THE OTHER SIDE OF GANDHI

If Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Rajmohan Gandhi is to be believed his grandfather had a romantic relationship with a Bengali woman, Rabindranath Tagore’s niece, that at one time even threatened his marriage. This revelation has been made by him in his book Mohandas:A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire. The lady in question, Sarladevi, was a married woman, 47 years of age, having a teenage son. Her husband, Rambhuj Dutt Chaudhri, was an Arya Samajist who belonged to Lahore. The affair was at its peak between January and May 1920, and raised many eyebrows. Gandhi’s son Devdas and some others including C R Rajgopalachari, questioned this relationship and asked him to consider its consequences.

Gandhi finally terminated the affair with a letter to the lady saying, “I have been analysing my love for you. I have reached a definition of spiritual(marriage). It is a partnership between two persons of the opposite sex where the physical is totally absent. It is therefore possible between brother and sister, father and daughter. It is possible only between two brahmacharis in thought , word and deed….

“Have we that exquisite purity, that perfect coincidence, that perfect merging, that identity of ideals, the self-forgetfulness, that fixity of purpose, that trustfulness? For me I can answer plainly that it is only an aspiration. I am unworthy of that companionship with you…”

It is surprising that Gandhi has not mentioned this episode of his life in his autobiography which was published in 1927. In his exceptionally frank autobiography ‘My Experiments With Truth’, the Mahatma has even spoken about his visit to a prostitute and his ill-treatment at her hands. In the chapter ‘A Tragedy’ he mentions the incident: “My friend once took me to a brothel. He sent me in with necessary instructions. It was all prearranged.The bill had already been paid. I went into the jaws of sin, but God in His infinite mercy protected me against myself. I was almost struck blind and dumb in this den of vice. I sat near the woman on her bed, but I was tongue-tied. She naturally lost patience with me, and showed me the door, with abuses and insults. I then felt as though my manhood had been injured, and wished to sink into the ground for shame.”

Charges of immorality had been leveled against Gandhi by a paper devoted to ‘the organization of Hindus’. Initially he ignored these charges but later repudiated these in his journal, ‘The Harijan’ of November 4, 1939. According to Gandhi his vilification began with his active campaign against untouchability. He wrote: “Some Sanatanists who used to help me and befriend me broke with me and began a campaign of vilification. Later, a very high placed Englishman joined the chorus. He picked out my freedom with women and showed up my ‘saintliness’ as sinfulness. In this chorus there were also one or two well-known Indians.”

He further said: “If I were sexually attracted towards women, I have courage enough, even at this time of life, to become a polygamist. I do not believe in free love---- secret or open. Free love I have looked upon as dog’s love. Secret love is besides cowardly.”

Ultimately the Mahatma prevailed over his critics who were trying to blacken his name.

(The above photograph is of Sarladevi)