Arundhati Roys remark that Gandhi was casteist and the institutions named after him should be renamed shows the mediocrity of the intellectual discourse of our times. The so-called intellectuals are willing to speak any kind of nonsense to get cheap publicity and international awards.Gandhi knew the culture and roots of India in all its depth and it is unfortunate that Arundhati Roy has made this statement for cheap publicity, said poet and activist Sugathakumari. Refuting Roy, JM Rahim, coordinator for Centre for Gandhian Studies, drew attention to Gandhis autobiography My Experiments with Truth in which he narrates how he fought bitterly with his wife Kasturba as he wanted her to clean the latrine, refusing to allow a bhangi to do it. When his wife protested, he did the job himself, Rahim said. To quote Gandhi out of context and say he was casteist is not only superficial but also shows Roy hasnt understood his philosophy. In South Africa, for instance, a Tamil Dalit family afflicted with leprosy stayed in his ashram despite the objections of the inmates, Rahim said.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 04:33:04 +0000
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