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Mahatma Gandhi
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Mahadev Desai’s Day-to-Day with Gandhi: A Study |
- By Savita Andelwar*AbstractMahadev Desai was Gandhi's secretary from 1917 to 1942. He kept a diary where he wrote Gandhi's speeches, interviews, conversations and activities. Hence, it is an authentic record of Gandhi's life. Many of his statements and activities would have been forgotten had Desai not recorded them. The entries also provide the background to them. Desai wrote the Diary in Gujarati, which was subsequently translated into both Hindi and English. It is in nine volumes whose study is indispensable to understanding Gandhi's personality. Hence, it occupies a unique place not only in Gandhian studies but also in the works in Indian languages translated into English. I. Introduction
Mahadev Desai was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. He joined Gandhi in 1917 as his secretary and passed away in 1942 suddenly from a heart attack. Gandhi wrote of him, “A self-willed friend, brother, son or secretary often fails at the critical moment. Mahadev is all these four rolled into one.”1 Desai wrote his Diary, which revolves around Gandhi. It is a record of Gandhi's activities and associated events in nine volumes spanning from November 1917 to March 1927, except from 13 February 1921 to 17th January 1924. This gap of nearly three years was probably because either the Diary was not written or, if written, it was lost. In addition, he had suffered from typhoid. Desai was sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 100/- or, in default, one month more of it. The original Diary was in Gujarati. Desai did not live long enough to edit the Diary himself. Narharibhai Parikh took up the responsibility but died mid-way. Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal edited the remaining volumes. They were first translated into Hindi and then in English by Hemantkumar Nilkanth. He did it with the view that the reader may not necessarily be a scholar but a layman. Explaining his effort, he says, “I can only say I have tried to follow the well-known Shakespearean advice “to thine own self be true.”2 Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varanasi is the publisher whose note claims, “There is no other Diary in history of this kind except that of Bosswel, the learned English writer, who has noted the events of Dr. Johnson's life in his Diary. But the difference between these two diaries lies in the difference of the life of Gandhiji and that of Dr. Johnson.”3 It may be added here that in 1791, Bosswel published Life of Samuel Johnson, incorporating his conversations and sketching his personal and intimate portrait. It is considered to be the greatest biography in the English Language. Gandhi and Mahadev were complimentary to each other from the start. In 1915, when Gandhi returned from South Africa, he yearned for a round-the-clock ally who would be accomplished, faithful, and truthful. On his part, Mahadev, who was a sensitive man with a flair for friendship and literary gifts in both English and Gujarati, longed for a chance to serve a man worth serving. Thus, their desires were complementary. It was in fitness of things that Mahadev became his secretary. Rajmohan Gandhi writes, “It is true that Mahadev Desai often took Gandhi's dictation — in his life and on his notebooks. His diaries recorded Gandhi's doings, conversations, political parleys, ethical dilemmas. Sometimes his articles and briefings interpreted Gandhi’s mind better than Gandhi’s own pen or tongue.” He continues, “Waking up before Gandhi in pre-dawn darkness, and going to sleep long after his master, he lived Gandhi's day thrice over — first in an attempt to anticipate it, next in spending it alongside Gandhi, and finally in recording it into his Diary. He therefore was Gandhi's aide, secretary and interpreter, but this “correct” description excludes the independent mind, conscience and pen that Desai supplied and Gandhi relied upon.” Gandhi had remarked in 1917, “I have got in you the man I wanted — the man to whom I can entrust all my work some day and be at ease.”4 Narayan Desai continued that in Sabarmati Ashram, “On the one hand there was a constant conflict in Mahadev’s mind and on the other Gandhiji felt that he had found in Mahadev the very person he was searching for to help him in his work.... It was love at first sight for each one, but the declaration of it was yet to come.”5 II. Survey of contents:The Diary has invaluable information which was hitherto unpublished. The first entry in the Diary in Volume I is dated 13th November 