Popularly revered as the ‘father of the nation’ by Indians or idolised as the defender of ‘ahimsa’ globally further re-christened as the ‘chatur baniya’ recently, he is the one who has names as many as his personas. A saturated view pressed against the cult of ahimsa was given away as a noted Indian politician recalled Mahatma Gandhi as a ‘chatur baniya’. The adroit merchant, translated literally, was more than just a pacifist prefix to his name. And this serves as a healthy reminder to explore and assimilate from the lesser celebrated side of the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.
Foundations of a Strategic Mind
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the Kathiawar region of Gujrat, which consisted of several princely states in some of which his father served as a Dewan. These states, with the exception of Junagadh, were Rajput dominions and well known for taking pride in their martial traditions. As the son of a Dewan, young Gandhi would have been well acquainted with such traditions, while participating in festivals like Dussehra where weapons were brought out and worshipped. On top of that, being a descendant of the Baniya community rendered him capable of adapting and changing his position to suit any changing circumstances. For this came naturally to anyone belonging to the mercantile classes, who have to adapt and adjust perpetually to stay afloat and ahead of the competition.
Attributed to this double delight, his individualistic values steered him to a ‘no-compromise’ stance when it came to national interests, as observed in the later years of his life. It is the very reason for the elevated status he enjoys in the national psyche today. With time however, Gandhiji’s understanding and warrant for a strong military to further these national interests got shrouded by the mainstream philosophy which coerced the common minds on Gandhian principles. It may even surprise some to know that MK Gandhi was a recipient of two wartime decorations- the Kaiser-e-Hind Medal and Mention in Dispatches at the battle of Spionkop. Contrary to popular belief, Gandhiji was eminently qualified to have an informed opinion about the military. He had experience of several wars and battles not only as an observer but as an active and willing participant.
On Matters Military
To understand Bapu’s views and philosophy particularly on matters military, one has to look at the social environment where he grew up and spent his years after completing his education in law from England. More than many other tangible facets, it is conspicuous to liken any military training regime with the social and mental ecosystem that an individual is subjected to. Weighted against such a simulated ecosystem, a veritable conflict torn surroundings is more likely to bring out a soldier and patriot persona determined to lead and fight for the common good. On the aforementioned pretext, reading the story of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would be an incomplete tale without a mention of the conflicts and military traditions that he was exposed to in the formative years of his life.
The Mahatma often seen in isolation with the common man was naturally a product of his milieu as much as you and I. A study of his response to the tendered challenges is what wrote him off as a chatur one amongst the baniyas.
When he moved to South Africa he came face to face with conflictual situations, where he had to take sides and be resolute in his decisions. In 1891 when he shifted base to South Africa, the country was in the middle of the Zulu Wars along with warlike situations with neighbouring Dutch and German colonies. Gandhi found himself in the middle of all these conflicts, made worse by internal racial discrimination and strife.
During the time he was in South Africa, the country was immersed in a number of wars starting from the Matabele War in 1893-94, Malaboch War in 1894, Ndebele War in 1896-97, the indelible Anglo-Boer War in 1899-1902, Bamatha Rebellion 1906, to the outbreak of the First World War. In addition to the above, he also kept himself informed of the events in China during the Boxer War and the fighting on the Afghan Frontier. In both places troops from Kathiawar had participated in the wars.
These wars gave Gandhi an opportunity to observe at close hand the power and functioning of a modern military. He learnt his lessons and put them to use when the time came. Amidst all this, he would especially adhere to Pincotts advice to him to “understand human nature”. In the Anglo-Boer clash, Gandhiji showed loyalty towards the colonists India shared with South Africa. This was a move that catered to agendas beyond winning the trust of the ruling empire back home.
He raised and lead an auxiliary ambulance corps of over a thousand Indians to support the British war effort during the Boer war, where he was deeply struck by heroism and readiness to die. He was so dazzled by the apparent dedication of the soldiers to duty and discipline, that the ugliness of war circumvented his attention. This also served as what he saw as an opportunity to rectify the general impression that “in time of danger the Indians would scuttle off like rabbits”. With an active participation at the Battles of Colenso, Spionkop and Vaalkranz, he resurrected the ambulance corps under the Red Cross Society in 1906 during the Bambatha Rebellion.
A Comrade in Arms
On both occasions he knew he was on morally shaky ground but he justified his actions by stating that for Indians to be granted citizenship in South Africa they had to support the British. The entire saga was also engineered around his non-violent struggle for the attainment of justice and dignity for his countrymen there. The specific reasons that he gave for his overt support to the British were:
The Dutch and the Germans were the most cruel and rapacious of the colonial powers. He put forward Kaiser Wilhelm’s speech to German troops at Bremhaven on the eve of their departure for China as an example of German inhumanity. The Kaiser said “When you come upon the enemy smite him. Pardon will not be given. Prisoners will not be taken. Whoever falls into your hands his life will be forfeit. May you make the name German remembered in China like Attila the Hun so that for a thousand years no Chinaman will ever squint at a German…. Every culture not based on Christianity must come to naught.”
The German army lived up to their Kaiser’s exhortations. When the town of Liangziang was captured the prisoners were tied together by their pony tails so that they could not escape, led out of the town and then shot. The practice by the European Armies of tying their Chinese prisoners by the pony tails seems to have been fairly common. Gandhiji was aware of the nature of the German colonial and military behaviour so he had no hesitation in supporting the British against the Germans and the Dutch and in exchange he hoped he would be able to get fair treatment for the Indian migrants in Africa and in the process the Indians would be able to get some military training.
