Gandhi's First Action

ritz_k · 2011-11-18T02:11:32+00:00

According to 'Penn and Teller - Bullshit' Series 3 Episode 5 - 'Holier Than Thou', in South Africa Gandhi was not campaigning for equality, he was campaigning for Indians to be seen more like whites and not like blacks, whom he considered to be indolent, lazy, etc.

By this standard it's not so much irony as being true to form.

sule21 · 2011-11-18T06:42:50+00:00

For all intents and purposes, I consider Gandhi an idealist whose goals for the Indian subcontinent, while noble in one way, would have been a clusterfuck of major proportions, if he had his way. The inevitable breakup of India into India and Pakistan was a necessary action to maintain lasting peace, and IMO, had the country remained a single entity, would have been constant civil war between Muslims and Hindus. IMO, I consider Gandhi to be the idealist, and Jinnah to be the realist. Despite the subsequent wars and persistent political conflict between the two nations, separation probably led to greater everlasting peace than had Muslims and Hindus remained together. And even though India still has the largest Muslim population in the world, the smaller Muslim population in India has led to a general pacifism between the peoples.

And while I know the separation led to hundreds of thousands, and likely even more people dying in the process, the idea that such riots likely could have continued for over 50 years would have been a horrible future for any country.

I use the analogy of bandaid removal for the partition, where you could either have a brief period of great violence and rioting, and in the process form a more everlasting peace, versus a slow rip that where continued violence and likely political instability would lead to partition, but much later, and even bloodier.

And it's for that reason why i think Gandhi had an idealism that was sort of noble in intent, but lacking in the practical reality of the situation. And it's why I consider Jinnah to one of the great world leaders of the 20th century...a visionary that saw partition as a necessity for longer-lasting peace.

Title	Gandhi's First Action
Author	mikesteane
Upvotes	4
Comments	3
Date	November 18, 2011 12:29 AM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/mgbpw/gandhis_first_action/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/gandhis-first-action.1031570 https://theredarchive.com/post/1031570

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