Madness: When killing Gandhi is 'shaurya' and 'Godse' is unparliamentary

The Gandhi-Godse discourse has slipped into the usual binaries of good-evil once again. Parliament, which is meant to protect free speech, did not cover itself with glory when it decided that the use of the word “Godse” is “unparliamentary.” Since when is even discussion or talk about Gandhi’s assassin beyond the pale? If we can discuss Hafiz Saeed and the Maoists - for whom murder is par for the course - why is Godse out of bounds for parliament? But the Gandhi-good-Godse-bad binary is rivalled by the opposite in sections of the Sangh parivar. The Hindu Mahasabha, which suddenly seems to have crept out the woodwork, now wants to celebrate Gandhi’s death anniversary on 30 January as “shaurya diwas”. Nothing can be sicker than to valourise the killing of anyone even if you have some sympathy for what Godse stood for. [caption id=“attachment_2016419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mahatma Gandhi. GettyImages.[/caption] It does not take “shaurya” (bravery) to kill a public figure who took no pains whatsoever to ever protect himself from his ill-wishers. What requires courage is to take on the ideology of someone who you disagree with publicly and who is popular with the masses. You do so in the knowledge that you will be courting public outrage in the process. As I have argued before - probably unsuccessfully - that even if you consider Gandhi as god, it does not automatically make his killer evil. It is the “act” of killing that is evil, not Godse the human being who has his own strong views on issues and anger within him. I am sure Gandhi himself would agree with this statement, for he had famously said that you should hate the sin, not the sinner. This is why he did not valourise the terrorist acts of Bhagat Singh - courting endless unpopularity with the nation in the process. Going against the tide of national feeling showed Gandhi’s real courage. I personally believe Gandhi’s extreme pacifism under all circumstances is as close to evil as can be, but I do not deny him his right to believe so. As human beings, we may be ultimately wrong or ultimately right in our views. More likely, we will all be partly right or partly wrong in many situations. Which is one more reason to start moving away from the binaries of good and evil, whether it is Gandhi or Godse. Good sense needs us to rise above binaries and discuss anyone without blinkers. For good and evil reside in all human beings. For me, Godse is not an unparliamentary word, even if you use it for abuse, nor is 30 January a day for Gandhi’s detractors to be proud of.