1917. It is an extract of Gandhi's letter to Esther Ferring from Denmark to the effect that her love for the Ashram would be a source of strength to the Ashramites. The last entry in the Diary in volume IX is dated 17th March 1927. In the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Gurukul Kangri, Hardwar, Gandhi, and other national leaders were invited. Gandhi delivered a speech and requested Madan Mohan Malaviya to open the Khadi exhibition. Malaviya did what was needed by delivering a speech. Desai concludes by writing, “From the time when Malaviyaji gave his blessings to Khadi, a new age may be said to have dawned... Gandhiji took his leave with the request to push his new work (of) Khadi during these days.”6 Appendices follow it. Different volumes of the Diary contain Gandhi's speeches, conversations, interviews given to people, question-answer sessions, incidents of his life, letters as well as their background, etc., except volume VIII, which largely has articles published in Young India. The collected works of Mahatma Gandhi (Delhi: Government of India), though more exhaustive and complete, appeared much later and over a period of time. Interestingly, parts of The Collected Works contain materials borrowed from this Diary. In this study, we have refrained from duplicating what the Collected works already have. We have sought to highlight different kinds of information as well as the anecdotes of Gandhi's life selectively as the Diary is a vast gold mine of them, and owing to the constraints of space, it is impossible to cover everything. The Diary is not simply an eulogy of a follower of his master. The entry dated 21st March 1918 in the Diary contains a mild criticism of Gandhi, “When once Bapu begins to praise a man, because he appreciates him, he does not stint in pouring out all his love and regard for him. He does not then care to see whether that man really deserves all that love and esteem... But may not this practice of Bapu harm the man himself? And when such exaggerated remarks are made before a large crowd and in the very presence of the persons praised, some of them feel embarrassed, some think that there is No meaning in them and some, I know, feel even insulted.”7 Another aspect of Gandhi's character was his love for the common people. After his return from South Africa, Desai notes, “This being his first visit to Bombay, Gandhiji did not stint in giving an appointment to any and every person or institution that wanted it. He even tried to visit as many places as he could. For different purposes, there were different functions. All of these he attended and addressing audiences of varying characters, he gave his message in forms suitable to the audience he addressed.”8 Gandhi referred to the Gita in his speeches and writings without acknowledging it, and Desai put these references in context. For example, at the Kathiawar Political Conference, Bhavanagar, in January 1925, Gandhi said, “Adharma stalks in India and dharma can be re-established by only one means — the spinning wheel.” Desai clarifies that the allusion here is to the famous verse of Gita, “Whenever Right (dharma) declines and wrong (adharma) prevails, then O Bharata, I come, to birth to establish Right” (Gita IV- 7).9 Desai further recollects, “At Patna railway station a stranger of ordinary means fanned him for long who then fell asleep in the train. The stranger got down at his destination without taking with him his thin cotton mattress, as Bapuji’s feet lay on it, ... lest Bapuji might wake up....” When Gandhi woke up, he was deeply concerned about him. At Mughalsarai station, when a Marwari was getting down, he asked for the mattress that Gandhi did not need in any way. But the latter retorted, “Never. The mattress shall be sent back to the owner.”10 Gandhi's commitment to ahimsa was complete. On 12th April 1918, he remarked, “What a glorious opportunity this (Satyagraha), if the Germans landed on our shore! They would be unwilling to fight with us, because we are unarmed, and we would refuse to obey their orders!"11 His love for untouchables matched his love for non-violence. Meeting them during his tours was always on the agenda. At Porbandar, he visited the quarters of antyaja, a socially backward tribe. The weavers of Chhaya (Porbandar district) brought their blankets for him. Gandhi became emotional and said, “Is it right to accept a gift from my own children?... When everyone deserts me and nobody cares to give me anything, I shall come running to you and tell you, ‘Please give me food and clothing.” The untouchables took it(?) back only when even their hard pressure failed to change Gandhiji’s mind.”12 When Dudabhai, an