After his success with the Boer War, Gandhiji urged the British to recruit Indians in the Military reserve forces which were employed in the suppression of the Bambatha Rebellion. He wrote, “If the Government only realised what reserve force is being wasted they would make use of it and give Indians a thorough training for actual warfare.” Notwithstanding his affinity for the native Africans, he tirelessly worked for the interests of the Indian community.
An Early Defender of the Indian Military Might
Gandhi returned to India during the First World War and wrote to the Viceroy Lord Chelmsford “We must give as we have decided to give ungrudging and unequivocal support to the Empire…. I was in charge of the Indian Ambulance Corps consisting of eleven hundred men during the Boer War was present at the Battles of Colenso, Spionkop and Vaalkranz and was mentioned in dispatches by General Buller. In the same letter he mentions of his contribution to the British War effort during the Zulu Wars. He perhaps mentioned about his role in the Zulu Wars in the hope that Lord Chelmsford would look at his letter favourably because the Viceroy’s father the Second Baron Chelmsford, was the British Commander In Chief during the Zulu Wars.
Gandhiji was hopeful that the participation in the war on the British side might win India ‘Swaraj’, within less time and effort. His real motives for supporting the British are revealed in a pamphlet titled Appeal for Recruitment “… to bring about such a state of things we should have the ability to defend ourselves that is the ability to bear arms and use them when we gain independence. If we have to learn the use of arms with the greatest dispatch it is our duty to enlist ourselves in the army.” This speaks volumes on Gandhiji’s espousal of a strong military.
He saw it as an opportunity which the Indians could not afford to slip. He proclaimed that Swaraj can not be attained unless Indians were made fit for it. With such an impetus, he aimed to lead the path from acquiring the art of self defence to the attainment of self-governance. Just how history instructs our paths today, Gandhiji would let his mission be guided by the fables of our ancestors, who knew the art of warfare, the art of killing and yet reduced the activity to a minimum and taught the world that it is better to refrain than to strike.
Till the end of his life Gandhiji did not change his stance on the need for a strong military and its use in defence of the nation’s freedom and its interests. Sometime in the mid 1920s he was visited by a group of Indian Officers led by Captain later General KS Thimayya who expressed a desire to resign their commissions as officers and join the freedom movement. Gandhi told them that they had to continue serving the British Indian Army for when Independence was achieved Independent India would need their services.
In the very last year of his life when Pakistan tried to invade Kashmir, Gandhiji’s tacit approval to involve and use the Indian Army raged controversies from all sides. He immediately sent for Brig LP Sen who had been appointed to take command of 161 Brigade responsible for the defence of Srinagar. Gandhiji told him that he had to use all means and the forces available to him to protect the freedom and rights of the people, as he demanded that nobody ever put up with injustice. There was no ambiguity about what he wanted and believed in, as he alluded Indian warriors to “Fight Square if You Must”.
It is beyond question that his experience from the past had acquainted him with the British military’s strength and resolve to protect their interests as well as the ruthlessness with which they could suppress a revolt. He did not want Indians to be subjected to a blood bath. Memories are short and people think of Concentration Camps as a German creation during the Second World War. The fact is that it was Kitchener when he was in command of British Forces in South Africa who established Concentration Camps for the Boers where the men along with women and children were herded. Tens of thousands perished in these camps. Kitchener was later to become the Commander in Chief in India. If the British could do this to their fellow Christians and Europeans, there can be no doubt what they could have done in India.
Contrary to the accepted credo of ‘Ahimsa’ – he insisted on a much altered understanding, which dictated that ‘one should have the ability in the fullest measure to strike and then perceive the inability of brute force and renounce power..’Gandhi’s views and respect for the military were no secret, it accorded due place to justice and responsibility. He always proclaimed that there was always an unwavering preference for resorting to arms than succumbing to cowardice. But after his death these were downplayed and gradually sent into oblivion, mostly by westerners and pacifists. We must draw our attention to this rationale. The answer lies in the fact that after the Second World War we had a battle hardened million strong army led by over twelve thousand officers, it was the only institution that was professionally qualified, homogenous and capable of undertaking any mission set for it.
The British appreciated and understood the strength of this army and its officer corps. Soon after the end of the Second World War the then Viceroy (a military man himself) Field Marshal Wavell wrote to the British Prime Minister that Indian Army could no longer be relied upon to support British rule in India. Its sympathies were entirely with the Independence Movement and there was no way with the troops available to it, that the British could hold on to India and therefore Independence must be granted as soon as possible. Gandhi’s contribution in building the Indian Military must be noted for besides his non- violent struggle, the sympathy and support of the Indian Military was a major factor in India gaining Independence in 1947. The Naval Mutiny and the mutiny in the Corps of Signals at Jabalpur sent a strong signal to the Brits.
Gandhiji true to his ‘ Varna Dharma’ which is that a businessman must always hedge his bets, had an alternate plan for India’s Independence and the plan was that should ‘Satyagraha’ not succeed he was prepared for a military solution. From his early days in South Africa to the end of the second world war, he had worked assiduously to help build India’s military potential.
Radhika Daga is a Research Consultant with Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security (MIPS), Myanmar. She contributes to the analysis on security and conflict dynamics in Myanmar. She has worked on a range of subjects critical to National Security and Strategy discourse. She was previously associated with the Vivekananda International Foundation(VIF) and Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA)
Very interesting and challenging views expressed In a beautiful manner.