Roy said the process could begin with renaming universities, a reference perhaps to Mahatma Gandhi University, one of Kerala's leading institutions, while delivering the Mahatma Ayyankali address — in memory of the state's renowned dalit leader — at the Kerala University.
Roy cited an essay by Gandhi in 1936 titled "The Ideal Bhangi", in which he advises manual scavengers to convert urine and night soil into manure as proof of his patronising attitude towards Harijans and how it helped reinforce caste hierarchies.
Refuting Roy, JM Rahim, coordinator for Centre for Gandhian Studies, drew attention to Gandhi's 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.
Mahatma Gandhi. (Getty Images photo)
"To quote Gandhi out of context and say he was casteist is not only superficial but also shows Roy hasn't 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.
Making a connection with BJP's "casteist" politics, Roy recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had said that balmikis (bhangis) have scavenged for centuries for society and are therefore now spiritually cleansed.
Arundhati Roy. (TOI file photo)
In her lecture, Roy also claimed that while in South Africa Gandhi had branded black prisoners "kafirs" who were uncivilized, liars and had no scruples. Dr MS John, professor and director of School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies at Mahatma Gandhi University, said it was a mistake to view Gandhi as someone who emerged fully formed.
Mahatma Gandhi with two of his grandaughters at Birla House in New Delhi in circa 1945. (Getty Images photo)
"The early Gandhi was not a radical personality. He evolved. The comment that he made about black prisoners was due to his own experience of threat of sodomy by inmates while he was jail," he said.
"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.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=The Ideal Bhangi,Schemes Named After Mahatma Gandhi,Mahatma Gandhi,Mahatma Ayyankali,Arundhati Roy Casteist Remark on Gandhi
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