A note from Pakistan: Why Gandhi matters beyond India’s borders
A contested figure in Pakistan’s discourse, Gandhi’s ideas and humanism retain relevance for both nations
Nation-states write their own histories. Pakistan is no different. Mahatma Gandhi was always an odd figure in national discourse — a rival of the country’s founder MA Jinnah, peculiar in manner and appearance, and certainly not a hero. What we learnt, growing up in Pakistan, was not charitable. But it was not as pernicious as, say, Vallabhbhai Patel, whose views of the Muslims were enough to reinforce the “Two-nation Theory”, or Jawaharlal Nehru, who “reneged” on the promise of a plebiscite in Kashmir.
It was, and still, acknowledged that Gandhi was fighting for the rights of Muslims, and the share of assets that were meant to be transferred to Pakistan after Independence in 1947. This is what makes Gandhi a unique figure beyond the precincts of Indian national imagination.
The last time I met the late historian, Mushirul Hasan, he gave me his Faith and Freedom, Gandhi in History, with a handwritten inscription: “In friendship, in solidarity..” Hasan’s book takes a deep dive into a lesser known facet of Gandhi’s life — his deep engagement with the Muslims. That cost the Mahatma his life. The Hindu militant, Nathuram Godse, who killed him in 1948, called him the “Father of Pakistan” during his trial. Despite this faultline within India, Gandhi’s appeal has grown over the decades. Even though a sanitised version of his persona and politics is being projected in India, it is impossible to erase him, let alone undertake the revisionist course that Nehru has been subject to.
“The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed,” said Gandhi. Today, the planet is heading toward destruction through the impending catastrophic effects of climate change and the risk of nuclear warfare. From non-renewable natural resources to melting glaciers, and from concentrated media ownership to fascist ideologies, neoliberalism and its celebration of vulgar wealth are at work. How can one not remember Gandhi today? Gandhi has been criticised for his anti-secular vision, for the lack of a temporal understanding of communalism, the approach to Dalits, contradictions and much more. Yet, there is a global resonance of his legacy, as contested as it may be.
In Pakistan, a civil rights movement led by Pashtun youth invokes non-violence and avowedly follows the Frontier Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan. In the West, Gandhi’s statues and quotes are ubiquitous.
Even when it comes “Islam-is-the-enemy” discourse, Gandhi’s humanism helps. “...The Islamic religion is not a mendacious religion. When the Hindus study this religion with due respect, they, too, will feel the same sympathy as I do for Islam...i have arrived at the conclusion that Islam’s spreading rapidly was not by the sword,” wrote the Mahatma.
Gandhi’s brutal murder was mourned in Pakistan too. Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the poet who was also the editor of Pakistan Times wrote a moving editorial on Gandhi’s assassination: “…the passing away of Gandhiji is as grievous a blow to Pakistan as it is to India. We have observed distressed looks, seen moistened eyes and heard faltering voices in this vast sprawling city of Lahore to a degree to be seen to be believed...”
But the 1965 war and the subsequent consolidation of newfangled nationalisms changed things over time. The 1971 war altered the historical trajectory, perhaps forever. Yet, the power of ideas is such that geographical boundaries and State propaganda cannot change that easily.
I was in high school when my father’s friend and colleague, Justice Jafer Hashmi, in Bahwalpur, recounted seven or eight reasons why Gandhi was a global icon. This was shocking for me, as I had read different things, especially how the Gandhi-jinnah talks of early 1940s had broken down due to the former’s reluctance to accept the rights of the Muslims. Central to his view was Gandhi’s emphasis on a simple life. My later readings and work in the international development sector reinforced the ideas I imbibed from such mentors and, of course, Gandhi’s writings.
We know that Jinnah wanted to retire in Bombay and Gandhi wanted to visit Pakistan. Both these figures are patently out of place in today’s subcontinent. Pakistan’s drift into Islamic nationalism is well-known. It is now struggling to undo its recent past after paying a heavy price. But the Indian drift into the Hindu rashtra mode will impede Pakistan’s shift. The decolonisation of the mind is a lapsed project on both sides of the border as national identity, communal passions and labels can be traced back to colonial politics and community-marking.
In his editorial, Faiz also alerted India about Godse’s worldview: “If the government of India would have tried to take some of the conceit and ₹fire₹ out of these rabidly communal and militant leaders, maybe Gandhiji would have lived to be 125.” His editorial added: “…nothing would give greater pleasure to the soul of the illustrious dead than dispensation of justice and fair play to Indian Muslims, which he so passionately preached and for which he laid down his life. To these countless Muslims, Mahatmaji would ever remain a symbol of hope and courage. Though he is dead, he will live through ageless life.”
What we know from our shared histories is the constant reshaping of identities, borders and communities. The present may seem a departure from Gandhi’s weltanschauung, and devoid of hope. But he showed us, through the anti-colonial struggle, the frontiers of possibility, and how the confines that threaten justice, peace and sustainability can be undone. This is why Gandhi remains utterly relevant for India and the world.