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Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari
The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations to which
they belong.
ISBN :978-81-932915-2-8
Bharat Mahodaya
Director
Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardha
viii | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari
x| Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
UshaTamaskar
Contents
Preface xiii
1. Woman-Power 3-9
Appendices 208-242
i. Gandhi on Women Problems
ii. Gandhi’s Last Will and Testament January 29, 1948
iii. Vinoba on Women Problems
iv. Dada Dharmadhikari on Man-Woman Mutual
Fellowship
v. Dharmadhikari Family and Mahatma Gandhi
vi. Dr. RammanoharLohia on Women Problems
vii. Subhas Chandra Bose on Kasturba Gandhi
Index 243-247
Preface
prey to her charm. Even a woman considers her body and beauty
as her wealth and real assets.
At present, we are passing through a transitional phase. Old
values and status symbols are falling apart. We have not yet
succeeded in evolving new social values and norms. Old
tradition and growing materialism in human life have put
him/her under the grip of gadgets and external agencies.
Simultaneously, they have also made them self-centered. Human
feelings and human values are being lost in the thick clouds of
the crowd. The culture of tyag (sacrifice) is being replaced by the
culture of Bhog(eat, drink and be merry). We want change but at
the same time, we are also scared of it. At times, we feel that the
solution for all our problems lies in the writings of Gandhiji. The
way we look for the meaning of a word in a dictionary, so do we
look for a formulae solution to our problems in Gandhi’s
writings? We often forget that in a dictionary what we get is a
synonym and not a real meaning of a word. We have to find
‘meaning’ in our real life. To that end, we have to fully
understand various dimensions of any question in the first
instance. That would require of us deep thinking, reflection and
meditation on all the issues involved. The problems confronting
us today were not there during the life time of Gandhi and
Vinoba. Today our country is passing through a critical phase.
So instead of those who prefer to walk on a beaten track, we
require a generation of a few committed activists, realist and
objective thinkers who have the potentiality and capacity to
identify the needs and aspirations of the people. Such people
alone could mold and take the country in the right direction. In
other words, we need a group of such dedicated youths whose
thoughts and actions are in keeping with the tune of our times. I
strongly differ from the opinion of those who think that the new
generations has deviated from the real path and as such they are
a spoiled lot. I would like to tell such people that it is not the new
generation but the people belonging to our old generation that
have actually failed. It is not children but their parents who often
move off from the right track. Someone has put it in a poetic
language; the dust was on one’s face, but he went on wiping it
out from the surface of the mirror.
xvi | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Now we have to dust off our faces instead of the mirror and
get into the roots of the problems confronting us today. How
could we forget that when an abominable and tragic incident of
gang rape had occurred in Delhi, it is the youth of the country
that raised a powerful storm of protest movement? As a result, a
committee headed by Justice Verma, the Ex-Chief Justice of
India was set up which recommended certain changes in the
legal provisions. Subsequently, those changes were carried out in
our legal system. But that in itself would not suffice to meet the
challenge of the situation. Unless a radical change occurs in the
reactionary mindset of our society, all such legal changes would
be like dusting off the mirror instead of one’s face. Because, we
should never forget that honour/prestige are the qualities of the
mind and not of the body. If the mind and heart remain pure, a
woman would not lose her modesty even when being physically
violated. Because, such a crime is not confined to an individual
case, it actually afflicts the entire society. As such its roots lie in
the words of Kahlil Gibran, “And as a single leaf turns not
yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree”. Thus
such acquiescence of the gentlemen is the first cause of the
crimes committed by the evil doers.
The woman who has been violated is actually a victim, but
the society looks upon her as an accused. She is taken to be a
woman of blotted and loose character. In the words of Kahlil
Gibran: the corner stone of a temple is never higher than the
lowest rung of its foundation, and for the crimes committed by
the evil doers, the gentlemen are never free from such sins’. So
the need is to change the entire mindset of the society. Laws
have their own limitations as they could not stand on their own.
Public opinion is the foundation for the actual
implementation of any law. Law simply opens the path, but it
could not make people walk over it. So it could not be
implemented in its true letter and spirit in the absence of
supportive public opinion. What is more, even of it is really
implemented; it could not provide full protection to any woman.
It could not inspire a woman to take recourse to ‘self-protection’
and unless that happens the honour and modesty of a woman
could not be safeguarded. Unless and until a woman takes
Preface | xvii
But its eyes are yet to be opened. In any case, they are not
yet alert or wide awake.
mirror. By nature she was fond of cooking. But unless she would
have fed cows and other animals and watered the plants and
offered food to her family members and the servants and helpers
of the family members, she herself would not eat even a single
grain. She had a family full of children. Her entire life was a
unique experiment in the principle of extended family and life
togetherness. Dada wrote a moving passage about her:
“Usha was our first child—the living symbol of my
independent family life. With her birth, a new auspicious chapter
was opened up in my life and I attained the status of fatherhood.
A human being would be really considered to be cultured, only if
a couple look upon themselves as parents and not just as man
and women which has given birth to a boy or a girl.” Dada
further wrote: “we used to call Usha as Babi out of our love for
her. She was our first gift. We also treated her friends just like
our own daughters. I could say that I have done sadhana of
fatherhood in respect of girls. Later, I developed a mindset like
that and it became a part of my nature. A number of girls as
daughters earned by my love and affection and became my real
shield. I came to believe that my love for them provided me with
a deep sense of fearlessness, as one gets from one’s mother. It
also helps me in bursting out the balloon of my egotism’.
(From Manishiki Snehgatha)
I was the youngest among my brothers and sisters. Now
because of mathematical deduction in the family I have become
the eldest among the family members. My childhood has ended.
My eldest child is a girl called Aruna. Now I am blessed with
two granddaughters, two great granddaughters and four
grandsons. It is also one of my worries what kind of society I
would be leaving behind me. Hence, I am dedicating this book
based on the challenges of women-life to my elder sister,
Ushatai, an embodiment of motherly feelings.
This book was originally published in Hindi by Sarva Sewa
Sangh Prakashan, Varanasi.The present book is an expanded
version of the earlier book in which a number of my writings in
Hindi and Marathi have been included. The entire translation has
been done by Ramchandra Pradhan who had also translated my
xxvi | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
II
The present study, ‘Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse’ by
Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari presents a holistic view
of Gandhi’s seminal contributions to the field of women
emancipation. It has to be borne in mind that Dharmadhikari is
not only one of the senior most living Gandhians, but he is also a
serious thinker and social activist in his own right. The study
clearly brings out a number of points regarding Gandhi’s
thinking on the women problems. First, it underlines the fact that
Gandhi’s primary focus was to make women realize the
immensity of their inherent and potential power. As such, they
need not look for external crutches. Second, as a derivative of
the above realization, a woman has to remain self-protected
instead of always looking for the protection from her male
companion. Third, one of the major refrains of Dharmadhikari’s
study is that a woman could never become impure and
inauspicious on account of any sexual assault even leading to the
forced motherhood on her. Not only that, even as a widow she
still retains the same purity and auspiciousness. Fourth, in the
case of forced motherhood, a child born out of her womb could
never be considered as being illegitimate. Fifth, Dharmadhikari’s
major plea is that all kinds of discrimination against women in
particular against the girl child including her unwelcome birth
must cease forthwith. Sixth, the study makes a plea for ending all
kinds of segregation of both sexes. In fact, Chandrashekhar
Dharmadhikari, following in the footsteps of Gandhi, Vinoba
and Dada Dharmadhikari (his father) pleads for the mutual
fellowship of man and woman patterned on the lust free
friendship of Radha and Krishna of the Bhagawat fame. It goes
without saying that all these are revolutionary ideas which speak
for author’s bold and robust intellectualism. Another strength of
his study is that it presents in brief the life-sketches of a number
of Gandhian women activists who have amply demonstrated the
strength and practicability of some of the Gandhian ideas
through their lives, actions and livings. They have also made
significant contributions to the various fields of the Gandhian
movement in their own ways.
xxxii| Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
III
The present work is an expanded version of Dharmadhikari’s
small Hindi book called ‘Stri-Shakti Vimarsha’ virtually running
into a little more than one hundred pages. It is a matter of pride
for me that on my initiative he went on collecting more of his
Hindi and Marathi writings in the field of women studies leading
to the present volume. Thus, it has emerged as a major study in
the field of women studies. I also must say that I have the
privilege of translating another book of Dharmadhikari called
‘Contemplating Gandhi’ which has already been published by
the Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardha.
Translating Dharmadhikari’s book from Hindi/Marathi to
English has been a very challenging task for me. I am not a
professional translator of either of the languages. I faced
problems on account of different meanings of the some words
used in Marathi and Hindi languages. However, I sorted it out
with the help of some of my Marathi speaking friends.
In the preparation of the present volume a number of my
friends and well-wishers have made their own contributions.
First of all, I must put on record that it is always a matter of
sheer joy to work with Justice Dharmadhikari whose love and
trust has remained a great source of inspiration for me. My friend
and colleague, Dr. Siby Joseph, has contributed more than what
could be acknowledged here. He went through a part of the
manuscript, suggested many changes and even has a major hand
in preparing the cover design for the book. Shri Bharat
Mahodaya, our Director, has always been supportive of all my
intellectual ventures including the present work. I must express
my deep sense of indebtedness to him. My other colleagues,
Kulkarni, Manohar, Pravin and Vishal have also extended
various kinds of help in the preparation of this volume. I would
like to record my thankfulness to all of them. However, any
lapse in terms of facts and style remains with me.
Ramchandra Pradhan
Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardha
International Women Day, 8 March 2018.
Part I
Gandhian Approach to Women Emancipation
2| Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Women Power |3
Chapter: 1
Woman-Power
a woman is also the citizen of this country. The fact is that there
are many things in our tradition, including marriage, festivals
and other aspects which not only go against her dignity but also
reduce her to the status of second class citizen. She must take
initiative in denouncing and giving them up. In other words, a
woman must reject all such roles. Marriage and the related
ceremonies to it have also become very expensive. What is
worse, they have become the symbol of one’s prosperity. So the
simpler and less expensive they would become, the more and
more welcome would be given to the birth of a girl child. One
might ask question: is it necessary for every girl to get married?
A Brahmachari man usually commands higher respect than
married man. Then why a woman should not enjoy such right of
Brahmacharya? As per our latest census reports, women are in
smaller number than men in our society. So they should have
higher market value than men according to the basic principle of
demand and supply. Accordingly, dowry should be paid to her
and not to men! At present, a woman could have her own
earnings. So why should she remain enslaved? She must be freed
from all kinds of slavery. Rather she should have all the right
needed for the full flowering of her personality. She must be a
part of the movement for the women liberation. A part of that
movement is demand for reservations for her in the political
field. But for her total liberation she would have to stand on her
own. She would have to give up parasitical life and opt for a life
of freedom for herself. Then alone, she could be really
empowered.
