The campaign of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election is coming to an end with the last phase set to be conducted on June 1. After controversial comments on Hindu Muslims, Gomata, Mangalsutra, and Mutton, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi is back to being the crux of criticism among netizens of social media and political parties, especially Congress.
Table of Contents
What Did Narendra Modi Comment?
During an interview on Wednesday with a popular news media outlet, Bharatiya Janata Party Leader, Narendra Modi drew attention by claiming “No one knew Mahatma Gandhi- Father of the nation in the post-colonial time period until a movie was made about him.” He proclaimed that the world did not know about Mahatma, it was only after English director Richard Samuel Attenborough’s movie Gandhi (1982); that Gandhi became popular.
He said that Mahatma Gandhi was an eminent soul and noble figure who sacrificed his entire future and was involved in India’s freedom struggle. “In these 75 years was it not our responsibility to glorify his legacy in front of the world?” He pointed out the Durdasha (sad affairs) of post-independent India and the failure of the Congress regime to advocate Gandhi’s greatness. “Forgive me. But it was the first time when the world had curiosity over Mahatma Gandhi, when ‘Gandhi’ film was made.”
To further prove his argument, he gave the examples of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela who were respected worldwide whereas Gandhi, no less than them, never had the same amount of respect as the former. “After traveling the world, I am stressing the point that Gandhiji should have been the focus of attention.”
Thus PM Modi highlighted his redevelopment plan (which by the way should have been done before) which was announced in March 2024, on the anniversary of Dandi March. Before this, he had a masterstroke of the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram Redevelopment Project in Ahmedabad.
READ MORE: An Open Letter to Bapu
Gandhi Movie (1982)
The epic autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or popularly, Mahatma Gandhi, named ‘Gandhi’ was released in 1982. The movie dwells upon the visionary life of Gandhiji. He was an eminent and pivotal figure in the independence struggle of India when it was colonized under British rule in the 20th century.
UK director and producer Richard Attenborough in collaboration with Indian film production made this masterpiece which ended up having eight Oscars in the 55th Academy Awards in 1983. Richard won the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best Direction. At its core, the film demonstrates Ben Kingsley’s extraordinary portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Criticism From Congress Party
The Congress Party played an exceptional and significant role in the life journey of Gandhiji. In his X handle, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused PM by saying he is “destroying the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi”. He comments that PM lives in such a world where Mahatma Gandhi was not a name before 1982, he was not recognized at all.
He added that the PM himself is destroying the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. This outgoing prime minister’s government is the one that has destroyed Gandhian institutions in Varanasi, Ahmedabad, and Delhi with their fundamentalist rhetoric, which Gandhi opposed. He went ahead further that such statements are the significance of an RSS worker. He quotes that the 2024 Lok Sabha election is a fight between Gandhi and Godse devotees.
The burning criticism took a new turn when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sarcastically brought Modi’s educational background in his X handle. He wrote, “Only an Entire Political Science student would need to watch the film ‘Gandhi’ to know about Gandhiji”. Rahul’s ‘entire political student’ jibe refers to PM Modi’s Master in Arts certificate from Gujarat University which shows he completed his Master in “Entire Political Science”.
Was Gandhiji Unknown Before 1982?
While each alliance gives arguments, it needs to be known if Mahatma was known before the 80s or not. ‘Gandhi’ movie captures the life of a lawyer who went to South Africa and then joined India’s freedom movement. IMDB says that in 1953 Gandhiji was the key figure in the documentary of an American director Stanley Neal. In 1937, A.K. Chettiar started working on the project ‘Mahatma Gandhi- 20th-century prophet.’ ‘Nine Hours to Rama’- a British Indian thriller short film released in 1963, portrays a fictional story of Nathuram Godse’s plan to murder Gandhi. Directed by VithalBhai Jhaveri ‘Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948’ was made in 1968 on the life of Gandhi.
Other than these, several old statues of Mahatma Gandhi in the USA, Belgium (Indian embassy), Uganda, and Canada signify that Gandhiji was always a well-known figure to the world.
1 Comment
Pingback: Narendra’s Reincarnation Needs to Be Celebrated: 3 Things to Know Why It's Powerful