04

Generally, the event of the year 1857 AD is taken as the first attempt to liberate India from British slavery. This incident has been analyzed by historians, subject-specialists and scholars from their own respective perspectives or viewpoints. Was the event of the year 1857 AD, in fact, a struggle for the freedom of the whole of India from British colonialism, or not? Was the aim of the struggle for the freedom of everyone in the country? Were the common people of the country participating in this? These, and many more questions regarding the nature and achievements and non-achievements of the event of the year 1857 AD, have been nuclei of analysis of historians, subject-specialists and scholars and all such analyses are also available for our study and reanalysis.

Our youth are very intelligent. They are fully capable of research and inventions not only in the field of communication, medical science, space and all other fields of science and technology etc., but also in all subjects falling within the ambit of social sciences and humanities. Therefore, the youth are also welcome to re-analyze the historic event of the year 1857 AD. I especially appeal to Gen-Y, to re-analyze the series of events of the year 1857 AD honestly, impartially remaining unbiased and free from all prejudices.

II

After calling on the youth to reanalyze the series of events of the year 1858 AD, the first thing I would like to mention here firmly (as per my own viewpoint) is that the scope of that event was countrywide. People from all parts of the country, from North to South and East to West, were involved in it. People are aware of the involvement of Mangal Pandey, Bahadurshah Zafar, Hazrat Mahal, Uda Devi, Nanasaheb, Tantya Tope, Lakshmibai, Jhalkaribai, Kunwar Singh, Firozeshah, Jaidayal, Hardayal etc. in the incident. However, people are not much familiar with the role of many others who played an important role in the event of the year 1857 AD including Kandapareshwara Singh and Maniram Dutta Barua of Assam, Surendra Shahi and Ujjwal Shahi of Odisha, Bhaskar Rao Bhave of Karnataka, who was hanged by the British after the incident, and people who were ready to revolt against the English from Madras. The role of such people in the series of events of 1857 AD should also be known. This introduction will especially confirm the reality of the struggle being nationwide.

The people from across the country breaking the boundaries of their respective religious communities, sects, castes and classes etc. participated in the struggle against the British in the year 1857 AD. Women and men were equally involved in it. The struggle, therefore, reflected national unity. A thinker like Karl Marx had also called the incident of the year 1857 AD a nationwide public anger in which people of all the sects, religious communities and areas participated. He accepted that struggle as a major effort for the unity of Indians. Savarkar had, as we know, called the incident of the year 1857 AD the first battle of freedom of the country.

It was indeed an unprecedented incident, and the struggle of the year 1857 AD remained a milestone in the way of establishing national unity further. The series of events of that incident also left a deep impression on minds of many leaders of the social reform movement, who were also the sources of inspiration for the countrymen to achieve independence from the foreign rule, and political activities of Bharat, especially in the second half of the Nineteenth Century AD.

The series of events of a period of about ninety years (1857-1947 AD) are the history of the phased and forceful struggle of India’s independence from British imperialism and, simultaneously, efforts for national unity. During this period, Swami Dayanand ‘Saraswati’, the most leading figure of the socio-religious reform movement, called upon the countrymen for ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Swaraj’. Swami Vivekananda expected unity and development of the country through the service of the masses, especially the poor and downtrodden. Malaviyaji repeated the slogan of ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Aurobindo Ghosh, Tilak and many other social reformers, educationists, academicians and political leaders, Chittaranjan Das, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lajpat Rai, Vithalbhai Patel, Hakim Ajmal Khan etc. continuously stepped forward while struggling for the independence of the country. Along with a call, ‘Swaraj is my birthright’, Tilak’s leading role in the ‘Swadeshi Movement’ is included therein. Madame Cama’s tireless efforts on foreign land for the country’s independence are also included in it. That series of events are an integral part of the golden pages of the history of India’s freedom struggle.

III

Further, especially in the period of about twenty-five years (1917-1942 AD) India’s freedom struggle, primarily led by Mahatma Gandhi, remained unprecedented and successful in achieving Swaraj as well as working for the unity of the country. Under the leadership of Gandhiji, the common people came forward to fight for India’s independence from all parts of the country with slogans like ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharatmata Ki Jai’ and that expressed their commitment to building national unity. It was unprecedented. It is inspirational for Indians even today and will remain so for a long time, especially for those who are or will be concerned about India’s national unity.

Under the unique leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajagopalachari, Abul Kalam Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, as well as Subhas Chandra Bose, Hasrat Mohini, Hakim Ajmal Khan and many others (mention of names of all of them is not possible here) worked for the independence of the country. Along with the continuous struggle for freedom, they were in the Purushartha for building national unity.

I have placed Vallabhbhai’s name first along with Gandhiji, because the successful Bardoli Kisan Satyagraha (in the year 1928 AD) led by him all along the Gandhian line (Gandhi-Marg), besides making a unique contribution in the freedom struggle of the country, was an unmatched example of people’s unity. Even today a lot can be learned from Bardoli Kisan Agitation.

IV

Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s freedom movement and efforts for the unity of the nation went together, which was an unprecedented and remarkable event in the history of the nation. Both, the freedom (an essential aspect of everyone’s natural right to equality) and national unity were inevitable for the establishment of Swaraj of his dream in Bharat, which symbolized equality for one and all, and was based on the Sanatana (eternal) values. Even today, it is necessary for Swaraj of Gandhiji’s dream in Hindustan.

Mahatma Gandhi was a follower of the Sanatana-Marg, which is complementary to the truth –Satya. He accepted the reality of the Indivisible Totality. Therefore, establishing human equality, I would repeat that freedom, justice and rights are inseparably associated aspects of equality, was the mission of his life. From Antyodaya to Sarvodaya, welfare of all without any kind of discrimination, was a manifestation of his same mission. At the core of his idea of the Indivisible Totality was the unity of all. He kept it at the top of his ideas and works and struggled for this throughout his life.

Indian culture, in its basic spirit, is bound to the Sanatana (eternal) path and values. Therefore, Indian culture establishes unity in diversity. It is harmonious and in its basic spirit, it is inclusive as well.  It is evolutionary or development oriented. Mahatma Gandhi firmly remained committed to the Sanatana-Marg and the foremost characteristics of Indian culture during his struggle for the freedom of India, as well as in his efforts for national unity, and set an unprecedented record.

The Mahatma left an exemplary and worth considering path for us by making Swarajya and national unity complementary to each-other. That path places the Mahatma at the pinnacle of the struggle for freedom of Hindustan and efforts made for national unity over a period of ninety years. Gandhiji’s path is important, significant and, I would say again, exemplary for those who are concerned about keeping the country’s independence and national unity intact. 

*A Padma Shri and Sardar Patel National Awardee Indologist Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a Former Vice Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut; he is also the Editor-in-Chief of Global Peace International Journal.