Mahatma Gandhi’s “Ram-Rahim” Approach For Inter-Religious Amity / Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dab

Mahatma Gandhi’s “Ram-Rahim” Approach For Inter-Religious Amity

Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dab

Mahatma Gandhi, during his public career, advanced inter-religious cooperation. He found it is necessary because the core of religious teaching is love and kindness. According to Gandhi, “All religions teach that we should all live together in love and mutual kindness.” 1 Inter-religious collaboration can be instilled by promoting the observance of religious injunctions and by celebrating the festivals of different religions and through inter-religious prayer.

For Gandhi, inter-religious prayer became an instrument of inter-religious living and an antidote to bigotry. Thus, during the communal disturbances in Noakhali, Gandhi introduced congregational public prayer of a cosmopolitan character, in which all could join. He used it to inculcate bravery, which comes from a living faith in God, upon the victims of violence and to teach the lessons of tolerance, just dealing and brotherhood among the victims. “Congregational prayer”, said Gandhi, “is a means for establishing the essential human unity through common worship”.2

It must be kept in mind that inter-religious prayer must give equal reverence to all religions. To this end, Gandhi incorporated prayers and verses from various religions in his Ashram worship.

The use of various names of God in inter-religious worship caused some problems to Gandhi. Thus, some Muslims accused him for coupling the names of Rama and Krishna with Rahim and Karim. It was blasphemous and offended Muslim ears. This was a painful surprise for Gandhi. It betrayed intolerance and narrowness of mind. It was untrue that he was trying to corrupt Islam by coupling the Hindu incarnations of Rama and Krishna with the one God of Islam. He claimed to be a humble man of God. He had never invited, on principle, anybody to change his religion. His object was ever to make Muslims better Muslims, Hindus better Hindus, and Christians better Christians. His religion was not exclusive but expensive and all-inclusive. Rama, Allah and God were to him convertible terms.3

Gandhi also makes candid remarks about Rama which is quite relevant to the Ramjanambhoomi- Babri-Masjid controversy. Thus, it will be seen that Gandhiji did not consider Ram as man who was created or born at a particular place. Mahatma Gandhi, if he had been alive today, would not have approved of the entire Ramjanambhoomi controversy, much less of the demolition of Babri Masjid which was an act of vandalism.4

Mahatma Gandhi was totally opposed to breaking places of worships, temples or mosques, as retaliation. He was firmly opposed to any such idea. Thus, he writes in Young India dated 28th August 1924: “…the Hindus may not break mosques against temples ….Hindus will not defend their religion or the temples by seeking to destroy mosques, and thus proving themselves as fanatical as the fanatics who have been desecrating temples.”5

In fact, if Mahatma Gandhi’s version of extremely tolerant Hinduism had prevailed, it would not have resulted in the communal disaster the country faced after demolition of Babri Masjid at the instance of the VHP-BJP. In fact, what the VHP is propagating is what Gandhiji denounces as fanaticism. In matters of fanaticism, Gandhi spares neither Hindus nor Muslims.6

Thus, it will be seen that Mahatma Gandhi’s way of promoting communal harmony was to emphasise tolerance of other’s ways of believing and worshipping. It is true that communalists preach intolerance and hatred against people of other faiths and communities but there is more to communalism than mere hatred and intolerance. Above all, there is struggle for power and religion is used as a mobilizing force by the communalists. In order to create communal harmony this factor has to be taken into account.7

Many people today, specially those who have no faith in religion severely criticize Gandhi for his “Ram-Rahim” approach. Their secularism is quite indifferent, if not hostile, to religion. They consider Gandhi’s approach as facile and non-effective. They feel his approach has totally failed. Others feel that as long as we talk of Hindu-Muslim, we are not going to succeed. Separate identities should go and only ones Indianness or Bharatiyatta should be emphasized to forge true unity, and religion should be replaced by dharma as religion is divisive.8

While some people were trying to divide Hindus and Muslims to achieve their political goal, Gandhiji wanted to unite them for his political goal of realizing Indian freedom from the British imperialism. Moreover, tolerance is a fundamental value which is desirable at any time and is the very basis of democratic functioning.9

Thus, it will be seen that Gandhi’s “Ram-Rahim” approach was rooted in his socio-religious and socio-political context. Gandhi tried his best to achieve political unity between people of different faiths but he failed, not necessarily because of failure of his method, but more so on account of the political ambitions of the Hindu and Muslim elite.10

It is a strange irony of Indian scenario that when Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and others were trying their best to forge a political unity between Hindus and Muslims through tolerance, essential unity of religions etc. The secular elite in both the communities, while showing indifference to religion in personal life, used it most cynically to realize their political ambitions. Thus, Mahatma Gandhi’s failure was more on account of this so-called secular elite than because of his religious approach.11

However, it is true that “Ram-Rahim” approach may not work. We can not create communal harmony by talking of unity and national integration. Slogans, though necessary, can never be sufficient, unless backed by concrete action.

Notes and References

Pyarelal (1986), Mahatma Gandhi : The Birth of Satyagraha : From Petitioning to Passive Resistance, vol.3, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, p.356.

Harijan, 3 March 1946, p.26.

Pyarelal (1997), Mahatma Gandhi : The Last Phase, vol.9, Book2, Part-I, 2nd reprint, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, p.164.

The Hindu, September 22, 1997, p.11.

Young India, 28 August, 1924, pp.26-27.

K.S.Bharati (2000), Mahatma Gandhi : Man of the Millennium, S.Chand and Co. Ltd, New Delhi, p.152.

ibid., pp. 155-56.

Joy Kachappilly (2011), Gandhi And Truth : A Journey with The Mahatma for an Authentic Living, Bhabani Print and Publication, Guwahati, pp.290-91.

K.S.Bharati (2000), op.cit, p.157.

Joy Kachappilly (2011), op.cit, p.296.

K.S.Bharati (2000), op.cit, pp.157-58.

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Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dab