untouchable, was admitted to Sabarmati Ashram, it evoked strong opposition. Local supporters of the Ashram withdrew their help. Even Kasturba and his nephew (Ashram manager) opposed it. There was “real domestic trouble.” But his “firmness coupled with persuasion quelled the outer and inner storms.”13 Dudabhai hailed from Devrajiya village. When Gandhi passed by it, he stopped his motor car to see the dilapidated walls of his house.14 In 1925, Gandhi laid the foundation of a school in Kotda (Gujarat) after he was assured that there would not be a caste bar there.15 When he went to Bhujpur, the elders refused to give him a public address as they considered him to be a blood brother of untouchables. Undeterred, he went to their quarters and heard their woes. Then he travelled to Mundra where he was given a grand reception and carried in a procession to the school of the untouchable children. But in the public meeting held in the evening, not a single caste Hindu sat among the untouchables. The incident tore the heart of Gandhi and Desai recounts, “From every word that Gandhiji spoke at Mundra, his anguish was dripping out like drops of blood.”16 There are too many such incidents quoted by Desai to show Gandhi's deep love for the untouchables. In his efforts to eliminate untouchability, Gandhi's followers emulated him. Desai writes that Jamnalal Bajaj declared open to the untouchables five wells belonging to him, three of his ginning factories, and two of his gardens. Instead of claiming credit for this, he modestly remarked: “There’s nothing to shout in what I did. I should have done it long ago!” He wished to throw open to the untouchables the doors of the Laxmi Narayan Temple built by his ancestors, but he was helpless as it was managed by the trustees who disagreed with his proposal.17 His love for Khadi is well-known. Desai discloses that on one occasion, he was reconciled to the use of non-khadi cloth for inevitable reasons. When he was hospitalized in early 1924, Desai narrates, “...insistence (on providing Khadi in the hospital) would put the surgeons and doctors in a fix, even make any treatment impossible. And in how many articles could he ask for the use of Khadi? Should he ask for Khadi bandages and gauzes to dress his wound? For Khadi sheets and Khadi coverings for Khadi mattresses? But Bapu put the surgeons and nurses at ease. He wore the hospital clothes, covered himself with the hospital sheet and accepted whatever could be given him in the hospital.”18 Often, when Gandhi talked to people or even made speeches, he continued to do spinning. In his Ashrams of both Sabarmati and Wardha, the number of yarns spun by each inmate were recorded every evening.19 His followers emulated him in promoting spinning. At the instance of Jamnalal Bajaj, the Municipality of Wardha passed a resolution to introduce takli-spinning for half an hour in its schools and to buy only Khadi for all its cloth needs.20 Gandhi did what he deemed necessary, even at the cost of personal discomfort. In August 1918, he faced severe health problems. Desai wrote, “After ‘the Times of India’ report, “He can still do recruiting work” was read to him, he began to dictate letters: A long telegram to the Viceroy, a letter to the Private Secretary to the Governor of Bombay, a letter to the Collector and some others.”21 Gandhi led the freedom struggle in India, and salt was an integral part of it even before he launched the salt satyagraha in 1930. On 21st January, 1919, he was operated upon for piles in Bombay. Although he was in delirium, Desai says that his outburst was touching, “These two things are a ‘must’ for the Government. It has but to annul the Salt Tax and nationalize the milk industry. It passes my understanding how such a cruel tax as this on salt was meekly accepted by the people. The whole country could have been inflamed to revolt against the Government at the time the law was passed. How could there be a tax on salt so indispensable to human life?”22 Desai gives a graphic account of Gandhi's train journeys on the eve of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22). He writes, “Everything went on smoothly upto Bhusawal.... But from midnight onwards, we had to face loud and disturbing noises at many stations. At Hoshangabad particularly... the people made the station resound with vehement cries of “Mahatma Gandhi-ki-jai” and “Allaho Akbar.” The cries awakened Gandhiji also. This exuberance continued through all stations — Gwalior, Bhopal, Jhansi, Agra, Mathura, etc., - till we reached Meerut the next night”.23 When the meeting took place in Amritsar, Desai gave summaries of the speeches of leaders and then recounts, “Gandhiji ‘rose’ next. What I mean by ‘rose’ is not that he stood up for his speech but that he was seated in a chair raised on a table, which itself was placed on the dais.24 In 1920 Gandhi visited Poona. Desai recollects, “The whole of Poona was bursting with joy on the 5th November. As our route was blocked by mammoth crowds, there was not much to say in favour of order and discipline, but it was clear that the enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds.... For, Tukaram Maharaj has left the word that that is the real Divali and that the real Dussera, when a saint visits the home. Throughout our trip this one and the same verse could be heard from the lips of many a devout Maharashtrian lady. We saw that no other region was more conscious than Maharashtra of the fact that this was a truly religious fight.”25 Desai adds, “A ladies’ meeting was held at the Kirlosker Theatre on the 6" afternoon. All the space on the ground floor as well as on the two galleries above was filled with women. Hardly an inch of space was left vacant. Like a sea at the sight of the full moon, women had flooded the theatre to overflowing. Women of all ages and all communities — Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and others — were present”.26 The visit to Belgaum was memorable. In Desai’s words, “The women’s meeting was held at 7 p.m. in the courtyard of the Maruti Temple. Not only the expansive courtyard, but even the interior parts of the temple were overflowing with women. It was because the women themselves had insisted on inviting Maulana Shaukat Ali to come into the holy precincts of the temple, that he was sitting close by the side of Gandhiji.” A woman in dirty rags came and put Rs. Ten on his feet, saying, “Please accept this present from an indigent widow.” Thereafter, “... there was the same rain of ornaments here as at Poona.” All the same, Desai narrates one incident, “Gandhiji never fails to tell the donor that he wants any ornament only on condition that the donor entirely gives up the use of that particular kind of ornament, so as to make the donor perform an act of real renunciation. When a sister came in the evening and took off three ornaments, Gandhiji repeated his condition. The sister was not prepared to give up wearing forever one of the three ornaments she was offering. So she at once took back that particular ornament.” Desai comments, “What an example of transparent self-honesty that!”27 Women poured ornaments before Kasturba too. Desai recounts that a woman put a gold necklace round Kasturba’s neck and was about to adorn her wrists with gold bracelets. Kasturba took it off, adding that the ornaments Gandhi asked for were for Swaraj? The woman laid the necklace at Gandhi's feet, but insisted that the bracelets were for Kasturba, which she refused with the result that the bracelets were taken back. This was in Jharia on 5th February, 1921.28 Desai writes, in Patna, “A bag filled with ornaments big and small, was emptied at his feet! Such deep faith, seen everywhere, has amazed me.29 When Kasturba went to the Ganga River for a bath, the loose coins the women had tied in knots at the end of their sarees were laid at her feet. Desai says the climax was reached when an older woman in rags came up and laid one whole rupee at her feet. Kasturba asked her, “Sister, what are you?” “A milk-woman”, she replied. “That one rupee has come”, a bystander interrupted, “from hard-earned savings - from the retail sale of milk.”30 When Gandhi moved on the roads, again, there were frenzied crowds to greet him. While he was going to Delhi in February 1921, “...From Jumma Masjid, especially, for about two and a half miles, till Chandni Chowk was reached, there was hardly an inch of space left vacant by this sea of humanity. Even buildings, three or four storeys high, resembled beehives more than clusters of men. And it was not only men, but women also, who had gathered in countless numbers. Naturally, all vehicular traffic was closed and so the streets were filled with nothing but crowds of men and women and that, too, under a fairly hot sun.” Not surprising then, “This is a reception unprecedented in the annals of Delhi”, said many of the spectators.”31 The same story was repeated when Gandhi went to Simla in May 1921 to meet the Viceroy Reading. “Villagers living at the foot of the hill used to come all the day through, while Government servants would come from their offices in the mornings and evenings. And there was not a single group of Government servants which came to Gandhiji empty-handed — without their small collection for the Swaraj Fund. During the time when Gandhiji was having his talk with the