On the one hand, we are talking about gender equality. On
the other hand, we are hardly providing her with any real
opportunity towards gender equality. As such these talks of
equality are meaningless and condemnable. We have not given
to her any opportunities for growth of her personality. In fact, we
never want to do so. Hence, political reservation for her is
essential as it would open new ways for her to realize her
potential energies and growth. But reservation alone would not
suffice. So long she does not acquire the power to actually enjoy
her rights; she could not live in full freedom. Besides, to that
end, there is need for a radical change in the mindset of men. A
Women Power |9
Sarojini Naidu
Chapter: 2
The Foundation of All Laws
Relating to Women
is a victim in such a situation and the real culprit is the man who
has committed such a crime. But our society hardly accepts such
legal provisions. Society treats her as a culprit and the one who
has lost her modesty. Such divergence in law and social
acceptance is matter of real worry. They need to be brought in
harmony. We have to accept two basic social and legal norms:
one, it is the duty of every citizen to resist all atrocious acts
against women,and two; no woman is dishonoured if she has
been subjected to rape. There should not be different social
norms or yardsticks for man and women. That is not a humane
approach.
It was in the same context, Mridula Sarabhai was asked a
question whether or not she gets scared of rape as she keeps on
moving from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Her response was quite
characteristic of her personality and also worth consideration.
She said, “Should I live under, constant fear under the threat of
rape on my persona? That would amount to losing my freedom
forever.” Her response is quite meaningful and gives out the
right approach to the threat of rape. It is only in this way that a
woman could become fearless, self-secured and self-protected. A
woman must be free from such fearful mindset and the society
would have to do the same.
It all depends on the sensitivity of the police and judiciary if
they want to earn the continued faith and trust of the common
masses for them. What could be concretely done in this regard is
a question which deserves our serious consideration. I had gone
to Jaipur during December 1912 for the inauguration of an All
India Interaction Course, which was a part of the training
programme of the IPS officers. It is the need of the time that
such courses should be organized also for public prosecutors;
government advocates and the all district level judges. The chief
justice of India had said that mere passing a law could not serve
the purpose. We have to find ways and means to create a new,
popular mindset which would really be conducive to the
implementation of these laws.
Besides, people would have to be free from the mentality
that the police and the government could do everything in this
14 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
married also favour all these ceremonies. Perhaps, they think that
the marriage of a girl takes place only one time in her life, so
there is nothing wrong if her parents meet these expenses. These
girls often forget that afterwards their earnings also becomes a
part of their in-laws’ family income. That is also a kind of dowry
which adds to her in-law’s family income on monthly basis. But
she does not own the income as it does not remain under her
control. Marriage is considered to be an auspicious occasion in
India. But when money enters into such a sacred field, then it
becomes inauspicious. It loses its purity and auspiciousness. It is
turned into a financial transaction.
There are some provisions in anti-dowry law which also put
a limit to marriage expenses. Even the gifts offered on such
occasions could be called for and examined by the concerned
officials. But all these provisions remain confined to only law
books. In actual practice, no such official is ever appointed. Nor
such demand is put forward. Even the gifts are not in the name of
the girl concerned. They remain under the name of her husband
and his family. Now the daughter has got the legal right over the
property of her parents. But that is only on paper as she could
hardly have the resources to avail such right. In this connection,
the Haryana government has proposed some radical measures. It
has put a limit of rupees five thousand as the marriage expense.
It has also prohibited the public display of the gifts received on
the occasion of marriage. It has also provided that guests should
not exceed more than twenty five in number and the number of
the band party should not exceed eleven. Even the government
of Punjab has also passed a similar law. Under the Punjab law,
arranging more than two food parties is considered to be illegal.
Now these laws have lapsed as there is central law which covers
all these provisions. Besides, every marriage would have to be
registered. Moreover, both the parties to the marriage would
have to make a declaration in the form of affidavits about the
total amount of money spent. Not only that, before one joins the
government job, a declaration on the similar patterns would have
to be submitted. Moreover, if marriage is to take place in the
family of the government employees, a similar declaration would
have to be submitted by him in his office. The government of
The Foundation of all Laws Relating to Women | 17
Maharashtra has also passed a similar law. But all these laws
have remained on paper only, as they have failed to acquire the
requisite social consent. A horse could be taken to a pond, but in
no case it could be forced to drink its water. That is the limitation
of any law. All these legal provisions should be also applicable
to the people’s representatives; but it is not done there. That only
means that we have not succeeded in mobilizing strong public
opinion in favour of these anti-dowry laws. These laws alone
could not serve their purpose. Today marriage has become a
symbol of one’s family prosperity. The success of a marriage is
considered on the basis of high expenses involved in it. Such a
corrupt and vulgar display of one’s family prosperity is spoiling
the dignity and purity of the very institution of marriage.
Marriage has come to be associated with black money as
well. Dowry has very close relationship with black market and
black money. So the concerned citizens should make serious
efforts that the families involved in such marriages do not get the
social respect and sanction. During the period of Gandhian
movement, there were a number of families who took a vow not
to take or give dowry. Many of them started boycotting the
marriages in which dowry had been given or taken. Now such
social movement has come to an end and everything is being left
to the law and the law enforcing agencies. But law alone could
not produce such inspiration. It has to come from our social life.
For that, we have to give up the sale-purchase of the son-in-laws
and the daughter as well. Besides, a ceiling would have to be put
on the marriage involving high expenses. And the marriage halls
should not be rented out to such prospective marriages lest these
anti-dowry laws remain only on papers. As a poet has put it:
“Surrounded by questions,
We were looking for answers,
But now the answers have turned into the questions,
Hence, we need a revolution”
A new law has come up to prohibit the display of women
bodies in advertisement and leaflets. The society which looks at
the beauty of a woman as a marketable commodity uses such
18 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Usha Mehta
Chapter: 3
Importance of Motherhood
India could hardly fly away from her hearth and home into the
open sky, even if the gates of the cage are kept wide open, as her
wings remain clipped. For such women, family works as the
fortress of security. It cannot become a laboratory for life
togetherness between man and woman.
It is in the above context that some of the Gandhian ideas
regarding man and woman relationship could be considered. He
had envisaged the concept of brahmacharya in the very centre of
married life. Our institution of marriage is based primarily on
sexuality— sexual urges and their gratification. In earlier times,
there used to be a mention of physical relationship in the
invitation letter on the occasion of marriage. Now the wordings
have changed but the essence and the spirit remains the same. On
account of the peculiar woman’s physiology, she could be used
even without her consent and motherhood could forcibly be
imposed on her and that too not once but several times.
Gandhiji treated Kasturba more of a mother than his wife.
That was the symbol of his brahmcharya. One’s own wife
reaches the status of a mother and she lives in the family
primarily on the basis of that kind of relationship. According to
Gandhiji, brahmacharya stands for being nearer to God and
regulate one’s entire life pattern on that basis. Kasturba and
Gandhiji addressed each other as Bapu and Ba – Bapu being the
synonym for father and Ba for the mother. Many people took
objection to it as they felt that it was nothing short of an
improper and unjust act. Such people fail to remember that even
in earlier social system, it was quite common to call one’s wife
as the mother of one’s child’s name. So was the case when the
wife addressed her husband. In fact, in that style of address was
involved the high philosophy of husband-wife relationship.
I had known a number of couples who living together
comfortably under the vow of brahmacharya. J.P.-Prabhavati,
Kishor Bhai Mashruwala-Gomati Kaki, could be easily cited as
such couples. We know that when Prabhavati took the vow of
brahmcharya, when J.P. was living in the US as a student.
Gandhiji suggested that JP could go in for marriage with another
woman. JP told Gandhiji that if he himself would have taken the
Importance of Motherhood | 27
the art and process of voting. She should come to believe that
voting is an auspicious and good deed.’
A strong feeling of co-citizenship based on man-woman
relationship should be taken as the life-blood of our democratic
polity. According to Gandhiji, apart from the natural differences
between man and woman, they should be treated in terms of
equality. Such a feeling of equality alone could be the basis for
co-citizenship of man and woman. It is in such a situation that
the birth of a girl child would be welcome in our society. After
all, India is a spiritual land and a woman is taken as being the
better half of man. Unless that state of affairs is really
established, India would continue to remain in paralytic state
with its better half of the body remaining atrophied. That was the
feeling of Gandhiji.
Those who think that Gandhiji has become outdated should
try to understand his world view in an objective manner. A
thought might get associated with a particular person, but it may
transcend his time and space. Gandhiji himself rejected any idea
of Gandhism. But he did insist on man making his own
experiments with truth. He himself did that. Hence his life and
thought would work as a beckon light for generations to come.
Kanaklata Barua
Chapter: 4
Widowhood — A Blessing Not a Curse
Many years back, one of the senior leaders of Jansangh had said
that the country is in bad shape as it is being headed by a widow,
Smt. Indira Gandhi. That Jansangh leader has forgotten the fact
of the positive contribution of selfless, people oriented and
egoless Ahilya Devi and the bold and fearless warrior Smt.
Laxmibai who had made a categorical declaration that so long
‘there is life in her body and sword in her hand, she would never
surrender her Jhansi to the British. Both of them were widows
and had become of queens in their own right. Their kingdoms
were of the widows. Nonetheless, there is no change in our
contemptuous attitude towards our widows. That shows not only
male chauvinism but a tradition bound approach. This kind of
male chauvinism raises its head on several occasions which
looks at a widow as an embodiment of inauspiciousness. That
Jansangh leader was no exception to that general rule. That was
my first experience of such a ludicrous attitude towards a widow.
In my youthful reaction I strongly objected to his statement at his
meeting held at Nagpur. Some other youths said that they would
take out the tongue of anyone who would make such a ludicrous
statement about a widow.
I had another peculiar and strange experience after the
above incident. One of the most prominent social workers of
Nagpur, Padmshri Kamala Tai Hospet had celebrated the silver
jubilee of her widowhood. She has started saying that she could
not have done so much of social work if she was not a widow.
32 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
She was a child widow and she had a deep sense of gratitude
towards the Hospet family. Gita Sane, an eminent social worker,
had written about Kamala Tai that the latter had celebrated the
silver jubilee of her widowhood which turned out to be that of
her freedom. Widowhood frees a woman from the slavery of her
husband. That is a bitter truth. But it is usually considered as one
of the biggest crises of woman life. It is also considered to be
inauspicious. The same thing could not be said about a widower.
Even otherwise, the word “Vidhawa’ (widow) is much older than
‘Vidhur’ (widower) as the man hardly used to live without
second marriage after the death of his first wife. At every age a
man is considered to be an eligible candidate for marriage.
Gandhiji used to say that among the Hindus, ‘a child widow’ is
considered in no way less than an untouchable. But in reality the
world ‘vidhawas’ carries a good smell with itself. It becomes a
great blessing if a woman accepts her widowhood voluntarily
whereas it is not less than a sin when involuntarily enforced’.
They are women like Kamla Tai who looked at their widowhood
as a blessing in disguise despite having the legal right for
remarriage. Such a kind of widowhood could be considered as
nothing less than being virtuous. IndirabaiHalwe of
‘Matrimandir’ was also a woman of the same genre. People
might have their own differences with Indira Gandhi. But even
his opponents, nay even his enemies, could not deny that there
has been no greater ‘doer’ than her in modern India. Even then,
one of the Sanatani leaders had no hesitation in describing her
rule as that of a widow which was a part of his taunting comment
on her widowhood. It is quite likely that such leaders would be
still around who would make similar comments on her rule.
