Making of a Mahatma (Film) by Shyam Benegal

Summary
“Making of Mahatma” is a compelling narrative of Gandhi’s transformation from a
London educated lawyer to a humanist to a force of social change. The movie captures the life of
Gandhi in South Africa where his ideologies, beliefs and view of life were shaped up. It is here
that his multi-faceted persona, inner convictions, strengths and weaknesses, inner and outer
conflicts are portrayed and his experiments with truth began. In the 21 years, he lived in South
Africa, the seeds of social transformation were sown through his experiments with Satyagraha,
Civil Disobedience, Imprisonment, Long Marches, Ashram and Sacrifice and preparedness for
most myriad and trying situations. The gripping scene in Maritzburg where he was thrown out of
the first-class train compartment, segregated, beaten and refused to stay in a hotel sets the tone of
his political endeavour filled with numerous ups and downs in South Africa. The laws and social
structure of South Africa at that time rendered the coloured men & women as second-class
citizens, the political system enforced numerous restrictions on Indians who were referred to as
‘coolies’. The magnanimous task in such a social atmosphere was to understand and change
mindsets of people - both the Europeans and the Natives - who had internalized the prevailing
social norms as acceptable without questioning those in power. Mahatma Gandhi who was once
an anglicized, London trained barrister had taken upon the onus to challenge racial
discrimination and bias of colonials to free the South African society of its unjust hierarchies and
prejudices. In the pursuit of chasing away injustice, he exemplified leadership capabilities in the
most trying of situations and influenced masses to follow the path of non-violence and
satyagraha to fight for basic civil rights. We come to see of his remarkable traits as a leader -
strong will, deep commitment, undeterred persistence, belief, moral conscience and his ability to
influence and inspire the masses to believe in the cause he was fighting for. In the process he not
only went through a personal transformation but altered the existing social paradigms, offering
the world a new way of thinking.

Presentation, Discussion and Learnings

1. One might have always thought about Gandhi as the ideal man and a born leader. The
film shows other perspectives on Gandhi, the rise of the leader that happened gradually over a
period of time with each event in his life moulding and shaping the leadership qualities in him.
Gandhi was from a well off family in India and had the opportunity to get a quality
education from London. He had come to South Africa only to serve as a practitioner of law. It
was in South Africa that Gandhi himself becomes a victim of acts of discrimination and
oppression by the British. Naturally, as every person would have at that point, Gandhi fights back
for his rights, but the way that Gandhi chooses to fight back is what sets him apart. Gandhi was
able to see the reason and the purpose of his fight and was a visionary. In the scene where he is
denied a seat in the train as it was reserved for the Whites, he initially reacts by claiming his right
to the seat. However, when he was eventually pushed off the train, he shows character by not
protesting or resorting to violence. He instead chooses to be non-violent and does not even
register a complaint against those who denied him of his rights. Another scene is where Gandhi
and his family along with other Indians land in South Africa after being made to wait for about a
month. Gandhi decides to alight the ship in the morning despite warnings that he might be
attacked and eventually ends up being attacked. Even then, Gandhi persists on not acting on the
moment and holds up non-violence. It may appear that Gandhi was passive in his approach but it
was his motive to not act hastily without understanding the situation. And this way of action
becomes more and more recurrent as the film progresses. Gandhi’s actions become less reactive
and more thought through. One can see this in the scene where Gandhi inspires women to stand
up for the cause of their husbands. He had an empowering presence to the people around him.
One can also see the conflict in Gandhi’s mind, between his pride and purpose. He
refuses to remove his turban at the court when he visits the court at South Africa for the first
time. He chose to stick to his identity and the values that he believed in. However, later when he
becomes a member of the court, he agrees to remove his turban and reasons out his change in
behaviour that it owes to change in the level of the association he has with the court. We can also
view this as a point where he seeking purpose over pride. He learns from his mistakes and refines
his approach at several moments in the film. He was a man of principles and was always open to
learning. He learnt from the likes of the Geeta, Ruskin, and his own actions and was able to
successfully incorporate his learnings in his protests of passive resistance. He was ready to fall
for his people and was ready to fall repeatedly until the nation was ready to rise together with
him.

