인도의 독립과 마하트마 간디의 죽음: 종파적 갈등과 간디의 암살을 전후하여

Although it was believed that all sectarian conflicts would be solved with the secession of India and Pakistan, it led to revenge and a great number of casualties; such continues today. The reason why so many people revere and reminisce about Gandhi is that Gandhi’s message was true, back then and now. Gandhi, a 20thcentury icon of non-violence, was murdered by a 37 year-old Hindu fanatic, a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, Nathuram Godse. There was no one who pushed for India’s independence and a united India as much as Gandhi did. Though he devoted his life to the Indian National Congress and the independence movement, Gandhi in his late years was a burden to young politicians. The ideals of non-violence, forgiveness, love, brotherhood, and sacrifice that Gandhi upheld during a time of riots, murders, arson, and violence between the Hindus and the Muslims will forever be remembered. His comparison of people with different religions with “leaves of the same tree” is something this generation, facing many threats because of religious conflicts, must remember. Gandhi’s contemporary British leaders unanimously criticized Gandhi as ‘half-naked demagogue who knows no negotiation’. How would have Gandhi felt when he was called ‘senile’, ‘old and idiotic’, ‘cries from the wilderness’ by the political leaders of his time, even by his beloved successor Nehru?How are the political acts of Mountbatten, who wanted Gandhi, the national father of India, as India’s head of state, and those of Nehru, who was staunchly against it, to be understood?20thcentury India was indeed Mahatma Gandhi’s victory, and his name will forever be marked in history.