These leaders are never free from anti women feelings and as
such they are never willing to accept the fact of independent
social and political role of a woman.
The moment a woman becomes a widow, she has to get rid
of the coloured bangles and dresses, her mangalsutra, and even
her desire to wear cloths of her choice during changing seasons.
Why should she spend her entire life as widow just in the
remembrance of her husband who is already dead? Is it not a fact
that even a young, unmarried girl wears cloured dresses and
Widowhood — A Blessing Not a Curse | 33
Basanti Devi
Chapter: 6
Empowerment of Women
Mahatma Gandhi had said that Khadi is the first step towards the
self-reliance of the villages. He had also said that the yarns
coming out of charkha would work as the bond for the millions
of Indian people. The economics of Khadi is based on the love of
our nation and the larger human society. Khadi means economic
freedom and equality for millions of our countrymen.
Agriculture is the body of a peasant and charka is his hand and
feet. According to Gandhiji, Khadi is the key to Swaraj.
AtalBihari Vajpayee, the ex- Prime Minister of India, had said
from the ramparts of Red Fort that fifty to fifty five lakhs
workers earn from their bread form Khadi works. There is no
other industry whether indigenous or foreign which could
provide employment to such a large number of people. My own
estimate is that if every Indian buys one full dress in a year, then
it could provide employment to one crore of our people. That is
the real power of Khadi. Khadi is not mere cloths; it is an
ideology which covers up our national shame. It does not simply
carry a price; it has a value, a human value. So those who reject
it on the basis of its market price, fail to understand its immerse
human value. Swadeshi could be based on handicrafts, village
industries, small scale industries followed by large scale
indigenous industries. Khadi is the basic unit on which such an
imposing superstructure could be built.
It is the women who are mostly engaged in Khadi work.
Whether it is AausaKhadi Kendra of Marathawada, or
42 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
SushilaNayar
Chapter: 7
Women Shanti Sena (Peace Brigade)
and Peace Warrior
concerned. Today violence has spread its tentacles all over the
places. That is the result of existing social-cultural structure
based on violence. Hence, we have to make serious efforts to
establish a new culture of non-violence in the society. To that
end, we have to plan for establishing a culture of peace by
analyzing the prevailing symptoms of violence in our society.
We have to bring about a basic change in our mindset and
thinking pattern to get rid of the war and various kinds of
conflict situations. We have to make efforts to develop mutual
cooperation, social cohesion, mutual help and mutual tolerance
in the society. For that we have not only to bring about a change
in the mindset of our peace worker but also that of the entire
society. We have to spread the message in the larger society that
our problems could not be solved with the mindset of war,
violence end conflict. They could be tackled only in a non-
violent way. After the assassination of Gandhiji, General
Macarthur had said that the problems facing the world could be
tackled only through the Gandhian way and not through war.
Gandhiji had devoted his entire life to experiment and establish a
new path of non-violence. We have to move forward in that
direction. I want to say particularly in connection of the work of
women Shanti sainiks that they must see to it that conflict
situation is tackled properly so that peace could prevail in the
society. To that end, they have to do the followings.
(i) Every woman Shanti sainik must have a Khadi dress.
Khadi is the symbol of a non-violent economy and
economic thought. Only a non-exploitative enterprise
could be called Swadeshi. So all the product of Khadi
Gamadyogs could be really described as swadeshi.
(ii) Every Shanti sainik must understand that the culture of
non-violence could be based only on the feeling of
sacrifice and not on that of self-indulgence. Then alone,
equality, coordination, equanimity and the feeling of
advait and faith could be established in the society.
(iii) Every women Shanti sainik would have to make a decision
that in every situation, she has to maintain her self-
48 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
(xi) The basic wealth lies in the womb of the earth which is
reinforced by water bodies and deep ecology. That
wealth’s must be used with wise discrimination. Man
would be in the centre of the things. All economic,
political, social arrangements would be built keeping man
in the centre. But for human development, all animate,
inanimate beings, plants, forest, must be preserved and
promoted in such way as to create a development process
marked by inter-dependence and equilibrium. That would
be also our guiding principle for development and
production.
(xii) There would be no place of untouchability, casteism,
religion, creed in human affairs. We believe in the
principle of gender equality and are against all forms of
exploitation and inequalities.
(xiii) We also believe that the citizens must have rights to enjoy
all fundamental rights enshrined in or Constitution. But at
the same time, they should be equally conscious of their
fundamental duties given there.
(xiv) The entire thinking and working pattern of the Shanti sena
is based on unarmed bravery but not on inimical feelings.
And such bravery would be grounded on non-violence.
Based on the above resolves, Shanti sena would try to
avoid a situation of conflict and confrontation in the
society. But if it happens, they would try to establish peace
and harmony by risking their own life. This is duty and
even vow of every shanty sainik.
ArunaAsaf Ali
Chapter: 8
Respect for Women: A Spiritual Value
Savitribai Phule
Chapter: 10
Convocation Address at S.N.D.T.
University on January 20, 2017
Hence, you must develop new energies to face all these new
problems.
Let us draw our attention to the basic question being raised
in this age of globalization. Recently, I had visited Japan. I read
about their wisdom bank which recorded that they want to create
‘artificial’ brain and intelligence. I could not fully grasp that
idea. Hence, I asked for an explanation. They told me that
initially they had started with the production of calculators. Later
they built up computers. Now they are producing such mobiles
which would have all these facilities. They further told me that
they want to create artificial intelligence which would replace
our brain and mind leaving them idle and inactive. They also
said that they are creating artificial needs and they have a plan to
enhance them further. All this turned out to be Greek and Latin
for me. They explained to me that earlier middle classes did not
have microwaves, washing machines and similar other gadgets.
Now they have created all these things. I countered them by
saying that they are not the parts of our needs; rather they are the
parts of our greed. Then they said that adding new dimension to
the human greed is our primary seeking. In today’s India even
the Ganesh Murti and the candles that are being used during
Diwali and colour pumps used during Holi are being imported
from outside. Even the toys like ‘Superman’ for our children are
also being imported from outside the country. In a way, our
children are being brought up in the Sanskar of violence and all
this is being warmly welcomed. We must seriously think about
all these matters.
On the other hand, French boys have agitated for the change
in their education system. Someone asked them: why were they
asking for such a change? One of the boys replied: as a five year
old boy, I went to a school. Some of us sat in the front row.
When I come back from the school, my mother asked what
happened in the school. I told her that I had got three friends. My
mother instantly told me that ‘they are not your friends rather
they are actually your competitors so you must get more marks
in school examination than them.’ These protesting French boys
said that the kind of cut throat competition which the school
system teaches us is no good. For us as friendship carries great
62 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Durgabai Deshmukh
Chapter: 12
Gandhi: The Commander of
Brave Soldiers
weapon of the weak and the helpless. That is why he had said
that if he had to choose between violence and cowardice, he
could choose violence. His satyagrahawas based on justice,
fearlessness and non-violence.
Gandhi established a unique relationship between the means
and the end. He likened them with seeds and trees respectively.
This was another version of the saying: “as you sow, so you
reap.” ‘He said: ‘They say “means are after all means.” I would
say: “means are after all everything.” As the means, so would be
the end. There is no wall of separation between means and end.
Indeed the Creator has given us control (and that too very
limited) over means, not over the end. Realization of the goal is
in exact proportion to that of the means. This is a proposition
that admits of no exception.’ He emphatically rejected the old
concept of the end justifying means. In other words, he never
accepted that a good cause should be well served by any kind of
fair or foul means. He called even peace through force and
violence as the peace of graveyard. Hence, he emphasized the
centrality of non-cooperation, civil disobedience and even
fasting in extreme cases as the various forms of satyagraha.
Ordinarily, those people who break law do it secretly. They
even produce false evidence in their legal defence in the courts
of law. They even deny all that they have actually done. But a
Gandhian satyagrahi never indulges in such kind of acts. He
boldly owns up his acts of law breaking and even expresses his
willingness to undergo the punishment provided under the law.
In this way he helps in maintaining the high majesty of the rule
of law and the entire judicial system.
It has to be clearly understood that true satyagraha could
never become duragraha as it could never be based on untruth
and falsehood. Besides, it would have to remain ‘civil’, never
take the shape of being ‘uncivil’, Gandhi found new ways and
means of struggle against injustice and slavery not earlier
available to the people. He opted for non-violent civil resistance
after imbibing truth, non-violence, brahmacharya and non-
possession in his own personality. He expected every satyagrahi
to imbibe these values in his life. Besides, such a satyagrahi
Gandhi: The Commander of Brave Soldiers | 83
hands that could have wiped out those tears have become non-
existent. Diplomacy and betrayal became the order of the day.
They have become more acceptable to all sections of our society.
Gandhi could utter ‘Hey Ram’ after being hit by the bullet. That
was his bravery and spiritual attainment. His life became more
meaningful and perfect after his death. His courage of
conviction, his will and determination to pay a price for them
were unprecedented in historical terms. He had used three main
symbols for the kind of revolution he had led—charkha,
broomstick and community prayer. Charkha symbolized his
emphasis on productive work; broomstick symbolized the end of
social discrimination and domination and community prayer was
meant to promote unity among our people—seeking to make
them one people and one nation.
It needs to be underlined that there is a lot of difference
between individual prayer and the community prayer. Individual
prayermay be for individual gains; while community prayer
could be for common interest of the people. A man drawn from
one particular province prays for the welfare of the people of
other regions. It leads us to a situation where the emphasis is on
the people not on an individual. All this ultimately leads us to
have a deep sense of national integration. Gandhi and his
movements worked for creating a unified and a united India
subduing all the differences of caste, creed and religion. He
virtually created a new nation of India by uniting our people and
instilling in them a deep sense of unity. India did exist as a
landmass, as a geographical concept even before Gandhi. But
nothing like Indian nation existed in pre-Gandhian era. It was
our struggle for independence led by Gandhiji which contributed
most to the emergence of Indian nationhood. It was not for
nothing that Subhas Babu called Gandhiji the ‘father of the
nation’. Today we are faced with all kinds of cleavages in our
society. But they remained subdued during the Gandhian
movements.
Gandhiji had proposed the concept of shanti senato work
for the unity of the country by promoting peace and harmony in
the society. Talking about the programme of shanti sena he had
said:
86 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
‘He will get training through nursing the sick, saving those
in danger even at the risk of own life, patrolling places which
may be in fear of thieves and dacoits, and by laying down his
life, if necessary for dissuading them from the said purpose. Just
as one must learn the art of killing in training for violence, so
one must learn the art of dying in the training for non-violence.’
(Harijan, 7 April, 1946)
It was such conception of the soldiers of peace that his
clarion call of “Do or Die” of the Quit India Movement had
emerged. He not only gave such death-defying calls, but also
himself became such a soldier of the movement. He was as much
the commander of his soldiers of peace, as much a solider
himself. The job of the soldiers of peace was to save life. A
shanti-sainik was not to have even an iota of fear in his being.
