Today is the second of October, a day that brings a sense of peace and solemnity in the country. Our beloved Bapu’s birthday. We all have our special, silent ways of honouring him, his thoughts, his spirit and his ideal.
In this blog, we highlight a collection of writings and unseen movies on different facets of the Mahatma.
- ‘Reflections on Gandhi’: George Orwell’s assessment of Mahatma Gandhi after his assassinationThis essay by writer George Orwell, published in 1949, is an honest reflection of his thoughts on the Mahatma after having read his autobiography, ‘My Experiments with Truth’. While he may not completely agree with Gandhiji’s chosen way of life or the success of his political experiments, there is no denying that he stood out as a humble, great man – an Indian stalwart in a western world. These few lines are remarkable: “His character was an extraordinarily mixed one, but there was almost nothing in it that you can put your finger on and call bad, and I believe that even Gandhi’s worst enemies would admit that he was an interesting and unusual man who enriched the world simply by being alive.” Access the full essay here.
2. Gandhiji’s First Television Interview
On 30 April 1931 Gandhi gave this interview to Fox Movietone News and also met the peasants of Bardoli. This precious clipping is from the archives of Fox News and Movietone. (Due to poor audio quality, earphones are recommended.)
3. Gurudev Tagore’s letters to Gandhiji on Power, Mortality and Science
Between 1915 and 1941, Mahatma Gandhi exchanged a series of letters with Indian poet, philosopher, and celebrated creative spirit Rabindranth Tagore, debating such subjects as truth, freedom, democracy, courage, education, and the future of humanity as India struggled for its independence. These letters are unique in that they were private in nature but public in manifestation — Tagore wrote in the Indian Nationalist intelligentsia forum Modern Review and Gandhi in his own political journal, Young India. Read more about them here.
Let us all take some time to revere the Mahatma in the spirit that he deserves – by embracing all aspects of him, picking one value of his life that we aspire to and following it.