabhatta made mathematical achievements seem trivial. The land where god is said to have incarnated and walked a number of times. Where poetry of saints like Thulasidasa, Kalidasa and Thirukurral enriched the culture of the nation, is now in tarnished ruins. Bharatha Varsha (original name of the land of the Aryans) is crying tears of blood as she sees her populace die a slow and miserable death.

What, then was the cause for the destruction of such a land? What was the sole reason as to why India was bought down? Just as the Atirathi (invincible warrior) Karna was atrociously murdered by several people, so too has Bharatha Matha been culled by the hordes of abusers who continue to rape the land. Having lived in India for the past few months it has become painfully obvious that no change is going to occur in the near future. She is heading for complete annihilation. Parts of India are far worse than parts of Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan put together. While it is true that Dharma is present in certain areas, it is far too little to even make a dent in the Karmic atrocity present in the nation. 

The nature of the population is to over exalt the elite thereby providing an egotistical kick for the superiors within the nation. This well known issue of over extolling the Kings, politicians, ministers, priests, celibates has taken India down to the path of Hell. This is very behavior could have led to the racist supremacy ideals set out by the British or other conquering nations. This was experienced by me in my recent trip the Kabaleeshwara Temple (a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva). It just so happened that I arrived in the temple at 12:45 pm. There,a temple guard advised me that the temple is closed and no one is allowed inside. I understood and stood outside the temple and saw the deity, and decided to walk around the temple from the outside. As I was completing my round, I heard loud drums beating and walked up to the area to find out what the commotion was all about. It seems that a politician (perhaps a minister) had arrived and wished to see the temple. This individual was given the red carpet treatment. Though the deepam for the deity had been turned off, the priests lit the candle light and the locked temple was opened (at 1:05 pm) to allow this individual and his band of supporters into the temple. Naturally I was not allowed along with a large number of people who also wished for this Dharshanam. This elitist mentality has ruined the land of the Aryans. 

Many atheists and anti-hindus state that it is the religion of Hinduism that inspires this mentality. The Hindu king Rama, Krishna, Arjuna were all worshipped and hence this genetic trait is what is causing the nation to bow down to evil demonic politicians. The question we must ask ourselves therefore is, is this true? 

Ruling India is not a walk in the park. It is said that the god king Lord Rama was criticized for his administration, when a civilian commented on Sita's chastity. Arjuna, the scion of the bharata race, too was subjected to criticism when he was not present to help a farmer from the band of dacoits who stole some of his cattle. How ever, both the Kings took the advice into council and made the changes. Lord Rama banished Sita  to the forest (the author does not concure with his decision) and Arjuna broke a vow which caused his exile for 12 years to help the farmer. The two instances are but a few examples of actions committed by kings who played their role perfectly. As Hinduism is based mostly on the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, it is a safe assumption to make that Hinduism is not the cause of such destruction. Then what is?

Throughout our epics, there have been evil doers. From Ravana to Duryodhana. The epics thought us that they have been destroyed by humans (with god powers) but humans. Rama was considered a human as was Arjuna. There in lies the problem, the citizens tend to forget that the government is their to serve them and not the other way around. The idolizing of politicians is the weakness in democracy, the people must take charge. This is evident in other civilizations. For instance, the signing of the Magna Carta by prince Charles II limiting his powers significantly. The Russian revolution, the French revolution, the American revolution and the declaration of Independence. All these are examples of citizens understanding their rights. This is, however, in-existent in India. Throughout her rule, Huns, Greeks, Muslims, Pashtuns, Kushans, Mughals, British and now politicians have continued to wreak havoc on the nation and its people. The root cause therefore is NOT the politician, but the people. It is the people who must be empowered, educated and entrusted with its future and not the leaders. Now the bigger question HOW?

Swami Vivekananda, mentions, it is not education, but teaching that is of utmost importance. In today's education system, the children are force fed the ideal that only a safe monetary value will ensure their future success. They are 'educated' but not 'thought' practical knowledge of life. Vedanta, and its teaching helps a kitten of a man roar like a lion with proper understanding. The sad state of Hinduism is evident in its populations lack of understanding of it. It is a mandatory must for every Muslim to read the Koran, the Christian, the Bible. The Hindus, too have an all encompassing book. It is called the Bhagavad Gita. A recent study showed that less than ten percent of the Hindus have actually HEARD of the Gita. And less than 1 percent have actually read it. 

Hindu's are ASHAMED of the great achievements of their ancestors. The story of Ramayana shows an ardent hero who for the word of his father gives up the throne of kingdom and goes to voluntary exile, along with his ever loving wife and protective brother. The Mahabharata, a gigantic epic which teaches Dharma to anyone who reads it, considered one of the greatest masterpieces of human civilization, and has the holy Bhagavad Gita at the crux of this great epic. It consists of Heroes who died for their word. Krishna, the divine incarnation of Vishnu, performs a masterstroke with his entire plan to protect the righteous and destroy evil. 

Yet both these epics are more familiar in western countries, than in Bharata Varsha. The people of the nation are ashamed to wear a Tilak, Chandanam, Vibhoothi on their foreheads. The Aryans, (not invaders, but noble souls) were proud of their achievements (both cultural and spiritual), and masters of their adherence righteousness. India has to embrace its noble past (the Vedic era) and take a leaf out of the legendary Aryans. The rapes will stop, the corruptions will stop, the evil will recede only if the Aryans of India are awakened within the Hindus of the civilization.

Every civilization has an achievement, and the achievement of India is its rich culture, deep spirituality, and elaborate epics. When the Indian forgets his/her roots, gets drunk, lives the hedonistic lifestyle that is foreign to his/her intrinsic nature, there is no surprise that she (India) will suffer. What used to be a benchmark to the worlds culture, religion, spirituality, wisdom, knowledge, what used to have several great souls migrating to her land is now in tarnished ruins because she (India) has left path of Dharma and her people have pursued the Dharma that is foreign to them. Unless her people can come to their roots, embrace who they used to be, India and her rich culture is doomed to extinction.