His life was to be built up on the basic principle of freedom from
fear, partiality and enmity.
He wanted women to work as a shanti sainik. Women in
particular had all the potentialities of being a fearless shanti
sainik. In Gandhi’s scheme of shanti sena there was every
possibility of developing soul power and women power. I myself
have been associated with the working of the shanti sena. In
Bihar and Assam the soldiers of peace are quite active. They
work for the protection of the villages from goondas and even
from the terrorists. Terrorists and goondas run away the moment
shanti sainiks reach the place of occurrence. This is based on
actual experience. Thus the idea of shanti senais one of the
major contributions of Gandhiji.
Gandhiji was the founder commander of such soldiers of
peace. Protector of life and limb any day stands on a much
higher pedestal than the killer and the murderer. We need such
people in our country today. If shanti senas preads its wing in
every nook and corner of the country, then peace and harmony
would be the order of the day. There is a need for peace
movement all over the world. The United Nations have also a
Peace Brigade. Demand for a ban on all kinds of war is also
gathering momentum. In our own country we call it the ministry
of defence and not the ministry of war. There is also a movement
Gandhi: The Commander of Brave Soldiers | 87
Women
We must, in the context of equality, consider the place women
hold in our society. During the freedom struggle, we had
movements for the liberation of women. Gifted women like Dr.
Annie Besant and Sarojini Naidu became the President of the
Indian National Congress. The Constitution conferred rights of
equal citizenship on women. A woman can be the Prime
Minister of the country, or the Chief Minister of a State. She can
even be the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces. The
Constitution enables it. Despite all this, a girl child’s birth is not
welcomed. This situation continues even though our Constitution
had bestowed upon women the right of equal citizenship.
From time immemorial, the Indian woman had two faces.
Woman was either exalted as Goddess or was shunned as
demons. As a human being, or as an individual, she never
enjoyed rights at par with men in social life. A woman was an
inanimate thing, a chattel to be awarded or a prize to be
conquered. That is why she was kidnapped or sold in the market
place. Polygamy or the possession of a harem was considered a
matter of prestige and social status. The young widow was
invariably condemned. It was as though after the husband’s
death a woman ceased to be a human being. The hardships and
the hard labour to which women were subjected had no
Mahatma Gandhi, Non-violence and Women | 89
where it was and in almost the same acute form. The struggle
between liberalism and orthodoxy still continues.
Women continue to suffer woes of second class citizenship
notwithstanding the status of equality guaranteed under our
Constitution. Life of a woman is a continuous candidature for
marriage or apprenticeship of motherhood. This is so because the
society has not changed its outlook towards women. In the
absence of such a change in our social outlook, the
constitutionally assured equality is more or less a dead letter in
actual practice.
A woman ceases to be regarded as marriageable after she
crosses a certain age limit. Not so with man. He is a potential
candidate even in advanced age, nay, till death. Therefore, a
man’s attitude towards women is never sublimated into a purely
paternal feeling. Man as a husband suffers from the same
malady. So long as the husband is alive the woman is never free
from her status of secondary importance in social and political
fields or even in family. Curiously enough women who rose to
excellence in social and political spheres happened to be either
spinsters or widows, understandably for the reason that so long
as the husband is alive the woman does not have enough
opportunity for the fulfilment of her aspirations and hopes. Even
where women rise to heights by virtue of their devotion to work,
there is a tendency to belittle the importance of their
achievements. So long as such tendencies persist in our society,
the rights conferred upon women by our Constitution may
remain on paper only. Women’s liberation movements started in
western countries should be viewed in this perspective.
In India, Right of inheritance has been legally granted to
Hindu women. But there are number of ifs and buts which vitiate
the provisions of this law. She is being deprived of this right by a
will or even by other means. Our general experience is that the
right of a girl to the ancestral property is invariably made
inoperative by resorting to some loopholes. What is more
distressing is the fact that women themselves have not
unreservedly accepted the proposition that a share of the
92 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
system does not build security, but induces peril, inexorably the
individual is impelled to pull away from soulless society. This
process produces alienation, perhaps from the pervasive and
insidious development in contemporary society. Therefore in the
words of Sister Nivedita, “synthesis, harmony and coordination,
in every field of life are necessary.” Is this possible? Gandhi told
us that a revolution or change is the art of making the impossible
possible. For this we will have to translate human values into our
life. It is said that there is no end to history. The last chapter is
never written in history. Those who make history have no time to
write it. Therefore, the next chapter has to be written by us, of
course by our action. Otherwise, it will amount to giving lip
homage to Gandhi.
Gandhi was a seeker of truth. Such a man is bound to be
humble. Truth is not denominational. It is neither yours nor
mine. It knows no frontiers. Therefore Gandhi’s deeds were
noble than his precepts, and this is the reason why he could say,
“My Life is my Message”. However, those who have studied
Gandhi’s life often imitate it, but forget his thought. They forget
that there cannot be a divorce between an actor and his settings.
Therefore, it is difficult to separate Gandhi’s non-violent
struggle from his message and ‘life’. Gandhi’s nonviolent
struggle is known as “Satyagraha”. It was perhaps the most
courageous and glorious experiment ever made by a man in
human history. Gandhi has blazed a trail and it is for others to
follow it. For this you must study the genesis and background of
this struggle.
As has been well said, ‘history by and large is a biography
of great men:
What was initially thought impossible became possible by
Gandhi’s non-violent struggle. Gandhi’s non-violent Satyagraha
struggle, right from Champaran to Quit India Movement, in a
sense, is a chain of passive resistance. Passive resistance is
breaking laws for certain principles. This can be legitimately
offered by person who respects rule of Law and otherwise obeys
laws. In fact, a Satyagrahi refuses to obey the law that he feels is
wrong and immoral. After breaking such a law by accepting the
100 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
from the terrorists. Terrorists and goondas run away the moment
shanti sainiks reach the place of occurrence. This is based on
actual experience. Thus the idea of shanti sena is one of the
major contributions of Gandhiji.
Gandhiji was the founder commander of such soldiers of
peace. Protector of life and limb any day stands on a much
higher pedestal than the killer and the murderer. We need such
people in our country today. If shanti sena spreads its wing in
every nook and corner of the country, then peace and harmony
would be the order of the day. There is a need for peace
movement all over the world. The United Nations have also a
Peace Brigade. Demand for a ban on all kinds of war is also
gathering momentum. In our own country we call it the ministry
of defence and not the ministry of war. There is also a movement
for disarmament. The tendency for bravery and peace would
increase in proportion to the decline of the tendency for
committing murder and atrocities in the world. Cruelty and
enmity could never be taken as bravery. The real bravery lies in
one’s willingness and preparedness to die for others; to die for a
noble cause. Gandhiji tried to inculcate such bravery in the
minds and hearts of the people. That was the main message of
his struggle. In the words of Dada Dharamadhikari:
‘Everywhere in the world the specters of casteism, racialism
and communalism are on the rise. The sound of arms is
becoming more and more shrill and audible. Man is trying to
find the meaning of his life by being at inimical terms with each
other. In such a desperate situation, there was a man (Gandhi),
who shouted from his housetops that he was not ashamed of his
“non-violence.”
Chapter: 15
Ba: The Fragrance of Kasturi
Beloved Kastur,
I love you so dearly that even if you are dead, you
will be alive to me. Your soul is deathless. I repeat
what I have frequently told you and assure you that if
you do succumb to your illness, I will not marry
again. Time and again I have told you that you may
quietly breathe your last with faith in God. If you die,
even that death of your will be a sacrifice to the cause
of Satyagraha. My struggle is not merely political. It
is religious and therefore quite pure. It does not matter
much whether one dies in it or lives. I hope and
expect that you will also think likewise and not be
unhappy. I ask this of you.
Mohandas
Dharmadhikari has put the word ‘Ba’ on the same high pedestal.
But those who look at man and woman relationship purely in
physical terms could hardly understand such nuanced meaning of
the term.
Ba was a co-worker of Bapu–a true symbol of life
togetherness. She was more committed to his ideas and she never
considered herself just as his wife. At times Bapu did try to
behave like a husband but she stood her ground. Even in the
respect of Harilal, their son, she stood by her principles rather
than being just as a doting mother. She went through
agnipariksha and came out unscathed like Sita from it. That is
how she became and behaved like the mother of all those who
came into her contact. In the words of Sane Guruji, Ba and Bapu
were the mother and father of modern India. Her life had a
fragrance of kasturi. Oh, mother how we could ever forget your
martyrdom in the prison of Aga Khan Palace. Your sacred
Samadhi is a pilgrimage for the country. The life of Bapu and Ba
was the real sacred wealth of India. Let this wealth grow ever in
leaps and bounds. This could be the only wish and hope of a
grateful nation.
Sucheta Kriplani
Chapter: 16
Vimlatai: An Embodiment of Love
gets extremely angry at times with those for whom one has
extreme love. But that extreme love prevents one from
crossing its limits. Rather the feeling of love soon overcomes
that of anger. Love prohibits any display of egotism.
3. An individual is not an inanimate being. Man could be
considered and judged on the impersonal parameter of
science. Purely in scientific terms, the value of men could
not be more than a speck of a dust or an atom. The life of
man is just a tiny glow, a feeble flicker in scientific terms.
But in spiritual terms, he is a rare entity and is much more
precious than the entire cosmos. He is priceless. Pure
intellectualism is primarily based on material, concrete and
external things. That kind of knowledge is always indirect.
4. There is no conflict between worship, Sadhana and
resistance to untruth. Rather it could be said that if the
feeling of such resistance to untruth does not emanate from
spiritual pursuits; then that kind of spirituality is very weak.
In traditional language, it is calledvivek (discrimination).
Thus it is necessary to keep away from the prevailing
politics. Equally essential is to keep away from indirect, and
entirely non-material nature of spirituality. If one takes a
view of resistance, its method and process should be in
keeping with one’s innate and inherent qualities. Then alone
such resistance would be fruitful and meaningful. Till date,
the spiritual minded people have devoted their power and
innate proclivities in God’s remembrance, precisely turning
the beads on some mantras. Now it is time to invest these
energies in awakening and touching the souls of people. That
is the best experiment in social spirituality while continuing
with the pursuit of God and spirituality.
5. Change of opinion is the direct means of revolution while
pursuing it in a non-violent way. For purification of one’s
thought, one requires purified intellect which could be
ensured only by the pursuit and practice of the good. One
has to act with a loving heart to transform opinions of others
and thought processes. But ultimately it is only through
words that one could affect and change opinions of others.
Vimlatai: An Embodiment of Love | 131
had faith in the youth power and they in turn held her in high
esteem. She was also a source of inspiration and strength to
them. A lot has been written and said about her. More would be
written about her. But her life, work, actions and personality
could not be expressed in words. Her last journey to the
cremation ground was also unique - so characteristics of her
own. State administration gave her official honour. Her body in
Tiranga flag was looking exceptionally beautiful and an
embodiment of purity even in death. As a matter of State honour,
she was given armed salute. But her journey was a kind of
spiritual march. Bhajan singing men and women were a kind of
pilgrims in that journey.