Viceroy, invariably these Government servants of the Secretariat would collect in their hundreds outside the Viceregal Lodge and would be seen waiting for Gandhiji’s darshan.”32 In February 1921 Gandhi left Patna for Gorakhpur. “At every station peasants with long long lathis and torches in their hands would come to us and raise cries loud enough to split the very drums of our ears.” Desai continues, “At many stations, I would get down on the platform and fall at the feet of the people. They would then recede for a little while, but the moment I stepped up into my compartment, they would rush to our door and start their deafening cries. And if even this did not satisfy them, hundreds of men would, as soon as the train started, get on to the footboards and keep standing outside. At some places, imaging that their combined strength would be able to stop the train from starting, they would even enter into a kind of tug-of-war with it.”33 Desai adds, “Many of these do not even know how their ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ looks. A few of them thrust themselves into our compartment, and began to bawl out, “Who is Mahatma Gandhiji?” I got desperate and said “I”. They were satisfied, bowed down to me and left the compartment!”34 They arrived in Batni, and the train reached at midnight instead 0f 11.00 p.m. Desai continues, “As the people could not have the darshan, they got furious and stood, inspite of all our earnest pleading between the railway line in front of the engine. Cries of, “We won't allow the train to start till we have the darshan” came out from many lips.”35 After crossing Batni, “Any sleep for Gandhiji in the midst of this uproar was out of question.... At last even Gandhiji’s endurance and tolerance were exhausted and he got up at one station when it was 1.30 a.m. He began to entreat the people “Please go away. Why do you harass us at this dark hour?” He was answered only by sky-rending shouts of victory to him!... Never before had I seen Gandhiji in a state of rage and I was literally trembling. At last he beat his forehead with his hands in desperation and said, “I, fall at your feet. Please be good enough to move away.” That was the height of the people’s love-mad insolence. Only after Gandhiji beat his forehead thrice, did the people get quiet at least there.”36 The Provincial Political Conference of the United Provinces was held in Moradabad in October 1920. Desai quotes from the summaries of what the different leaders spoke about, including the mother of Maulana Shaukat Ali. She arrived on the platform covered with a veil. Her son stood to repeat loudly what she would speak. He repeated her first sentence: “It is not within the pale of veiled ladies to attend such gatherings; but the time has now come when not only old ladies like myself but even young girls will take part in them.” Desai says, “The people acclaimed this sentence with loud cheers. As if the applause infused spirit into her voice, she herself began to speak loudly. She must have spoken for hardly two or three minutes but her short speech electrified the whole audience.”37 Hindu-Muslim conflict led to Gandhiji’s fast (September 18-October 8, 1924), and it brought about reconciliation between the two communities. Desai gives an account of how it ended. C.F. Andrews sang the hymn When I Survey the Wonderous Cross. Wrote Desai, “For a while, as the song was being sung, every one experienced perfect unison between the sufferings on the Cross and those on the fasting bed, between the love and tears of Jesus and the love and tears of Bapu, and one could see many eyes streaming with tears.” Hakim Ajmal Khan spoke, “May you recoup your health and be at peace and may God bring your fast to a glorious fulfilment.” To this Maulana Azad added, “I have full faith that the hearts of Hindus and Muslims are going to be united and that too within a very short time.” After a few moments of silence, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari offered Gandhi a glass of orange juice, which he drank and broke the fast. Desai triumphantly writes, “And every sip of his brought fresh life, s0 to say, in the bodies of even those who used to eat their fill everyday during the fast; and all of them felt the thrill of enjoying the happy end of a long fast.”38 Gandhi had, what Desai calls, a sense of tactful humour. While the subjects committee of the Congress met in Belgaum with Gandhi in the chair, Dr. Paranjpe spoke when a person asked, “Is this all in order?” Gandhi laughed and said, “But the fault is mine. I was myself not in order, when I allowed him to speak.” As Madan Mohan Malaviya was to speak briefly on the Hindu-Muslim riots