Ahmedabad: Economist and professor emeritus
at London School of Economics, Lord Meghnad Desai on Friday
questioned Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence in view
of his endorsement of the Bhagvad Gita.
Desai said he was puzzled as to why the apostle of
non-violence seemed to condone violence by endorsing Bhagvad
Gita, and by admiring Adolf Hitler.
Desai was speaking on 'Gandhiji's views on violence', as
a part of the 12th Prof Ramlal Parikh Memorial Lecture,
organised by Indian Society for Community Education
"I chose the topic as I want to raise some questions with
regard to Gandhiji's views on violence. I am going to raise
two separate issues...," Desai said.
"First is Gandhiji's endorsement of Bhagvad Gita, whose
end outcome is that ultimately everybody should go out and
kill everybody. Mahabharata war, if taken literally, was
similar to a holocaust," he said.
The second issue was Gandhiji's attitude to Hitler, which
was beyond belief as it came from a man who practised
non-violence, Desai said.
"Gandhiji has admired Hitler and termed him as an
unclouded intellectual with no vices, clean character, a
non-vegetarian. How could someone of Gandhiji's intellect make
mistake on Hitler? How could food and drink habits could be
mistaken for virtues?"
"I am arguing that Gandhiji's defence of Gita and Hitler
are puzzling as they both seem to endorse gross macro acts of
violence. Why does the apostle of non-violence, on two
separate issues, seems to condone gross acts of violence?"
Desai said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 07, 2012, 00:58