Her last rites was performed by Anjali, Shilpa, Veena who
had been living with her for some time and that too in the
presence of her younger brother Manohar and one of his
nephews. That was a rare display of women’s power. The entire
environment appeared auspicious. Her death was as auspicious
as her life. Her death and her last journey gave a new glow to the
kind of life she had lived. I offer my heartfelt respects to
Vimlatai who was endowed with rare qualities.
VimlaThakar
Chapter: 17
Radhakrishna: The Role Model
for Man-Woman Relationship
It is often said that one should follow the life pattern of Bhagwan
Ram not that of Bhagwan Krishna. Why do people say so? This
is beyond the understanding of an ordinary man like me. To me
Radhakrishna being a joint name very intensely appeals to me in
an extraordinary way. That is why the actions of Lord Krishna
are called ‘Leela (performance at the stage). There is nothing
immorality involved in these ‘leelas’ of Lord Krishna. The real
significance of Lord’s Leela is that there is no attachment or
involvement of his soul in them. Hence, there is no bodily
involvement in them. So the purity of his soul remains intact all
through these ‘leelas’. In fact, all this transcends the limitation of
the bodily attachment. One finds no other place with such an
instance of love free from the lust. In the time of her chirharan
(disrobement), Draupadi had called out Krishna by the name of
‘Gopijan Priya’ (dearer of the Gopies). The term ‘Gopijan priya’
means one who is dearer to Gopi and to whom Gopis are also
dearer. We have learnt that when Gopis were taking their bath in
Yamuna River, Krishna had taken away their cloths and hidden
them behind the trees. That was a kind of naughtiness, but there
was no feeling of lust involved in it. Had there been any sense of
physical lust involved in it, then how could have Draupadi
remembered and called out Krishna at the time of her
‘chirharan’. Since there was no physical lust involved in it, there
was no fear of social stigma in the entire process. Even today
Radhakrishna: The Role model for Man Woman …| 137
They are not just imaginary characters, rather they are embodied
characters. Following in their footsteps is the call of the time.
If we follow in their footsteps, then we would find new
dimensions in man-woman relationship. Why our youth, boys
and girls, could not develop such friendship? In its absence, the
idea of social Brahmacharya would not get widely circulated in
the society. There is co-education in our educational system.
Besides, boys and girls are also playing together different sports
like tennis and badminton. In sports, teasing spirit is always
based on detached affection free from any feeling of lust. That
sport spirit could be described as pure spirituality. Earlier a
woman used to be daughter, wife, mother and grandmother and
mother-in-law. Now she is also a citizen. Today’s citizenship is
marked by co-partnership of man and woman which is
essentially based on the principle of gender equality. Both men
and women are working shoulder to shoulder in social, political
and economic fields. Our democratic system would be torn to
pieces and even get vitiated in the absence of lust free
relationship between a man and woman on the pattern of the
friendship between Radha and Krishna. Its starting point is often
family relationship but it is equally true that even these
relationships are not based on the concept of gender equality.
Women in the family still occupy the secondary position. Her
freedom even in the family is also nominal and entire
relationship remains based on inequality. So there is need to
promote man woman relationship even in the family based on
principles of friendship and gender equality. Motherhood of a
woman is respected in the society. Even she as a sister is taken as
being pure and auspicious. But the relationship based on
friendship marked by gender equality is far superior, far more
pure, and far more auspicious than the above mentioned
relationship.
Today a woman feels secure in the relationship primarily
marked by blood relationship. So she takes some one as her
adopted brother etc. She ties Rakhi in the hand of his friends to
underline her brotherly relationship. Is it really needed? Is not
the pure friendship possible between man and woman? That
possibility would have to be taken in consideration. In its
Radhakrishna: The Role model for Man Woman …| 139
Radha Krishna
Chapter: 18
Radhabehan
similar vein, I would say that the kind of the concept of woman
power which Bapu, Baba Vinoba and Dada Dharmadhikari put
forward is a step ahead of the idea of women liberation. When
the question of that woman power would be under consideration,
Radhabehan would be one of those illustrious women whose
name is bound to occur in such a list. She has that kind of
powerful and empathetic personality.
Protection and security of woman is one of the major issues
confronting the humankind. That question also pervades the
United State of America which is full of arms, bombs and even
atom bombs. The people there are also unable to find appropriate
solutions for it. The real solution lies in the fact of a self-
protected woman and not protected by others. Radhabehan is
such a self-protected woman. She never felt the need for any
outside protection as her protection lies in her high character and
soul force. And Radhabehan is embodiment of such rare
qualities. Dada Dharmadhikari had written at some place. “I
have reached the conclusion that God or the Destiny after putting
a lock on the personality of a woman has tied up its key to her
sari-end. But she is going all over the places looking for that key
except locating it on her own inner persona”. Radhabehan has
found that key for herself. Now she is leading a campaign among
women to help them to have that key for themselves. The Luxmi
Ashram of Kausani is the primary centre of such campaign. It
also works as its dissemination centre of such a search. Even
otherwise those who live amidst the high peaks of the Himalay
are bound to have big and vast heart. Radhabehan is endowed
with such Himalyan height of the heart and mind.
The sisters of Laxmi Ashram campaigned for prohibition.
Radhabehan does not act as a leader is in such campaigns but as
one of the co-workers among them. There is no other example
like that in the entire country. The wine contractor came with a
street roller with the idea in his mind that seeing it women
satyagrahis would run away from the scene out of fear of being
crushed. But they refused to move away and continued to hold
their positions. In fact, they climbed over the street roller. That
was a living example of women power. And the Radhabehan had
stood in the front of that group.
Radhabehan| 143
UNO has assigned the year as the ‘year of the Earth and its
‘swansong’ has been kept as Science for the Society. We could
put the same thing as the science and Gandhi. Earth has been
being exploited for last few centuries. The Himalaya, which was
earlier a pilgrimage place, has been turned into a tourist place.
Tourists come to places like Kumaun and Kausani for pleasure
trips. Everything is under flux. Ganga used to be clean and was
meant to clear off every one of his sinful acts. Now Ganga
herself needs cleaning. Exploitation of nature is the greatest
violence. We do not hear chirping of birds due to the mobile
towers. Now all these birds would be available only in the books.
And I have taken my grandchildren and my great granddaughter
Arya to the zoo to show them these birds. Would the day ever
come when the birth of a girl child would be welcome in the
country? Would we leave some natural resources for the coming
generation or we would go on exploiting everything for our own
sake? There is a relay race among various generations. The
Vedas called it ‘Indra Sarga’. We need motherly feeling for the
coming generations. Motherhood is a psychological feeling not
always a physical act. Even a man could possess a motherly
heart. Radhabehan has a heart full of motherly feelings. She has
such feeling not only for human beings but also for nature, plants
and even for all animate and inanimate beings. This is called
non-violent proclivity and culture of peace. She must have
leisure to love and work in her AmritVarsha. The great poet
Dinkar had said:
There is a fire in the eyes of the youth
And the light in the eyes of the old
Earth is in the palm of the youth
But Ether is in the palm of the old.
Youth engages in savings
The old offers gift to others
The youth is beautiful.
The old age has its grandeur.
I hope and pray that Radha Behan is blessed by God with a
happy, meaningful and long life.
Chapter: 19
Prabhavati: The Source of
J.P.’s Inspiration
In earlier times in our country the date of birth of a girl child was
never noted. So only thing we know about Prabhavati is that she
was born in June 1906 in the village Shrinagar of Saran district.
Her father, Brajkishore Prasad was one of the founders of the
Congress in Bihar. Later he turned out to the right hand man of
Gandhiji during the Champaran Satyagraha. Prabhavati was
brought up in Darbhanga, the land of JanaknandaniSita. She did
not have formal education. She was educated at home under the
guidance of her father and later at Gandhi’s Ashram at Sabarmati
after her marriage with J.P. in 1920. BrajkishoreBabu was a
social reformer. Hence, there was no question of dowry and
other gifts in her marriage. Her marriage ceremony was simple
without any fanfare. After marriage, Prabhavati came as a
Dulhan to Jaya Prakash’s home. But the bride and the
bridegroom prefer to walk on foot instead of her being carried in
a palanquin. Such an untraditional way of marriage created a stir
in the rural areas. Before her marriage, Prabhavati used to wear
pajama and shirt, instead of the traditional dress of saree.
After her marriage, J.P. moved to the United States of
America and she shifted to the ashram of Gandhiji virtually as
his daughter. She received her further education there. She used
to serve Ba and Bapu and had her education under the open sky.
One of those days, she undertook the vow of Brahmacharya on
her own without having any consultation with J.P. Bapu also was
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She had an immense capacity to serve and love others. Even the
domestic helpers of her household were treated by her as the
children of her own. She was an embodiment of love. She
dreamt that women should move from the stage of protection by
others to that of self-protection. In the process they should
imbibe the qualities of fearlessness, self-reliance, self-respect
and similar other qualities. They should also become major
instrument for the prevention of corruption. They should free
themselves from the social evils like dowry, and sale and
purchase of future husbands. She wanted to create a group which
would struggle against these social evils. But her dream could
not be fulfilled as she subsequently suffered a dreadful disease
like cancer. She never let J.P. know of her disease as he himself
was suffering from the heart disease. She faced cancer in such a
courageous way which was beyond one’s imagination. Even
while suffering from cancer, she was more concerned with J.P.’s
health and did her utmost to serve him. I went to Calcutta to see
her I found her worrying about J.P.’s health. She told me that J.
P. could hardly find even his handkerchief on his own not to talk
about other things. Someone had told her that J.P. would be
facing severe problems in his seventieth year on account of rare
collation of stares. So she arranged for a special worship and
prayed to God that the years of her own life might be given to
him. I have never seen anyone facing death as she did. She died
on April, 15, 1973. After her death J.P. said there was no need
for performing her Shradha – the last rites as she had merged
with the great Divine. Here I am reminded of Prasad’s poetry:
‘The pain which was spread all through my memory. In my bad
time, they have come in the forms of my tears’. J.P. was by the
side of her bed during her last moments. That was an
extraordinary way of dying. As extraordinary was her life, so
was her death. Rather her death presented a far livelier scene-of
her life force.
The zenith of her life came when she entered into the
Vinoba J.P. BhoodanGramdan movement. J.P. offered jiwandan
at the altar of the Movement and turn into a non-violent soldier
for it. Charkha came to occupy the socialist platform and the red
cap was replaced by white one as J.P. adopted non-violence as
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continued to live with the child and work among the coal
workers at Dhanbad. After the birth of their daughter Anita, she
also went back to Calcutta. But in Calcutta also she could not
dissociate herself from the trade union work.
Niharbehan got closely involved in the Quit India
Movement of 1942. After giving up her legal education, she had
plunged into the movement. After that point, her life became an
open book which is known to one and the all. Kantibhai was like
a son to my father, Dada Dharmadhikari and so he was just like
my elder brother. In that way, Nihar should be like my Bhabhi –
my sister-in-low. But in fact, the relationship remained one of
the brother and sister. And my understanding is that such
relationship is intense than the usual ones as they are of one’s
choice. In a blood relationship one is forced to offer love. But the
relationship that has come off by choice has greater holding
power. That was the kind of relationship I had with Nihar Mehta.
