Aryan2007,
Gandhi is not irrelevant to some Indians. I've spoken to them, and they do get very peed off when Gandhi is not praised and blessed. They are some of the more verbally violent types I've encountered.
These are the "if you are a Pakistani and tell me Bal Thackeray is bad I will argue against you.. even though I can't stand Bal Thackeray but agreeing with a Pakistani against an Indian would make me unpatriotic.. " types.. Hell even I used to be that at a time...
Gandhi is a national icon.. no doubt but he is irrelevant.. nobody follows him.. and verbally attacking for his support is either because you are guilty or you can't stand Pakistanis.. any true Gandhian if you see will let you criticise him...
Gandhi didn't do much for Indian independence. It was World War II that freed the subcontinent. People like Bose were probably the second factor, the mutineering.
Akin to saying Jinnah didn't create Pakistan.. it was the Hindus who wanted to throw out all Muslims from India.. and Jinnah was their point man, a martyr for the cause of HIndus.. even Allama Iqbal's family converted to Hinduism from Islam and so that they can throw out all Muslims from Hindu Lands.. they were actually staunchly anti-Muslim.. and died for the cause of Hindus..
and Hindu leaders incited the Hindus and SIkhs to kill Muslim so that those who survived coming from Pakistan will never think of that place as Home ever again..
Gandhi I'd place at nearly irrelevant in Indian independence. He was just a good showpiece for the post colonial Indians to calm them down, and forget about their colonial past.
Gandhi united the nation of many ethnicities, He gave us nationalism, he did not fight for the cause of his religion or his caste or his people, He fought for all Indians/Hindustani/Bharatiya(incl Pakistanis and Bangladeshis)
He gave pride and self-esteem to the common Indian, he fought for all irresp of the adjectives.. He was the sheperd if all Indians were the flock...
It takes guts to not retort when you are being hit.. His philosophy of ahimsa created a strong sense of pride and self belief... He lived the ideals of not only Hinduism but also Sikhism, Islam and Christanity.. He fought hate with love.. violence with non violence..
He stood by his ideals and beliefs and was an inspiration to all, he proved Ahimsa could work.He united the nation and groomed its future leaders.His teachings have moulded the very fabric of our nation, our constitution, the way our country functions...
why did African nations not get freedom even after WW2?? why are even the most uniform countries still after decades of independence in danger of being failed states??
Do you think a land so diverse as ours, with such a massive population, with so many problems would become such a united & generally peaceful country, the 3rd richest in the world(by PPP) and a quasi superpower,...
Hope no one finds this too offensive but it is Akin to saying the Prophet was irrelavant in propagating the religion of Islam.. it was his followers who spread it.,, he just served as an example, a guide and a messenger of knowledge... but I consider if prophet wasn't there could Islam have spread??
If you want I can post a brief outline of Indian Independence Movement.. and highlight Gandhi's role.. as I said.. Gandhi was responsible for us getting freedom but people have forgotten him...
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You said you support the HP law, but you think religion should be a choice. How is it that if you support a law forbiding conversion, that it gives religious freedom?
religious conversion should stem from internal motivations and desirably spiritual motives not by brainwashing and lure of temporal gains...
Muslim/Christian Missionaries often promise jobs etc. to poor folks and when the missionaries gets money from the bible belt.. with which they sustain their new converts or they keep the money and fire these guys and let them fend for themselves..
Many Bihari Labourers convert to Sikhism while working in Punjab to get more pay or respect but nobody respects them as their reasons for conversions are from the ideals of Sikhism...
These are the kinds of conversions which must stop... active proselytizing by anyone is against secularism... and one should practice one's religion without needless disturbance ...
PS
eath for apostasy should be made illegal as a practice in India.. as well..