द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

CHAPTER VI
THE SLUMP (1925-27)
CONSIDERING the influence of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and
1922, the rise of the Swaraj Party must be regarded as some-
thing unaccountably remarkable. Though the leaders and
the rank and file of the Party had the highest respect for the
personality of the Mahatma, the Party was frankly an anti-
Gandhi Party and it was strong enough to force the Mahatma
to voluntary retirement from politics. This retirement con-
tinued virtually till the Calcutta Congress in December 1928.
Now what was the secret of the Swaraj Party’s success? To
understand that one must know more about the practical
shape which Gandhiism took, and as to how the mass mind
reacted to the personality of the Mahatma, during the period
1920-22.
Though Hindu society has never had an established
church like Europe, the mass of the people have been pro-
foundly susceptible to the influence of Avatars,¹ priests and
‘gurus.’² The spiritual man has always wielded the largest
influence in India and he is called a ‘Sant’ or ‘Mahatma’ or
‘Sadhu.’ For various reasons, Gandhiji came to be looked
upon by the mass of the people as a Mahatma before he
became the undisputed political leader of India. At the
Nagpur Congress in December 1920, Mr. M. A. Jinnah, who
was till then a Nationalist leader, addressed him as ‘Mr.
Gandhi’ and he was shouted down by thousands of people
who insisted that he should address him as ‘Mahatma
¹ According to many Hindus, God incarnates Himself from age to age in
order to save the good and destroy the wicked and in order to establish
the reign of Truth on earth. These incarnations are called Avatars. Ac-
cording to other Hindus, these Avatars are not divine incarnations but
human souls in the highest stage of development—that is, when they have
realised their oneness with Godhead. According to popular belief there
have been nine Avatars up till now—and the tenth is to come at the end of
the present wicked age.
² ‘Guru’ is a religious preceptor. In India only a truly spiritual man can
be a religious preceptor.
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