A crisis of faith
September 1, 2024
Gandhi awoke in Kolkata on September 1, 1947, still unsettled by the previous night’s disturbance. He and Shaheed Suhrawardy were planning to leave the next day for Noakhali, in the new nation of Pakistan, to demonstrate their message of Hindu-Muslim unity.
On this morning, however, the militant Hindu Mahasabha were causing disturbances around the city. Some Muslims asked Gandhi for help fleeing to a safer place. A truck was arranged, and two dozen climbed into the open bed. As it headed down the street, two hand grenades thrown from a nearby rooftop landed inside.
At the sound of a nearby explosion, Gandhi and his Benghli translator, Nirmal Kumar Bose, rushed outside. The bodies of two workmen lay on the street, the mother of one crying and shrieking at her loss of her son. The sources do not tell us exactly what happened inside the truck, only that the men’s chests were blown open. I can only reach one conclusion: those men threw themselves on the grenades to protect their friends and families at the cost of their own lives.
It’s worth noting that one of the many contributing factors to the violence across India was military surplus. Thanks to World War Two ramping up global production, cheap weapons were widely available. The price of a Thompson M1921 submachine gun, for example, fell nearly 80% over the course of the war.
That Gandhi was deeply moved by the wails for the dead was evident when Bose brought him a strange offer later. A gang of Hindu youths wanted to ensure the Muslims’ safety, with violent means if necessary. However, if their open display of submachine guns got them arrested, would Gandhi get them out of jail?
“Go and tell them I am with them,” Gandhi ordered.1
“Why don’t you tell them that violence is wrong?” Bose prompted.
The events of the previous 24 hours had pushed the 77-year-old to the edge. A exhausted Gandhi could only reply with another question. “How can I say that unless I demonstrate that nonviolence is more effective?” he wondered. Once again, he believed that a fast could demonstrate this.
Before Gandhi began, he felt responsible for securing the permission of the new Governor of Bengal, an old and dear friend. The governor arrived at 10pm, and the pair began to debate. Gandhi argued immediate action was needed to quench the rising flames before the city was engulfed. If he died and the city burned? “At least I won’t be there to witness it.”2
Just before midnight, a statement was issued to the press, explaining why Gandhi was now three hours into a fast to the death. Would Kolkata rise to the challenge and return to a peaceful existence?
What might make you question one of your life’s core assumptions?
This exchange is from Gandhi (Olivia Coolidge, 1971) pp. 237-8
Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (Discussion with C. Rajagopalacharp, September 1, 1947) pp. 45,934-5