in Kohat, he objected, “But I can’t cut it short. I shall have to deliver a long speech.” Gandhi retorted, “But you forget, I am there as President to stop you.” When Mohammad Ali made a long speech, Gandhi left his own seat, got a table put on the rostrum, and sat on that table throughout the whole session.”39 On another occasion a lawyer fell down from a moving train but escaped unhurt. He thanked Gandhi, who joked, “Why not say it was exactly my presence that brought about this accident? But for it, there would have been none!”40 Many more examples of Gandhi's jocular statements can be quoted from these volumes. III. Concluding remarks:Among the books of vernacular languages translated into English, the Diary has a unique place. It is a useful supplement to the Collected works. It provides the requisite background to the speeches and activities of Gandhi. Narayan Desai writes, “The very relation that Mahadev cultivated with Gandhiji, erased the traditional idea of a secretary. The relationship was that of 4 devotee, which had at the end resulted in similarity and unison. And so they were like one soul in two bodies.” He added, “Actually ‘secretary’ is a word of the elite, it does not suit Gandhiji’s ascetic culture. Only the word ‘devotee’ suits Mahadev.” The field of work for Gandhi's secretary was not limited to the office, and the office also was not limited to any one field. His office moved about with Gandhi and his range of activity did not end with papers, files and accounts. Narayan wrote, “It was a path of penance. And moving on that path was like walking on a sword’s edge. Mahadev repeatedly said that to become an intimate close to Gandhiji was as difficult as living on the mouth of a volcano.”41 As Gandhi's secretary, Mahadev was present when visitors came. At times, he had to deal with angry visitors. If he was certain that they would waste Gandhi's time, the unpleasant task of refusing them permission to meet him devolved on him. One such visitor threatened to shoot Mahadev.42 The Diary principally contains the notes of the talks, letters, and speeches. He prepared the notes on the spot. Often when he did not have paper, he wrote notes on the margins of the newspapers or on rough papers. At times, he even jotted words on his nails and later wrote. He rarely wrote notes from memory.43 This proves the authenticity of the Diary. Mahadev also handled his mail. Narayan Desai adds, “The mail contained a lot of variety — variety of languages, subjects and styles. There would be the most serious questions with serious discussions about spiritual matters, there would be political documents about the burning political questions of the nation, and there would be vicious, dirty matter abusing Gandhiji.” He adds, “Beginning with post-cards with one or two lines, there could be lengthy letters of 80 to 100 pages. There could be letters from the crazy, the wise, and the over-wise” Mahadev’s first job was to classify these letters after a quick review. Some letters had to be given to Gandhiji, to some letters he himself would reply after discussion with Gandhiji. Mahadev himself responded to numerous letters. Before responding to certain letters, it would be necessary to conduct an inquiry elsewhere. Some required telegram responses, while others had to be sent the same day, even with a late fee. Abuse-related letters were disposed of in the waste-paper basket, particularly since the authors failed to include their names and addresses. Mahadev was skilled at reading Sarojini Naidu'’s and other people’s unreadable handwriting. Gandhi gave him these letters, asking him to read them. Mahadev’s strength in telegraphic language was its brevity, which he learnt from Gandhi. In many telegrams, Gandhi just added one word, ‘love.’44 However, this meant an increase in the telegram cost by an anna. Gandhi and Mahadev wrote articles that they showed to each other. This prevented the repetition of any subject. They did it during the tours also. The task normally went to Mahadev if an article had to be written after studying a subject. They discussed the language, style, thought, and matter and then made alterations.45 The viceroys regarded Mahadev as Gandhi's emissary. Sometimes, he negotiated with Indian politicians on Gandhi's behalf. When men like Sardar Patel and Rajaji argued with Gandhi, Mahadev felt free to choose the side until Gandhi made his final decision, which he accepted.46 Notes and References:
Courtesy: Gandhi Marg, Volume 46 Number 3, October-December 2024 * Savita Andelwar is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandar Sindri, Kishangarh, Ajmer Dist., Rajasthan. Email: savita.andelwar@curaj.ac.in |