Gandhi's Contribution to India's Freedom

If there is anything Gandhi says that you don't like, then understand that

you have not yet developed the understanding to understand that point.

Whatever that man said,

must have been right. At least, that is what I believe. My own

experience is

that whatever Gandhi said, if you are misunderstanding it or thinking

that, man,

what a foolish thing this man said, then understand that you have not yet developed

the understanding to understand that thing.

There is debate over how much Gandhi contributed to the country's independence. Some

people even say, “No, it was the Ghadar Party people who did it, who fought

the battle.” I am telling you that people who get into this kind of talk

have no understanding of Gandhi, of Gandhiji.

His contribution was not that the country

became independent. Many countries became independent along with India. In my view, Gandhiji's

greatest contribution is the way he influenced the people of India

He prepared us for independence, so when we gained independence, we people

never let it slip from our hands. Look at the entire

history of the world. Every country that gained independence after 1940

and before 1960, there was hardly any country where democracy

was not challenged, where power was not seized by someone, the military, or others.

Great leaders, whether in Egypt or

Tanzania or Kenya, those nations all had leaders like Nehru and Patel too.

Everywhere, power and democracy were compromised.

Democracy was never harmed in India because this

was Gandhi's contribution. He made such a deep-rooted value

system, a democratic value system, and created so many leaders

that even if anyone wanted to, they could not hijack it.

People say, "If Subhas Chandra Bose had been there, this would have happened, Patel

If he had been, this would have happened. Why did that man choose Nehru?

I'm not a Nehru fan, it's not like that. But there's a rationale

you

will understand. And read Gandhi. There are no two opinions about this anywhere.

There was no better human being born here

on Earth.

Churchill was vexed by Gandhi. Google the Round Table Conference in London

and see it. They're all sitting there not just in suits but in warm

suits. One man came and sat among them. One half-naked man

filled everyone else with an inferiority complex.

He said, “Aren't you cold?” And this is a moral weapon that he used.

He was saying, “I am India, I am alone. I have

no numbers. I don't have money either. But look, all of you are ashamed before me.”

He's saying plainly what he sees. No beating around the bush.

And let me tell you this, if he were alive and came here today, on this very stage

Come over, sit in this very chair. Even today, you will

listen, spellbound,

to him. He had real substance. He wasn't

a lightweight.