PRABHUDAS B. PATWARI

Governor of Tamilnadu

[Gopala Krishna Gokhale, founder of the Servants of India Society, was born on 9th May 1866 and died on 19th February 1915.]

On 19th February 1915, this illustrious son of India passed away. The nation’s profound sorrow found expression in these moving poetical lines of Sarojini Naidu:

“Heroic heart, lost hope of all our days!

Needs thou the homage of our love or praise?

Lo! Let the mournful mil1ions round the pyre

Kindle their souls with consecrated fire,

Caught from the brave torch fallen from thy hand,

To succour and to serve our stricken land,

And in a daily worship taught by thee,

Upbuild the temple of her unity.”

Thirty-two years after his death, India attained her freedom. It was not given to him to witness the historic scene of the Transfer of Power or hear of it, though he would have, from beyond, blessed our people.

For our part, we can never forget that it was on the foundation laid by leaders like Gokhale that the edifice of our freedom has been built, and we owe the fruits of freedom that we enjoy today, to them, to their toils and to their sacrifices. Generation after generation will remember Gokhale with gratitude–perhaps not in the present day style of spectacular and ostentatious celebrations, but with piety in their hearts.

The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi on the Indian political scene heralded a new era in our struggle for freedom. This of course, did not mark a break with the pre-Gandhian era which had been dominated by eminent stalwarts, but a continuation of the struggle towards the same goal, the difference lying only in the methods and approaches. The fire of freedom had been lit long ago by innumerable patriots, but Providence chose the Mahatma as the new instrument to take us on the road to freedom till we reached our goal. It is here we must pause, and study Gokhale and Gandhiji together.

1896 was the year when Gandhiji returned from South Africa and he started meeting many eminent leaders of that time. Immediately on meeting Gokhale, the camera clicked so powerfully that the first picture we got is still the best picture. Gandhiji fell in love with Gokhale at first sight. Gokhale became his political Guru; Gandhiji acknowledged it publicly and what tribute to Gokhale can be greater than this? This is how Gandhiji described the first meeting, in his inimitable style, from the depths of his heart: “It was meeting like an old friend or better still a mother after a long separation...My mother was not more solicitous about me than Gokhale...He seemed to me all I wanted as a political worker–pure of crystal, gentle as a lamb, brave as a lion and chivalrous to a fault…He was and remains for me the most perfect man on the political field.

More interesting than this is Gandhiji’s comparison of Gokhale with his other contemporaries – “Sir Pherozeshah had seemed to me like the Himalaya, the Lokamanya like the ocean. But Gokhale was as the Ganges. One could have a refreshing bath in the holy river. The Himalaya was unscalable, and one could not easily launch forth on the sea, but the Ganges invited one to its bosom. It was a joy to be on it with a boat and an oar.”

In studying Gokhale, we have to learn one basic lesson in public life. Training for leadership was important in those times and no one entered public life light-heartedly or without preparation as we witness today. It was an inspiring leader who made leaders out of men. The charismatic leadership of Gandhiji moulded and shaped many leaders. Similarly, Gokhale learnt his first lessons at the feet of Mahadev Govind Ranade of whom it is said: “There was no department of knowledge where he did not hold an eminent position. There was no public activity where he was not a leading light. There was no aspect of national welfare where he was not a devout worker.” Such was the great man under whom Gokhale had his initial training and such was the preparation with which Gokhale entered public life. What a distance separates us now from those days! Let us retrace our steps and realize the value of certain traditions which Gokhale had built up in public life which, he urged, should be spiritualised. It is for the people to answer the question as to whether we have now spiritualized public life or politicised public life or shattered public life to pieces by corruption, defection and selfishness.

Gokhale has become an important part of our history. His was a crowded life packed with public activities and praiseworthy achievements, though he died at the early age of 49.

He pleaded for universal elementary education. He did not believe in caste differences. He stood for complete communal harmony. He was a champion of the cause of the depressed and the oppressed, and he was an ardent social reformer. Above all, he was a true patriot and a selfless worker, imbued with a stern spirit of genuine service. When he founded the Servants of India Society, he set before it the high objective of training national missionaries for the service of motherland and the promotion, by all constitutional means, of the interests of the people without distinction of caste or creed. He did not stop with this alone, but laid down that those who joined the Society for training should remain for five years with him, during all that time, studying and travelling and working under trusted leaders, but never making themselves responsible either for a speech or for a newspaper article or for any publication. Young men, joining the Society, should take a vow of simple and pure life and in a purely missionary spirit, should devote their whole lives to the work assigned to them. The Servants of India Society deserves compliments for adhering to these principles.

This was his dream, in his own words: “I want our people to be in their own country what other people are in theirs. I want our men and women, without distinction of caste and creed, to have opportunities to grow to the full height of their stature, un-hampered by cramping and unnatural restrictions. I want India to take her proper place among the great nations of the world, politically, industrially, in religion, in literature, in science and in arts.”

Political freedom has given us all the opportunities to fulfil Gokhale’s dream in the fullest measure, but we require at all times, his spirit, his patriotism, and his spirit of service to translate ideals into realities. If we are to prove worthy of such a leader, let us have self-introspection and examine ourselves at every stage and overcome our drawbacks. If we fail, it will be a tragedy. Posterity will not excuse us if we do not discharge the responsibility to motherland in times of crisis. Let us strive to recapture the spirit of the Gokhale age and draw inspiration from the fountain of his life and work. This is the only way a grateful nation can collectively pay homage to him.

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