Yes you are right it is biblical teachings but in India and even abroad it is a quote famously associated with Gandhi too . I should have used some other word to imply this .Originally posted by: Heisenberg17
"Turning the other cheek" is a well known Christian doctrine, and it's used as a general teaching of non-violence, the quote I posted is not some general principle of non-violence, he is specifically asking Hindus to let Muslims kill them if they wish to and to usher in a new India, notice that he doesn't expect the same from Muslims, he doesn't tell Muslims that if Hindus want to kill you all, then allow yourselves to be killed, he is quite happy for them to kill Hindus, the expectation is squarely upon the Hindus to die.
It's not like Gandhi was unaware of communal violence, his response to the Moplah genocide of Hindus, where thousands of Hindus were killed and raped by Muslims, was quite apathatic, even blaming the victims, it was so bad that even Ambedkar blasted him for his lack of concern.
It's not about reducing him to one quote, there's also a bunch of other crazy things he said, but this is a deal breaker for me, I can't respect someone who said something as ludicrous as that, then there are his so-called "celibacy experiments" where he slept naked with his grand daughters and other women.
Let me repeat what I had said earlier on this thread, his stern belief in non violent resistance was more impactful when dealing with a system or singular body like british empire coz his approach was dialogue based or negotiations or non violent protests . When he extended this approach to communal riots it wont work coz it’s impossible for a single man to control violence ? non violent approach will only work if everyone believes in it .. he urged muslims also during mapilah fights to shun violence and find non violent ways to resolves but it aint that easy coz who would listen to in such a volatile and hostile environment so in my opinion though he knew how to handle british empire via non violent resistance and sacrifices it dint work similarly to resolve communal fights be it mopilah or noakhali .. and i honestly dont think a single leader can stop violence or is responsible.. also i dont think this shows he dint care about anyone .. to me it looks like he was helpless coz he dint knew how to handle..and the reason i compared both the quotes is to show how he address the people or party who are facing aggression ..
regarding celibacy , I believe he kept evolving like any other human being and was more into spirituality by that age .. I dont agree with his experiments tho .. it is unsetlling to me …Though gandhi was pro women empowerment … I dont agree with his views abt self sacrifice for women when faced with aggression.. self sacrifice is a big no for me just like johar or sati practises which were prevalent and was glorified to manipulate women . in modern times it all looks so dumb and cruel.. gandhiji as a man also grew up in such a society where gender equality dint exist or was evolving .. all these statements are always criticized as far as i know .. everyone has flaws so do gandhiji
this doesn’t take away what he did for India’s independence
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