Happy Birthday Mr. Gandhi

Today is the birthday of the father of the nation. Gandhiji is probably one of the most maligned people in India. Now I know everyone respects him because we 'have' to. But do people really believe that what he did for the country was something worth respecting him for? Do people really think that he deserves the title of 'the father of the nation'? Do people really think he was 'Mahatma Gandhi'? I for one have heard him being called everything , from 'ganja buddha' (a guy in my school once reffered to him like that) to an extremist (my good friend AT calls him that). India is a free country and everyone has a right to freedom of speech, right? So they can say anything they want. But really, maligning a person who got us that freedom of speech, is criminal I'd say. Of course, I also know that had he been around, he would have accepted such talk with folded hands. Such was the greatness of the man. Such was his total belief in non-violence.

I respect Gandhiji for what he was and I hold him high in my thoughts because of what he did for our country. But it seems like our country has forgotten some of the basic things that he fought for. Anya talks about the abuse and opression of an innocent man. Nagaland Violence . The Gujrat violence. Graham Staines's gruesome murder. Ayodhya. Everything. What do you think he could have done had he been around? Could he have been able to fix the mess that we've gotten into? We wish, right.....