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Non-violence..., Clip no. 001
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001 |
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The
pilgrim of peace arrived in Noakhali to venture in faith…
In the
midst of thick palm-groves, Gandhi pitched his camp and buried
himself in the devastated areas to purge the hearts of the
people of hatred…
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002 |
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The stink
of death still hung over the place …
Gandhi set
out on his peace plan and talked to the downhearted…
His
technique of non-violence was on trial… |
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003 |
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Emphasizing the need for complete religious toleration he
maintained, “In every province, everyone is an Indian, be he a
Hindu, a Muslim or of any other faith.” He expected the majority
to constitute itself into the guardian of the minority…
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004 |
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In
Gandhi’s presence fear fled and the hold of fanatical terror
loosened… People flocked to him for advice and comfort. He was
happy to see the dead souls return to life… and this was reward
enough for his mission.
Noakhali
became to him the nodal point governing the future course of
events for the whole of India… |
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005 |
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On
December 27, Jawaharlal Nehru came to Shrirampur, to seek
Gandhi’s advice on important political matters…
During
Nehru’s sojourn, Gandhi explained to him the technique of
non-violence he was pursuing in Nokhali… |
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006 |
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Getting
fresh inspiration from Gandhi, Nehru remarked, “ I feel a little
younger and stronger after meeting this young man of
seventy-seven”.
Gandhi
stood at the door of his hut and probed his future path… |
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007 |
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On the
morning of January 7, 1947, the barefoot pilgrim commenced his
historic one-night, one village march form Chandipur…
The way
was dark and he had naught but the twin stars of truth an
non-violence to light his perilous trail…
He
strolled on the narrow village-roads mingling freely with the
Hindus and the Muslims and expounding his gospel of communal
unity and peace… |
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008 |
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Trekking
from village to village and knocking form door to door, he
sought close contacts with the people in his attempt to
reinforce the human bond between the two communities and bring
the shattered villages to sanity and composure…
This was
an experiment in the non-violence of the strong… |
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009 |
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Touring
through miles of difficult terrain, Gandhi finished the first
stage of his tour after 28 days of walking crowded by
experiences both sweet and bitter…
On the
morning on February 5, the second part of his tour commenced. |
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010 |
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Tireless
in his pursuit of communal harmony, the pilgrim progressed
making his way through the inaccessible delta of the Ganga…
(Bhajan:
“Ekla Chalo”)
If they
answer not thy call, walk alone…
If they do
not hold up the light
When the
night is troubled with storm,
With the
thunder-flame of pain, ignite thine own heart
and let it
burn alone… |
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011 |
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During the
seven weeks, pilgrimage, Gandhi walked about 116 miles through
forty-seven villages.
The epic
of Nokhali closed after four months when he boarded the steamer
at Chandipur on March 2, on the way to Bihar to still the raging
fury… |
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012 |
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Gandhi
came to Patna in sadness to comfort the bleeding hearts of the
sufferers in Bihar…
Khan Abdul
Gaffar Khan was his constant companion… |
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013 |
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Without
respite, Gandhi set out for the interior again soothing and
encouraging the distressed and admonishing those who had wrought
the havoc…
In city
and village, he chastised the majority and preached repentance
and restitution … |
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014 |
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The deeper he probed the tragedy, the more it
tormented him.
As he
moved into the affected areas, a new force moved the people and
they were rejuvenated. |
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015 |
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Gandhi was
led through the ruins where humanity had been uprooted…
He was
deeply moved and stood like one transfixed…
He roamed
and roamed and gave a message of courage to the victims. “Shed
all fear except that of God.”
The leaven
of good will was slowly but silently at work repairing the
breach in the people’s unity… |
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016 |
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He brought
love where hatred and cunning had ruled. His plan of
rehabilitation was based on an unshakable faith in the
fundamental goodness of humanity…
He was sure that if the poison
could be effectively neutralized, India might yet be saved from
the desperate course of self-amputation…
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017 |
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At the
gathering for the evening prayers, the villagers swarmed to hear
Gandhi…
He asked
them to atone for their sins. “Retaliation is a vicious circle.
Rebuild what you have destroyed and live together as members of
one family for it is necessary to revive the eternal law of
answering anger by love if humanity is to live.
“Bihar
over which Buddha roamed and preached can radiate its effulgence
over the rest of India…”
He very
much feared that unless they work up, “India might lose the
golden apple of independence…” |
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018 |
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While
Gandhi’s mind was full of the dark implications of the madness
which had wrought desolation and destruction in Bihar, he
received an invitation from Lord Mountbatten, the new Viceroy of
India, to meet him… |
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019 |
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Gandhi
soon arrived in New Delhi and lived amidst the sweepers’ slums…
In the
Viceregal gardens, he met Lord and Lady Mountbatten… The Viceroy
declared that his mission was to transfer power to Indian hands…
Gandhi
made it clear that he was opposed to any division of India… |
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020 |
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The Purana
Qila in Delhi was stirred into new life when the inter-Asian
Relations Conference held its first session here in the last eek
of March 1947…
It was an
impressive gathering symbolizing the political renaissance of
Asia bringing together nearly 250 delegates from twenty-two
Asian countries… |
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021 |
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Jawaharlal
Nehru took the initiative in translating the aspirations of the
Asian nations into reality…
The urge
for equality and his ideal of ‘one world’ provided the main
theme for his inaugural address…
(Nehru’s
voice) “Friends and Fellow Asians, We have arrived at a stage in
human affairs when the ideal of One World and some kind of a
world federation seem to be essential… We should work for that
ideal and not for any grouping which comes in the way of this
larger world group… but in order to have One World, we must
also, in Asia, think of the countries of Asia co-operating
together for that larger ideal…
We think
today of the great architects of Asian freedom whose labours
have borne fruit…
We think
also of that great figure whose labours and whose inspiration
have brought India to the threshold of her independence-Mahatma
Gandhi… |
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Sarojini
Naidu welcomed Gandhi to the conference (her voice) “…And now I
am going to request the Father of our Nation, the apostle of
love, truth and non-violence to give us benediction…” |
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023 |
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(Gandhi’s
Voice)…”Madam President and Friends, West is today pining for
wisdom…west today is despairing of multiplication of atom bombs,
because a multiplication of atom bombs means utter destruction,
not merely of the West, but it will be destruction of the
world…If you want to give a message again to the west, it must
be a message of love, it must be a message of truth…” |
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024 |
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A terrible
pendulum of communal violence was swinging wider and wider… |
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025 |
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To stop
the holocaust, Gandhi and Jinnah issued a joint statement
deploring the “recent acts of lawlessness and violence that
brought utmost disgrace on the fair name of India”, and
denouncing “for all times the use of force to achieve political
ends.”
Gandhi
signed the appeal in three scripts… Devnagari, Persian and
Roman. |
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026 |
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At a
prayer meeting, stressing the equality of all religions, Gandhi
observed: “I believe in the message of truth delivered by all
the religious teachers of the world…
“It is my
constant prayer that I may never have a feeling of anger against
my traducers, that even if I fall a victim to an assassin’s
bullet, I may deliver up my soul with the remembrance of God on
my lips…” |
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