2. In the second half of the movie, we can see that Gandhi’s struggle for the rights of the
Indian community transformed into a fight against oppression against humanity itself. This
realization happened during his time at the stretcher corps. There he encountered the British
oppression against the native African prisoners of war. This experience shook him. Upon
pondering over the issue, he came to the realization - “How can I solve the people’s problem,
when he can’t experience their pain himself.” It was at this moment that Gandhi decided to take
the path of abstinence. This, however, is the point of our contention. How did this path of
abstinence help him? And how fair was it on his part to relieve himself of all his worldly duties
towards his family and yet ask them for help whenever he required. This part, in particular,
shows the hypocrite nature of his decision. It was Mahatma Gandhi who forced his son to stay
with him when he wanted to study abroad. His entire struggle for freedom comes into question
when he himself caged his own son and forbade him to pursue higher studies. It ultimately
resulted in his son abandoning him. His wife also suffered a lot because of Gandhi actions. It was
for Kasturba who was understanding and loving towards her husband that made ‘Gandhi’
possible. Even after all the sufferings that he made her experience, Gandhi approaches her to
help him with the march towards the end of the movie yet is unwilling to go meet her on her
deathbed during his time in prison.
So, “What was the point in taking the path of abstinence?” - one may ask. He already was
‘Gandhi Baba’ in South Africa. He had the necessary following and could have done the same
things he did without taking the path of abstinence. He could have relieved himself of all the
material possessions but what made him relieve himself of his family as well? The class
discussion was varied over the topic. Some people explained that his decision was to make him
more focused on his goal. We were of the opinion that Gandhi did it to make himself completely
devoid of fear. There is a great line from the famous series ‘Chernobyl’ wherein Comrade
Scherbina tells Legasov “I’ve seen braver men that you who are ready to be shot in the face. But
when it comes to the safety of their family, that’s when they break.” This statement seems very
impactful. Gandhi was always ready to sacrifice himself for the greater cause, but he would not
have been able to bear the pain of losing his family. He wanted to be devoid of the fear of the
safety of his family. If he could distance himself from something he loved the most, there was
nothing that could hurt him as much as to derail him from his mission. Such was his dedication
towards his goal.

Excerpts
1. “Our greatest ability as humans is not to change the world; but to change ourselves.”
His self-control and belief in the cause are what moved not only his followers but ascribed to the
conscience of the oppressors too. A lesson to be learnt here is that in order to bring about a
radical change in the mindset of the people and challenge the status quo, it is important to walk
the talk first and believe in the cause endlessly. In the pursuit of becoming Mahatma Gandhi, he
had to make compromises with his closest relationships, sacrifice comforts of life and serve
several months in prison. He could have avoided these discomforts but rather he set an example
to instil courage in the minds of people to join him in the fight against repression.
2. “A full and candid admission of one's mistakes should make proof against its repetition.”
Gandhi is shown to trust his enemies. This is showcased during his negotiations with General
Smuts. There’s a scene where Gandhi is falsely promised by the antagonist, General Smuts, in
1908 to repeal discriminatory laws against Indians. Despite growing dissonance from his
associates who were against the idea of negotiating with General Smuts further, Gandhi
approaches the former by forthrightly urging him to take the ‘Indian Question’ more seriously.
Gandhi is deceived twice by General Smuts during these interactions. Gandhi, on his part, openly
admits his mistakes to his followers and seeks to remedy the damage done. It is during his third
dealing with General Smuts that he takes his word in writing.
3. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
History has been a testament to the fact that leaders have a trait of thinking differently and
treading a different path by challenging the status quo. He introduced the concept of satyagraha-
standing against injustice, and resorting to non-violent means to make their voices heard- a
civilised form of defiance which showed the world a new way of thinking.