Evening star., 1948-02-03
The Muhusubu

Gandhi's assassination by fellow
Hindu fanatically opposed to his pacific
teachings, and the discovery that the
assassin is connected with militant Hindu
elements planning war on the Moslems
and a revolutionary seizure of power for
reactionary ends, are ominous portents
They reveal, as though by baleful light
ming flash, the depths of hatred and
fanaticism which ,underlie Indian society.
The profound gulf between Hindu and
Moslem is the grim obstacle which bars
the way to constructive national evolu-
ton. 1t has existed ever since the first
Mohammedan invaders entered India from
the northwest almost a thousand years
ago. They found there land with an
ancient civilization and religion which
pervaded every aspect of life for It's
votaries To the western, as to the Mo-
hammedan mind, Hinduism, with its
pantheon of gods, its all-powerful Brahmin
priesthood, and its oppressive caste system,
is alike incomprehensible and repellent.
Yet Hinduisms hold is tenacious. 1t sue
ceeded in obliterating within India the
great reform movement launched by
Gautama Buddha in Brahminic counter
reformation, although Buddhism converted
most of Eastern Asia.
To the Moslem, Hinduism is peculiarly
anathema, because 1t Is rank 1dolatry,
abhorred by the Prophet Mohammed But
to the pious Hindu, all India is holy ground
which must be cleanSed of those who deny
and oppose his religion and way of life.
To the Hindu, Islam is deadly threat
because it also opposes the caste system
with its doctrine that "all believers are
brothers" That is the reason why Islam
has made such progress in India, most OF
the Indian Moslems today being descended,
not from the original conquerors but from
converts from Hinduism.
The tide of Moslem conquest reached
its peak in the sixteenth century, when 1t
subjected most of India to the MoSlem
Mogul Empire But the Mogul dynasty
presently petered out, and its weakness
encouraged a militant Hindu reaction.
The upshot was a chaos of warning prin-
cipalities, Moslem and Hindu. And this
chaos gave the British their chance to
dominate India.
The British held the ring fairly between
Hindu and Moslem, imposing peace and
order But the nationalist movement
which arose at the close of the last
century was, from the first, predominantly
Hindu and was aimed, not only at the
British but at the Moslems as well. The
extreme nationalist slogan was: Back to
the Vedas!"-back to the traditional Hindu
India before the Moslem came. And this
naturally excited the fanaticiSm of the
Moslems, who regarded themselves as the
lords of the land and dreamed revival of
the Mogul Empire.
Into this deepening atmosphere of
mutual hatred and fanaticism came
Gandhi with his doctrine of peace and
brotherhood. But such teachings were
anathema to the Hindu fanatics who
wanted to restore their ancient theocratic
society. This was especially true of the
| Brahmins who saw their ascendancy
threatened by Gandhis efforts to relax the
caste system. 1t is instructive to note that
| Gandhi was not BralAnin but a man
/ from middle caste, while his assassin Is
Brahmin of the purest water.
The anti-Gandhi elements crystallized
around a number of semisecret societies. of
which the best known is the Mahasaba,
though there are others even more mill
tant and terroristic In character. But they