(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.