She has an independent personality despite being a devoted wife
of Kantibhai. Kantibhai was a son of a millionaire jeweler and
was from Gujarat. She was very much a Bengali girl yet they had
a marriage involving only the expense of seven and half rupees.
If one enters into the life of a householder in such an inexpensive
way, then the birth of the girl child in our country would start
being welcomed. If it is not being welcomed today, it is because
of dowry and need for excessive expenses in marriages. The
marriage of Kantibhai and Nihar Sen was both inter-caste and
inter-provincial which united both the western and the eastern
parts of the country.
Most of the people knew her as the wife of Kantibhai.
Though she was his life partner, but she had a life of her own.
She was not given to walk on the beaten track. She was not a
follower or a disciple of Kantibhai. She had an identity of her
own. I have seen her working in the Labour Foundation. She
would often express her opinion independent of Kantibhai in its
meetings. She has the strength and capability to hold opinions on
her own and that too with all humility and firmness. That should
be real role model as a life partner. In this respect, she was a true
symbol of woman power. Hence, I always held her in high
esteem. After Kantibhai’s death, she observed Sati-dharma
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Nihar Mehta
Chapter: 21
Tara Dharmadhikari: My
Life Companion
fever just after sixteen days of his father’s death. And she lost
her second son in the sixteenth year of her widowhood. And
what was worse, the Bank in which Tara’s father had deposited
his money had gone bankrupt. After the death of her husband,
Tai had refused to live in the joint family as she had thought that
she would have to spend the rest of her life in the kitchen of the
joint family if she continued to live there. She wanted all her
daughters to get good education. So she shifted her residence to
Jabalpur and set up an independent household along with her
three daughters. She even constructed her house by selling all
her ornaments. She was highly influenced by Dada and her own
brother, MarttandGalande who was involved in the communist
movement and was hardly interested in even earning his bread,
what to speak of making money. He was married to Shanta Sane,
the younger sister of Gita Sane, a prominent litterateur. Tai
encouraged her sister-in-law to pursue medical education. Tai
used to say that when God causes some suffering to anyone; He
also compensates it by offering some new avenues for work. It is
to be noted that all the three daughters of Tai had their registered
marriage not spending more than twenty/twenty five rupees in
the process. Tai was convinced that all this was due to God’s
grace to them. She was living with us and died on November 11,
1992 at the age of ninety two. By that time she had seen the
death of her two daughters, Dr. Anusuya and Pramilla and their
respective husbands – Dr. BhalchandraDevaikar and
KrishnaraoKulkarni. Not only that, she had also faced the death
of her grandson, Dr. VivekKulkarni who was a Reader in Nagpur
Medical College and also those of her younger brother and sister.
But she never lost her hope and courage. She was never caught
in the slough of despair. She never allowed the shadow of her
sufferings to fall on others. She was quite adept in the art of
adjusting and living with the younger generation. Once while she
was quite sick, I got the good news of the birth of my grandson.
She was thrilled and told me that she had got another purpose in
her life to live longer. She was the real lady in the house as all
the four of us, Tara, myself, my daughter and her husband used
to go out for work in the morning itself. She used to look after
our grandchildren and enjoyed her time with them. She would go
along with them in their likes and dislikes. Usual things of the
Tara Dharmadhikari: My Life Companion | 163
old age like Puja, Archana and pilgrimage did not mean much to
her.After our marriage, she spent 37 years till the end of her life
virtually not going outside of our house. We have no occasion to
lock up our house all these years. She had found the purpose of
her life in managing our household affairs including looking
after our children andher grandchildren. On the eve of her final
departure from the world, she just said: “two new members have
come (I had been blessed with two granddaughters then); hence I
need to make space for them. I had already lived my life. So no
attempt should be made to keep me artificially alive. ” Tai had
come as my mother after our marriage, and she had been like the
mother to me all along these years. We used to address each
other as ‘tum’ not ‘aap’– which symbolized our close emotional
ties. Tai had stood like a rock behind her granddaughter – Dr.
RupaKulkarni, who has remained unmarried to pursue the cause
of women and dalit liberation. Tai had made significant
contributions in my own life. It would be no exaggeration if I say
that I enjoyed a grand life on her account. She has come as a
priceless jewel along with Tara to our house. Both of them
looked after my household affairs and I would feel like a free
bird. Like most of us I had also thought with one’s marriage all
such things are settled once for all. Even otherwise, Tara had an
excellent sense of choice in everything we needed. She took all
the major decisions. At the time of our marriage, I had hardly
any income. Later, when I started earning it was all because of
Tara’s support and her large heartedness. In a way, my
achievements actually belonged to her. At times I would say so
and my children also held the same opinion.
Later, I was doing well in my legal practice. But Tara did
not give up her job even after I became a High Court Judge.
Knowing my nature and social commitments, she could never be
sure when I might give up my job. She must have thought that at
least, one of us must remain as earning hand. Besides, her
mother was permanently staying with us. She never wanted to
create the impression that her mother was living on her son-in-
law’s income. However, all these things suited me as well. It was
because of her marriage with me that she had to give up all
chances of being promoted in her service. Her bold and
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I had also very good relation with husband of Babi Tai (the
sister of Tara), BhauDevaikar, who was from a well off Devaikar
family of Chandrapur. Theirs was a love marriage. They had
developed friendship at Nagpur Medical College during their
student days. The family of Tai was of modest means. Devaikars
were rich. Nonetheless, Bhau had a registered marriage with his
own resources. But he would never utter a single word about it.
In my marriage, they (Babiand Bhau) had bought khadi cloth for
my suits though without ever mentioning it to me. Bhau had a
reticent, gentlemanlyand humble personality, while Babiwas like
an ever flowing stream of laughter and joy. Their personalities
were complimentary to each other. One of their daughters, Maya
(Shirodkor) was the head of the Department of Home Science at
VidarbhaMahavidyalaya at Amravati. Maya had been brought up
and educated in our family. BhauDevaikar died of cardiac arrest
at Chandrapur on May 1988. Perhaps, people of sweet
temperament have greater chance of developing diabetic.
Babialso suffered from it. Soon after the death of Bhau, she also
died of severe heart attack at the house of Prabha and
KeshevPurohit (Shantaram) at Mumbai on 27th December 1988.
PrabhataiPurohit was the sister of BhauDevaikar. At that time
Tara and myself were at the Sangam of Allahabad. So we could
not see Babi despite having residence at Mumbai. Death keeps
no time schedule. That is the real truth.
Another brother-in-law of Tara married to her sister Pramila
was Krishnarao alias AppaKulkarni. He was known to the Tai
family since his childhood. He went on receiving scholarship in
the course of his studies. He had passed his B.Sc. from
Robertson College of Jabalpur. That was the period of high
inflation of 1940. It had affected the entire generation. The
economic condition of Appa was quite difficult. His close friends
joined the Indian Army. Appa would not do that. So he opted for
a low paid job of a teacher. I count Appa in the list of those
teachers who do not look upon their teaching assignments as a
mere means of earning their bread. Rather they look at it as a
matter of penance and sacrifice, never as a business proposition.
He carried a very good reputation as a loving, good and
competent teacher. Students sought his classes in science and
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mathematics. He was not only well versed in the subject but his
delivery was also excellent. He was serious-minded, scholastic
and had an intense passion for teaching. I have never come
across a person like him – bereft of all worldly ambition, simple
and straightforward. However, after the death of Bairaja, his
wife, he could not survive for long time and he soon followed
her. She died on 8 January 1984. Their sons turned out to be
smart and intelligent. And their daughter Rupa is an intellectual
in her own right. Though she did not raise her own family, but
she always remained at the forefront of any struggle for the
rights of the poor and deprived people. Ultimately, she embraced
Buddhism. Both myself and Tara were very fond of her because
of her high scholarly attainments, deep interest and
understanding of music and her intense involvements in all kinds
of popular movements. Tara played the role of mother to her
instead of just remaining as her mausi.
In fact, Tara has always played multi-faceted roles in our
extended family. She was the mother to our children, more of a
mother than just a mother-in-law to our daughter-in-laws,
Naniand Dadi to our grandchildren and Kaki to my brothers’
children. I was often surprised to find her playing all such roles
in a very affectionate, competent, self-effacing and self-confident
ways. I always looked at her as the linchpin of our family
providing shelter and protection to us from the onslaught of the
worldly worries. She would often say that every desire need not
be fulfilled and every question need not be answered instantly.
Hence, some of them would have to besmiled away. Her laughter
was full throated and indeed boisterous. She would start even her
telephonic conversation with a boisterous laughter. She was
always friendly to all those who were friendly to us andthe other
members of the family. She was more concerned about all of us
and she hardly cared much for her own comforts and
conveniences. Essentially, she was bold, courageous and self-
sacrificing. She fought against a dreaded disease like cancer with
the same courage and high spirit. That is why I used to call her
‘Pranhita’ (Source of life).
Suddenly, she got a paralytic attack on 5 June, 2005. She
was immediately taken to Lilavati Hospital, Bombay. She had
Tara Dharmadhikari: My Life Companion | 171
heaped on her by that religious leader. That was the God’s grace
for us.
the opportunity to campaign against the war and the British war
efforts”.
She was tried and sent to the jail for six months by the court
headed by B.N. Kunte. After the court hour, Kunte came to our
house in Bajajwadi to enquire about arrangement offood for the
children. His official residence was just behind Bajajwadi and
his children were our playmates. Kunte had a reputation of being
a good, kind and efficient government official.
She was released in early part of 1942 and then was once
again arrested in the course of the Quit India Movement.
Altogether, she was behind the bar for three years. Her pure,
innocent mind was greatly affected by the small minded
behaviour on the part of well-known leaders in the jail. She used
to have high opinion about them. So she could not reconcile to
their fall in her esteem. As a result, she lost her mental balance.
Her worldly life virtually came to an end. Since then to the end
of her life in 1973, she lived with the same mental condition;
though she continued to be alert and self-respecting. She would
prefer to live with one of her sons whose financial condition was
not that good. She would never complain against any
inconvenience caused to her. Her motherly love had remained
intact till the end of her life. She was one with us in our poverty
and sufferings. I have still a feeling of regret and remorse that
she could not see our happy days. But that was her lifelong
Sadhna.
She was kept in a mental hospital both at Nagpur and
Bangalore. But she could not be fully cured. She was suffering
from split personality (schizophrenia) .And there is no cure for
those who suffer from split personality. After my mother lost her
mental balance, my entire thinking and feelings underwent a
radical change. Even today when I find street urchins throwing
stone pieces on a mad person, I am deeply moved and consider
every piece ofstone thrown on such a person is causing a wound
in my heart.
