Mangaluru: “Though Mahatma Gandhi failed to prevent India-Pakistan partition, it is not fair to blame only him for the bitter episode. The circumstances that prevailed then may have led to him supporting the partition,” said Prof Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and visiting a professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar and Michigan State University USA on Friday, December 21.
Delivering a special lecture on ‘Swaraj and Sarvodaya: A re-look’ organised by University College Hampankatta, he said, “Gandhi had tried to unite both Hindus and Muslims through his speeches, articles and negotiations during the last 10 years of his life. But, some strong Hindu and Muslim leaders in those days favoured partition. As he could not unite them despite all his efforts, he was forced to support the plan of partition. However, it is not fair to blame only Gandhiji for the partition.” He also questioned whether anyone blamed Abram Lincoln for the present problems prevailing in America?
“The number of people who favoured partition of India and Pakistan were more than those who wanted to live as one nation. There is a need to curb down the rift between Hindus and Muslims as the misunderstandings between Hindus and Muslims are only increasing. If we are not able to educate our people properly about the need of unity, country would face adverse impact,” Rajmohan added.
Restore life in villages
Highlighting the present challenges of our country Rajmohan said, “Migration of people from villages to city is one of the biggest problems of present India. As we are not able to address the problem of unemployment, people from rural areas migrate to city. Unless and until we prevent this migration, we will not be able to secure welfare. There is a need to restore lives in villages and proper measures need to be taken in this regard.”
Mangalore University Registrar Prof A M Khan presided over the programme. University College Principal Dr Uday Kumar M A, Mangalore University in-charge Vice Chancellor Prof Ishwara P were present.
