I've been taught that he Was a good man & wanted us to have our share of money after partition
This is something ishud corrrect now. The widely circulated snippet of history which indians often use to get pakistanis emotional is that gandhi had gone on hunger strike so that pakistanis will be returned back their 55 crores that was held by greedy indians. It was a lie peddled by some politicians of that time and now indians for oneupmanship. When gandhi had sit for the fast he had a list of demands ,some letter he wrote, which never stated that he wants the sum to be sent to pak. Apparently due to intl pressure indian gov feared they will have to hand back our share, so for face saving they had used gandhis name.
I had even found link of the newspaper i think the hindu, which had published gandhis fast's conditions,i cant find it now. In those conditions he had nowhere asked for return of pakistani funds
I found excerpts from a book:
These were gandhis demands:
"Now that I have started my fast many people cannot understand what I am doing, who are the offenders � Hindus or Sikhs or Muslims. How long will the fast last? I say I do not blame anyone. Who am I to accuse others? I have said that we have all sinned.�
He continued: �I shall terminate the fast only when peace has returned to Delhi. If peace is restored to Delhi it will have effect not only on the whole of India but also on Pakistan and when that happens, a Muslim can walk around in the city all by himself. I shall then terminate the fast. Delhi is the capital of India. It has always been the capital of India. So long as things do not return to normal in Delhi, they will not be normal either in India or in Pakistan. Today I cannot bring Suhrawardy here because I fear someone may insult him. Today he cannot walk about in the streets of Delhi. If he did he would be assaulted. What I want is that he should be able to move about here even in the dark. It is true that he made efforts in Calcutta only when Muslims became involved. Still, he could have made the situation worse, if he had wanted, but he did not want to make things worse. He made the Muslims evacuate the places they had forcibly occupied and said that he being the Premier could do so. Even if it takes a whole month to have real peace established in Delhi it does not matter. People should not do anything merely to have me terminate the fast. So my wish is that Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Muslims who are in India should continue to live in India and India should become a country where everyone�s life and property are safe. Only then will India progress.�
�My fast should not be considered a political move in any sense of the term. It is in obedience to the peremptory call of conscience and duty. It comes out of felt agony. I call to witness all my numerous Muslim friends in Delhi. Their representatives meet me almost every day to report the day�s events. Neither Rajas and Maharajas nor Hindus and Sikhs or any others would serve themselves or India as a whole, if at this, what is to me a sacred juncture, they mislead me with a view to terminating my fast� (CWMG 98:248)"
And here is the list of demands that then Congress president, Rajendra prasad agreed to fulfil. They are called, seven points delhi declaration of 18 january 1948.
Gamdhi had begu fast on 13 and ended on 18.
Rajendra prasads words:
"SEVEN-POINT DECLARATION OF JANUARY 18, 1948
�We wish to announce that it is our heart-felt desire that the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs and members of the other communities should once again live in Delhi like brothers and in perfect amity and we take the pledge that we shall protect the life, property and faith of Muslims and that the incidents which have taken place in Delhi will not happen again.
�We want to assure Gandhiji that the annual fair at Khwaja Qutub-ud-Din Mazar will be held this year as in the previous years.
�Muslims will be able to move about in Subzimandi, Karol Bagh, Paharganj and other localities just as they could in the past.
�The mosques which have been left by Muslims and which now are in the possession of Hindus and Sikhs will be returned. The areas which have been set apart for Muslims will not be forcibly occupied.
�We shall not object to the return to Delhi of the Muslims who have migrated from here if they choose to come back and Muslims shall be able to carry on their business as before.
�We assure that all these things will be done by our personal effort and not with the help of the police or military.
�We request Mahatmaji to believe us and to give up his fast and continue to lead us as he has done hitherto.� .�
(CWMG, vol 98, p 249, 253).
Nowhere had gandhi ever demanded 55 crore nor was agreed by the ruling government.
Link that i used. I will keep looking for that news report ihad found online and if i find it will share it
Another time, another mosque: Gandhi in 1948 | India Resists
THE BEST POST. You summed it perfectly in just two words. Dont wanna get into the details of his character.