Before you 'Unfriend' Gandhi!

No body is completely good or bad. We all have some of the good and some of the bad in us. But then why do we fail to realise this when it comes to individuals from history? We either place them in the 'good people' category or 'bad people' category. This way history plays a role in forming ideas or at times prejudices with regards to some individuals. 

My generation grew up learning that Gandhi was one of the greatest individuals that world had. We almost considered him like God. But then we grew up and we began questioning on the concept of God itself. Some of us became atheists while some of us like me are still searching for the answers. Leaving that aside, as we grew up we began to listen to various versions about Gandhi. Some allegedly considered him as being responsible for partition of India while some justified his end. Whole lot of confusion! Is'nt it? 

I mean till your teens you almost worship an individual and suddenly realise that may be he is being over rated. This did happen, with me and many of my generation individuals. But then I thought if we all can make mistakes, why not Gandhi? After all he was also a human being. So why blame him for the things that we have actually not seen and create an extreme hatred?

And for that matter, who knows what actual history was. History books speak a lot but is everythung the truth? Who gives the testimony of that? So why judge past on merely few views we have heard or read?

I am not defending Gandhi or defaming history. Both have played a significant roles in the life we live today. We cannot detatch ourselves from the history but there is an utter need to re-read, re-understand and re-interpret the history before making out bold statements about individuals who have been honoured tilo now. Because everything that history speaks isnt a fiction. There is some truth, and there is a viewpoint. What my generation needs is the ability to differentiate between these two.

If Gandhi being responsible for partition, the reason why most of my gen extremists hate to love Gandhi is a truth or a viewpoint...then Gandhi was also a harbinger of non violence, clealiness, morality and all the goodness that we need for a peaceful life. History also tells that he was the man who fought the violence with non violence. I mean who in today's world has those guts? No matter how many versions we hear about this man, we cannot deny the fact that he did a lot of good. And he was also a human being so if at all he did something bad that needs to be reviewed. Let us stop having extreme views for it only stops us from speaking in a sane way.

History is funny but its a basis for the present and ofcourse the future too. So lets not ignore it. But lets also not completly trust it. Lets just consider them, History and Gandhi as our friends who can be a combination of everything. Maybe then we will be able to stop being extremists in our views. And when this stops, peace shall exist like an inseparable entity within us. And who wants war? All we want is peace! Don't we?