(And the Misrepresentation of Gandhi to Spread Misinformation and Criminalize Liberation Movements )
-- Rory Dubhdara Radio Rebel Gael
-- Rory Dubhdara Radio Rebel Gael
What really disgusts me these days, is when I hear all this hyprocrisy, spewing forth from the mouths of the same individuals who on the one hand, talk about how Gandhi is their hero, and then condemn the national liberation struggles of the Irish, the Basque, and the Palestinians, and ironically, espouse their uncondiitional support of the global terror campaigns of Britain and the USA.
The worst form of this hypocrisy, is when I hear those who support the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, the Basque country and Ireland, claiming that it's "necessary to fight terrorism" and talk out of the other side of their mouths about how "Gandhi is my hero" and how supposedly, Gandhi would have "never supported the IRA or the Intifada"
But a careful study of Gandhi and the Indian nationalist movement, shows that not only was Gandhi an IRA sympathizer (as were many of his comrades in the Indian nationalist movement) but you will discover two undeniable facts :
Gandhi was an IRA sympathizer who like many of his fellow Indian nationalists, was inspired by men like Terence MacSwiney, whose hunger strike left an indelible impression on Gandhi and his compatriots :
"MacSwiney's life and work had a particular impact in India. Jawaharlal Nehru took inspiration from MacSwiney's example and writings, and Mahatma Gandhi counted him among his influences.[1][2] Principles of Freedom was translated into various Indian languages including Telugu. Another Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh was an admirer of Terence MacSwiney and wrote about him in his memoirs. While in prison during his trial he went on hunger strike to protest the conditions in which Indian revolutionaries were being kept. Bhagat Singh, in his interview with the Tribune newspaper mentioned MacSwiney as one of his inspirations. When Bhagat Singh's father petitioned the British government to pardon his son, Bhagat Singh quoted Terence MacSwiney and said "I am confident that my death will do more to smash the British Empire than my release" and told his father to withdraw the petition. He was executed on 23 March 1931, with two of his comrades, Rajguru and Sukhdev, for killing a British officer."
Sources :
1] Suruchi Thapar-Björkert, Louise Ryan. "Mother India/mother Ireland: Comparative gendered dialogues of colonialism and nationalism in the early 20th century". Women's Studies International Forum.
2]Máire MacSwiney Brugha (2006). History's Daughter: Memoir from the only child of Terence MacSwiney". O'Brien Press. 25 October 1920. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
Secondly, Gandhi had a very large segment of Indian nationalist comrades, who were not pacifists, many of whom were involved in guerrilla campaigns, in many cases, very similar to those campaigns used by the I.R.A. to oust the British occupiers.
And all this propaganda about "terrorism" here is ironic. Ironic because amongst all this talk of "terrorism", rarely is a word said about the global campaigns of terror by the British (and the Americans) on every country and region they've occupied.
Ignorance always disgusts me, but there is nothing worse than hypocrisy. Britain used terror on every continent they occupied, from China to India to Africa to South America to Australia to Jamaica to New Zealand to North America, and attempted to wipe out the indigenous culture and the indigenous population of very country they've occupied, and continue to do so, with the help of the U.S. military in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
For those who who would like to read up on the terrorism perpetrated by Great Britain, far from a "civiliser" or "friend of a democracy", but a terrorist and murder machine in every nation and region that the British Armed Forces occupied, I highly recommend, Harvard Professor Caroline Elkins, "Britain's Gulag : The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya" where you can see that many of the same atrocities committed against the Irish were committed against the Kenyans. Education should always be a guide towards the truth and educators should encourage their students to question authority, question the official story on any event, and not be an intellectual coward, afraid to check sources, and truly investigate and research all segments of history. If only we had more teachers like Caroline Elkins.