Perhaps, the worst sufferer of my mother’s mental
imbalance was my youngest brotherKeshav alias ‘Bacchu’, who
was born in 1932. He was the last child of my parents. His
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incident form her school life. Once her teacher scolded her for
not answering even some of the simple questions, she had then
retorted to the teacher: ‘you are asking questions by holding a
book in your hand. But you want me to answer your questions
without the help of any book. Is it fair?’ Thus there was a
majesty and sharpness even in her state of mental imbalance.
There was another incident which would illustrate how self-
respecting and self-sacrificing she was. A few years before her
death, someone drew her attention to the fact of the pension
being offered to the freedom fighters. She smilingly responded
and said: ‘did we go to jail for that’. There is another thing which
also illustrates the same trait in her personality. She accepted in
the full measure the fact of Dada’s giving up his share in the
ancestral property. She had no grievance, no complaints about it.
She virtually died in anonymity on 26 May, 1973. People were
not even aware of her existence.
There is another incident which could easily illustrate how
Dada had suffered due to my mother’s illness. It would also
reveal his heightened sense of titiksha (forbearance) and
anasakti(detachment)in the course of his long life of sacrifice
and sufferings. It would also bring about the human aspect of
Bapu’s life despite his sky-high sense of anasakti (detachment)
and sthitprajnata (steadfast wisdom).
Gandhiji was greatly concerned about my mother’s mental
health.More so it was on his initiative which made my mother to
join the individual satyagraha. Dada met him on the morning of
30th January 1948. After enquiring about my mother’s health, he
had promised to keep her with him in the ashram after February
when he was to be back to the Sevagram. Dada told him whether
it would be worthwhile to find time from the busy schedule of
his life totally dedicated to the national cause. Bapu had
responded by saying could he not do even this much for one who
had sacrificed her life in the cause of the nation? Bapu had said
all this, though my parents were never the inmates of any of his
ashrams. But that was not to happen as he was martyred that
very evening of 30th January 1948.
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that serving them is the first step towards their protection. That is
why Gandhiji had talked about ‘Go-Seva’ and not ‘Go-Raksha’.
Let us not forget that the twentieth century was the century
of violence and exploitation. Atomic Bomb attack on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, the two world wars and the constant cold war and
terrorism have overshadowed the entire world. Violence has
come to the doorstep of the man in the street. Exploitation in
various forms has become its ‘Mulmantra’ including date of
nature. Thus, the entire philosophy of development came to be
identified with the utmost exploitation of the nature. Little did
we realize that over-exploitation of nature could result in a
severe kind of ecological imbalance marked by the climate
change and similar other problems. Because of our misdoings,
nature is turning into our foe instead of remaining as our friend.
More than the rich people, the poor are the worst victims of such
a situation. In this connection Gandhiji’s Talisman is of great
importance. It reads as follows:
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or
when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following
test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman]
whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you
contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she]
gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his
[her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj
[freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?Then
you will find your doubts and yourself melt away."
To that end, we have a new formula: S+G i.e. Science plus
Gandhi. For the environmental protection, we have to develop a
new belief system which would comprise the followings: (i) the
entire cosmos and all its inhabitants constitute a family and they
have a familial relationship; (ii) the basic wealth of the nature
lies inside the womb of the earth which is ever enriched by
environment and water bodies; (iii) and so nothing in the
creation should be treated as the source of over-exploitation.
Rather all natural resources should be taken as animate beings
and hence they should be protected, promoted and enriched. All
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It was during 1935 that our family shifted to Wardha and started
living in Bajajwadi of Janmnalal Bajaj. Jamnalalji was the
central figure in Bajajwadi. He was a rare and extraordinary
jajaman and host / representative of a different world and that
too of a unique kind. His atithya was based on mutual progress
and development. During those days, Bajajwadi was a kind of
tirthakshetra. It represented the best elements in our national life
marked by Lokakalyan and Lokasangraha. It was the place
where one could really feel the presence of Satyam, Shivam and
Sundaram.
In Bajajwadi one could really stand face to face with the
kind of Mahatmas we had read in our ancient scriptures and
whom we had earlier thought to be the figments of poetic and
scholastic imagination. Itseemed that all those ancient rishis had
come back to the premises of Bajajwadi in different bodies and
forms and with different garbs. Jankidevi, the wife of Jamnalal
Bajaj was one such figure in Bajajwadi. Jankidevi was born on
January 7, 1893 in a rich business family of Jawar of the Central
Provinces. She was married to Jamnalal while being a child of
nine or ten years. With her marriage to Jamnalalji, a new chapter
in her life was opened and thereafter her life remained an open
book.
Jankidevi who we called Mataji was an entirely different
kind of person. She wore a Rajasthani Sharara comprising forty
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words must have touched her soul. So even during those tragic
moments, she resolved to dedicate her life to the unfinished
works of Jamnalalji in all humility taking the dead body of
Jamnalal as the witness. She appealed to both Bapu and Vinoba
to pray to God to grant the kind of strength, ingenuity and divine
qualities to enable her to complete the unfinished works of her
husband.”
Dr. Rammanohar Lohia was listening to the entire dialogue
between Bapu and Jankidevi. He instantly blurted out ‘what the
rarest of the rare person is Bapu.’ Whenever, I also recollect
those moments. I feel that Jankidevi was a rare person. The soul
of Jamanalal must have rested in peace seeing her courage of
conviction, faith and loyalty. The entire episode was a replica of
the puranic age.
Dada further writes about Jankidevi: “Jankidevi often used
to say that she was often scared of the very idea of death. But the
same Jankidevi wanted to be a sati on the death pyre of
Jamnalalji. Bapu dissuaded her from that idea after a great deal
of persuasion. When reminded of her resolve to sati, she would
reply ‘there was a great intensity of feeling during those
moments. One could easily embrace death during such moments.
But the scare of death does not go away forever after such
moments. There is a great deal of spiritual ideas in those words
of Jankidevi. When there is no great purpose, no intense desire
for martyrdom, no intense feeling of great fame, no great source
of inspiration, could a human being embrace death in the
absence of such feelings? In the absence a great philosophical
foundation, even great spiritualist could not maintain equanimity
and fearlessness in the face of imminent death. Jankidevi rightly
observed a great spiritual truth based on her own experience.
There was great truth in it and not a mere showmanship.
Jankidevi wrote about herself. ‘I am desirous of long life of
one hundred years. Our living and food habits should be in
accord with such desire for a long life. Baba had said that I could
live till one hundred years. Let us lead a life of purity and
moderation.’
She further wrote: we have to protect and serve cow and
Janaki Devi Bajaj | 199
inspire women power. From cow comes oxen and they in turn
help cultivation. Cultivation gives life force to all beings. That is
why Bapu underlined the role of cow and cultivation. Her idea of
purity was involved in Khadi. It dries up sweats from the human
body and allows clean air to pass through it. Bapu wanted Go
Seva on a popular basis. Law alone could not protect cow.
Popular will alone could make such a ban successful.’
Woman power should be awakened but such an initiative
must come from among the women activists. In human society,
there is a general feeling that men are strong and women are
weaklings. After all, a woman carried her child in her womb for
nine months. She alone knows the pangs of the labour pain. She
bears and rears her children undergoing immense perseverance
and patience, she could realize her hidden potentials and could
have her real liberation.
Jankidevi worked for Go Seva and not mere cow protection.
The mulmantraof her life included service, sacrifice, simplicity,
activism and dedication. She lived up these principles till the end
of her life. But she always considered herself as a part and parcel
of Jamanalalji. That is why he specifically mentioned that her
punyatithishould not be observed separately, she willed that her
last remains, memories and memorials should be merged with
Jamnalalji. She never wanted her ashes and asthi-visarjan to be
done at Prayag or Haridwar. For her Gopuri was the best
pilgrimage. Her last remains were offered to the same place at
Gopuri were lay those of Jamnlalji. Her last wish was carried cut
in full details by her family members. Jankidevi and Jamnalal
remain co-traveller on that endless journey to Moksha, It is there
that the Gitai Mandir stands today. I would say, let her tribe
flourish and multiply in millions.
becomes fearless, she could not free herself from the slavery of
man. So teaching her to be fearless should be the basic principle
of our education. Such a mental revolution could be brought
about only by giving good education to her. Shame and
coyishiness is not the good quality of a woman. In fact, it is a
negative quality for her. Men have succeeded in persuading her
to take her slavery as a pleasurable thing. Women should not
seek protection and men should not be aggressive, that is that
meaning of social Brahmacharya. Hence, building self-reliance
among women inmates was the guiding norm of Mahila Ashram.
Its primary purpose was to create a cadre for women liberation
as well as for national liberation. Hence, whenever, a need arose
for offering resistance to injustice, the inmates of Mahila Ashram
used to play a crucial role there. Fortunately, Mahila Ashram had
always the good fortune of receiving guidance from Gandhi,
Vinoba and Dada Dharmadhikari. Dada had a unique and
revolutionary role in the life of women. I could still recollect the
kind of revolutionary lectures which Dada used to deliver in
Mahila Ashram. I could learn a number of lessons about equality
and life togetherness of man and woman from those very lectures
of Dada.
There are a number of people who still believe that Gandhiji
was essentially a man devoid of fine and soft human emotions.
But let us not forget that Gandhiji wanted music to be introduced
into every teaching institution. In fact, he was in agreement with
Plato that to know the state of affairs of a country, we have to
understand the status assigned to music in that country. He was
of the opinion that if music were to receive an appropriate place
in our country, then Swaraj would come to us automatically. He
went to the extent of saying that any kind of teaching would
remain incomplete if music does not have place in it. He averred
that it is the music which creates sweet, cooperative and
harmonious relations both at individual and societal levels. It
builds a bridge going beyond caste, creed, region and religion. It
is such ideas which worked as the foundation for music teaching
in Mahila Ashram. One of the Black musicians has said that
music represents the idea of rebellion against slavery. It opens up
the door of freedom by providing inspiration for it. It also creates
Mahila Ashram | 203
Maniben Patel
Appendix-I
Gandhi on Women Problems
Woman has been suppressed under custom and law for which
man was responsible and in the shaping of which she had no
hand. In a plan of life based on non-violence, woman has as
much right to shape her own destiny as man has to shape his. But
as every right in a non-violent society proceeds from the
previous performance of a duty, it follows that rules of social
conduct must be framed by mutual co-operation and
consultation. They can never be imposed from outside. Men
have not realized this truth in its fullness in their behaviour
towards women. They have considered themselves to be lords
and masters of women instead of considering them as their
friends and co-workers. Women are in the position somewhat of
the slave of old who did not know that he could or ever had to be
free. And when freedom came, for the moment he felt helpless.
Women have been taught to regard themselves as slaves of men.
It is up to Congressmen to see that they enable them to realize
their full status and play their part as equals of men.
This revolution is easy, if the mind is made up. Let
Congressmen begin with their own homes. Wives should not be
dolls and objects of indulgence, but should be treated as
honoured comrades in common service. To this end those who
have not received a liberal education should receive such
instruction as is possible from their husbands. The same
observation applies, with the necessary changes, to mothers and
daughters.
