30 January 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi was Assassinated

Tribute to Gandhi

His Excellency’s Broadcast talk on the 12^th February 1948 from the All-India Radio on the “Immersion ceremony”.

    The bird escaped at 5 p.m. on Friday, the 30^th January. The body remained with us and the lingering smile on the face kept the illusion going for some time. But on Saturday, the 31^st of January, on the banks of Jumna we consigned the body of our beloved leader to the flames in accordance with the wisdom of our ancestors. Then we scraped together all that was left behind. Devotion made us see Bapu in the ashes and the orphaned people fondly held on to the thought. But the solemn wisdom of our ancestors again called us to consign the ashes to the elements and turn our thoughts to God. So we have entrusted the ashes to Holy Ganga and prayed. And we are returning home with heavy hearts feeling a void all around. May our thoughts every day at the hour when Bapu fell turn to him, our beloved teacher, our ajatasatru, our Satyadharmaparakramah who to countless millions was an unfailing physician, who removed fear and ever thought and sought to increase love.

            … Let us every day thus spend a couple of minutes at that hour in the evening in silence and prayer for universal goodwill in India. Even our grief tends to find solace and shape in anger and violence. Eternal must be our vigilance against this original sin which poisons our natures. Suppression and State-coercion cannot be avoided in this imperfect world. But let us clearly and once for all realise that goodwill cannot be achieved except by goodwill. Evil cannot be overcome except in the way that our beloved leader taught. There is much war-like talk about peace and much belligerent demand for goodwill. …. May we remember the wisdom of love which our departed leader has left us for an inheritance – his teaching and the memory of the life he lived.

            Do not demand love. Love is never obtained that way. Begin to love and you will be loved. Increase your love and more love will be induced and will flow towards you. This is the law and no statute or logic can alter this. …. But if we do not follow the law as taught by him and let the law die with the teacher….

            May I take this opportunity to thank all those who worked so hard and enabled the immersion ceremony to be performed with due solemnity and in a befitting way. I am grateful to the men and women who though numbering so many lakhs co-operated so admirably in maintaining order and solemnity. I thank those who kept the essential services and the buses and trams running in spite of the sacrifice involved which was great. They deserve the thanks of us all.

Vayur anilam amrtamathedam

bhasmantam sariram

Om Krato smara Krtam Smara

Krato smara krtam Smara.

Source: C.Rajagopalachari Papers (V Inst.),MSS, NMML