NETAJI --- MAN, MYSTERY AND MYTH ... 13
Nelson Mandela was initially an adherent of Gandhian methods but when Gandhism failed to make any change in the system of apartheid, he renounced it to become an extreme revolutionary for which he was arrested and kept in Robben Island for 27 years. That he was set free eventually had a lot to do with the emerging world political scenario post the demise of the Soviet Union and the freedom of Eastern European countries from the thraldom of communism. Thus, even in the case of Mandela, the non-violent non-cooperation method was a total failure. It has nowhere till date been a successful means of revolutionary regime replacement and consequent societal transformation.
The imperatives of realpolitik as existent and the fallacies inherent in the Gandhian system simply limit the efficacy of Gandhian methods to individual spiritual practice and mass awakening of sorts that falls well short of revolutionary requirements in the ultimate sense. They have thus far not been successful nor do they seem to be so in the foreseeable future in bringing about any resistance worth the while that can overthrow a barbaric but efficient system of governmental armed oppression aided by a modern military machine. So, it is one more myth that Mandela --- who was personally inspired by Gandhi to begin his movement but subsequently renounced it --- used Gandhian methods to free his people from the scourge of apartheid. @ Maj Gen Gagandeep Bakshi
Written by Sugata Bose
Nelson Mandela was initially an adherent of Gandhian methods but when Gandhism failed to make any change in the system of apartheid, he renounced it to become an extreme revolutionary for which he was arrested and kept in Robben Island for 27 years. That he was set free eventually had a lot to do with the emerging world political scenario post the demise of the Soviet Union and the freedom of Eastern European countries from the thraldom of communism. Thus, even in the case of Mandela, the non-violent non-cooperation method was a total failure. It has nowhere till date been a successful means of revolutionary regime replacement and consequent societal transformation.
The imperatives of realpolitik as existent and the fallacies inherent in the Gandhian system simply limit the efficacy of Gandhian methods to individual spiritual practice and mass awakening of sorts that falls well short of revolutionary requirements in the ultimate sense. They have thus far not been successful nor do they seem to be so in the foreseeable future in bringing about any resistance worth the while that can overthrow a barbaric but efficient system of governmental armed oppression aided by a modern military machine. So, it is one more myth that Mandela --- who was personally inspired by Gandhi to begin his movement but subsequently renounced it --- used Gandhian methods to free his people from the scourge of apartheid. @ Maj Gen Gagandeep Bakshi
Written by Sugata Bose
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