It is hardly necessary to point out that I have given a one-
sided picture of the helpless state of India’s women. I am quite
conscious of the fact that in the villages generally they hold their
own with their men folk and in some respect even rule them. But
to the impartial outsider the legal and customary status of woman
is bad enough throughout and demands radical alternation.
Constructive Programme, pp. 17-18
Appendix | 209
and teeth. She must use them with all her strength and, if need
be, die in effort. The man or woman who has shed all fear of
death will be able not only to protect himself or herself but
others also through laying down his life.
Harijan, 1-3-’42
Prostitution
Prostitution is as old as the world, but I wonder if it was
ever a regular feature of town life as it is today. In any case the
time must come when humanity will rise against the curse and
make prostitution a thing of the past, as it has got rid of many
evil customs, however time-honoured they might have been.
Young India, 28-5-’25
Women’s Education
I have pointed out from time to time that there is no
justification for men to deprive women or to deny them equal
rights on the ground of their illiteracy; but education is essential
for enabling women to uphold these natural rights, to improve
them and to spread them; again, the true knowledge of self is
unattainable by the millions who are without such education.
Man and woman are of equal rank but they are not identical.
They are a peerless pair being supplementary to one another;
each helps the other, so that without the one the existence of the
other cannot be conceived, and therefore it follows as a
necessary corollary from these facts that anything that will
impair the status of either of them will involve the equal ruin of
them both. In framing any scheme of women’s education this
cardinal truth must be constantly kept in mind. Man is supreme
in the outward activities of a married pair and, therefore, it is in
the fitness of things that he should have a greater knowledge
thereof. On the other hand, home life is entirely the sphere of
woman and, therefore, in domestic affairs, in the upbringing and
education of children, women ought to have more knowledge.
Not that knowledge should be divided into watertight
compartments, or that some branches of knowledge should be
closed to anyone; but unless courses of instruction are based on a
discriminating appreciation of these basic principles, the fullest
life of man and woman cannot be developed.
214 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Co-education
I cannot definitely state as yet whether it will be successful
or not. It does not seem to have succeeded in the West. I tried it
myself years ago when I even made boys and girls sleep in the
same verandah with no partition between them, Mrs. Gandhi and
myself sharing the verandah with them. I must say it brought
undesirable results.
Co-education is still in its experimental stage and we cannot
definitely say one way or the other as to its results. I think we
should begin with the family first. There boys and girls should
grow together freely and naturally. The co-education will come
of itself. Amrita Bazar Patrika, 2-l-’35
If you keep co-education in your schools, but not in your
training-schools, the children will think there is something
wrong somewhere. I should allow my children to run the risk.
We shall have to rid ourselves one day of this sex mentality. We
should not seek for examples from the West. Even in training-
schools, if the teachers are intelligent, pure and filled with the
spirit of NaiTalim, there is no danger. Supposing if some
accidents do take place, we should not be frightened by them.
They would take place anywhere. Although I speak boldly, I am
not unaware of the attendant risks.
Harijan, 9-11-’47
BhikaijiCama
216 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Appendix – II
Gandhi’s Last Will and Testament
January 29, 1948
Appendix III
Vinoba on Women Problems
Vinoba Bhave
Appendix | 221
Appendix – IV
Dada Dharmadhikari on Man-Woman
MutualFellowship
We dare not deny the fact that our world has been a man
dominated world till date. Even in countries which provide equal
status to women in law, they continued to hold secondary
positions both in family and society.
Dada Dharmadhikari
228 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Appendix –V
Dharmadhikari Family and
Mahatma Gandhi
This brief note is not primarily meant to eulogise the
contributions of Dharmadhikari family to the cause of our
national movement. Rather it seeks to underline how Gandhi’s
life, thought and his leadership of the national movement drew
and greatly impacted the life and living of a traditional
Maharastrian Brahmin family. In the process, they not only
fought for Indian independence but also contributed greatly to
the cause of social reform movement in the country. Thousands
of families like Dharmadhikari suffered during our struggle for
independence. But they never flinched from the struggle. Our
younger generation must be reminded how these families
suffered in the course of our national struggle. This should work
as a primary source of inspiration for them.
(RamchandraPradhan)
Dharmadhikaris belong to an illustrious family of
Maharashtrian Brahmins. They came from Paithan in
Maharashtra. One of their ancestors was appointed as the priest
of the goddess of the village by a Maratha chieftain. Finally, they
came down to Multapi (now Multai from where the Tapti river
originates), a part of Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. Now they
have branched off and are settled in different parts of Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra including Vidharba, Mumbai and
Pune. ‘Shri Dutt’ is the family deity of the Dharmadhikaris’.
Dharmadhikari family came to occupy a prominent position
in and around Multai on account of their wealth, high moral and
ethical behavior and scholarly and intellectual attainments. The
members of their family though essentially being traditionalists
were more governed by the shastras (scriptures) rather than mere
out-worn social traditions. Hence, they played a crucial role in
spreading a strong stream of scholarship, work ethics and moral
behaviour in the entire area around Multai. Some of their family
members could recite the Veda-sanhita in their pure and
sonorous voice which greatly influenced the people in the area.
Appendix | 229
He joined Swaraj Party when it came into being around 1923 and
also became a member of the C.P and Berar Council.
Another uncle of Dada Dharmadhikari, Kashinath alias
Annasaheb was a practicing medical doctor at Daryapur in
Amaravati district. He was son of Ram Krishna Bhaiya, who was
the elder brother of Dhundiraj (Bapuji). Annasaheb occupied a
unique place in family. It was because of his progressive and
social commitment that the Dharmadhikari family got interested
in the issues like swaraj and swadeshi and also giving
precedence to social work over family interests. Earlier he was a
student of the Grant Medical College, Bombay. It is he who
brought the wind of social change, which was blowing in and
around Bombay and Puna during those days, to Multai and
surrounding areas. He introduced English dress, tea and stove
and even a modern hair style in the family. He used to come over
to Multai during summer vacation with a message of Swadeshi
for the area. He used to organise assemblies of quite a few of the
youth of Multai and sing Vande Matram and
‘Singhgarhkapovada’. He also used to stage some dramatic
performance at Multai. He was also interested in Kirtan as his
life was full of devotion as much for the country as for the gods
and goddesses. He also introduced a new concept of fund raising
which was called ‘paise fund’. Such novel experiments in the
fund collection were praised by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji even
wrote about it in Harijan in 1935.
Dharmadhikari family never believed in the lopsided
development of human personality. They believed in full
development of both human brain and the bran. Hence physical
exercise got as much importance as the study of scriptures. They
were also engaged in public discourse on public and social
issues. What was more, on account of the nature of the joint
family, all individual angularities were smoothened and the
family members easily learned the art of living in cooperation
and mutuality. Another, strong point of Dharmadhikari family
was that there was not much segregation between its male and
female members. The art of cookery occupied a significant part
in the family. Hence, male and female could easily interact with
each other in and around the kitchen. Hence, the women in the
Appendix | 231
Appendix VI
Dr. Rammanohar Lohia on Women Problems
1
Appendix VII
Subhas Chandra Bose on Kasturba Gandhi
Homage to mother of the Indian people
“Shrimati Kasturba Gandhi is dead. She has died in British
custody in Poona at the age of 74. With 388,000,000 of my
countrymen at home and with my compatriots abroad I share the
deepest bereavement over the death of Kasturba. She died under
tragic circumstances, but for a member of an enslaved nation no
death could have been more honourable or more glorious. India
has suffered a personal loss. Kasturba Gandhi is the second
fellow prisoner of Mahatma Gandhi to die under his very eyes in
custody since he was imprisoned in Poona a year and a half ago.
The first was his life-long fellow worker and private secretary,
Mahadev Desai. This is the second personal bereavement that
Mahatma Gandhi has suffered during his present imprisonment.
I pay my humble tribute to the memory of that great lady
who was a mother to the Indian people, and I wish to express
my deepest sympathy for Gandhiji in his bereavement. I had the
privilege of coming into frequent personal contact with Shrimati
Kasturba, and I would sum up my tribute to her in a few words.
She was the ideal of Indian womanhood — strong, patient,
silent, self-sufficient.
Kasturba was a source of inspiration to the millions of
India’s daughters among whom she moved and whom she met in
the struggle for the freedom of her motherland. From the days of
the South-African Satyagraha she has shared with her great
husband the trials and sufferings which have been their lot for
nearly 30 years now. Her many imprisonments seriously
impaired her health, but jails held no terrors for her even in her
74th year. Any time Mahatma Gandhi launched a civil
disobedience movement, Kasturba was at his side in the forefront
of the struggle, an outstanding example to India’s daughters and
a challenge to the sons of India not to lag behind their sisters in
the fight for India’s independence.
242 | Women Power: A Gandhian Discourse
Distributive justice, 42 H
Divorce, 23, 116 Haldi Kunkum, 185
Dowry deaths, 12, 15 Hanuman, 20
Harem, 65, 88
E Hari Thatte, 204
Ekta mandir’, 184 Hindu SOciety, 67, 89, 207
Elizabeth Bartinder, 94 Hinduism, 52
Equal Citizenship, 65, 88 Hitlerism, 181
Homosexuality, 25
F Humanness, 18, 37, 87
Fatherhood, 14, 20, 21, 22, 52, 57,
133, 134 I
Fearlessness, 81, 82, 137, 149, IAS Officers, 38
151, 198 Independence Pledge, 68, 89
Freedom Struggle, 11, 45, 65, 66, Indian Constitution
67, 76, 88, 89, 150, 154, 178, Constitution, 69, 90, 104, 114
188 Indian Culture, 39, 133, 134, 157
Fundamental Rights, 51, 96, 118 Indian National Congress, 65, 88
India's National Army, 68, 89
G Indira Gandhi, 31, 32, 53, 84
Gambling dens, 37 Indirabai, 32
Gandhi Labour Foundation, 158 Individual Satyagraha, 180
Gandhi Peace Foundation, 145 Irawati Karve, 22, 52
Gandhian lexicon, 77
Gandhian method, 81 J
Gandhian Movements., 85, 110, J.L. Ranade, 204
178 J.P. Narayan
Gender Equality, 8, 11, 12, 18, 19, Jayaprakash, 157
29, 50, 51, 56,117, 137, 138, Jabalpur, 160, 162, 169, 173, 174,
139, 144, 204 175, 205
General Smuts, 78 Jaganaathpuri
George Bush, 80, 103 Jaganaath, 156
Ghanchakkar’ Samaj, 200 Jai gram, 129
Girl child, 6, 8, 12, 23, 30, 44, 49, Jai jagat, 64, 129
54, 63, 88, 146, 147, 155 Jail-journey, 179
Girl infanticide, 6 Jajaman, 195
Gita, 32, 132, 162, 168, 199 Jamnadas Jajoo, 165
Globalisation, 4, 35, 39, 61, 101, Jamnalal Bajaj Award, 191
103, 109, 112, 134, 158 Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, 145
Go seva, 196, 199 Jharia, 154
Gomati kaki, 26 Judith Brown, 24
Gopies Justice ranade, 66, 89
Gopi, 136, 137
Gram Swaraj, 45, 50
Index | 245