美国国家公共电台 NPR Gandhi Is Deeply Revered, But His Attitudes On Race And Sex Are Under Scrutiny

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Mohandas Gandhi was born 150 years ago today. His civil disobedience campaign helped India free itself from British colonial rule. And civil rights leaders around the world ended up taking cues from Gandhi. But in 2019, some of his habits and his teachings are being scrutinized¹. NPR's Lauren Frayer has the story.

USHA THAKKAR: His mattress², his writing table, his footwear.

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE³: Usha Thakkar runs a Gandhi museum in a Mumbai villa⁴ where the Mahatma, the great soul, stayed in the 1920s. Here is where he taught followers⁶ to spin their own fabric⁷. And he launched Satyagraha, his movement for truth and nonviolent resistance. After Gandhi died and this house became a museum, it got a special visitor Thakkar recalls, a fellow freedom campaigner from the United States.

THAKKAR: Martin Luther King was here, 1959. Of course, he was booked in a very good hotel. But he said I'm not going anywhere else. I'm going to stay here.

FRAYER: To sleep here.

THAKKAR: Yes. And they didn't know what to do.

FRAYER: Curators scrambled⁸ to haul two cots into Gandhi's bedroom for the civil rights leader and his wife, Coretta Scott King. Afterward⁹, King announced he was adopting Gandhi's doctrine¹⁰ as his own.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent¹¹ weapon available.

FRAYER: But now, six decades later, black Africans are rejecting Gandhi.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been removed from a university campus in Ghana.

FRAYER: Activists¹² in Ghana and Malawi are angry about his early writings. In 1903 when Gandhi was in South Africa, he wrote that white people there should be the predominating race. He also said black people are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals.

RAMACHANDRA GUHA: Gandhi was a racist¹³.

FRAYER: Ramachandra Guha is Gandhi's biographer.

GUHA: He thought in his 20s that Europeans were the most civilised, Indians were almost as civilized¹⁴ and Africans were uncivilized. However, he outgrew¹⁵ his racism¹⁶ quite decisively, and for most of his life as a public figure, he was an anti-racist talking for an end to discrimination of all kinds.

FRAYER: Including gender¹⁷ discrimination. Gandhi championed women in politics, but he was also obsessed¹⁸ with his own celibacy¹⁹. In his late 70s, he slept naked with his grandniece when she was in her late teens. He said he wanted to test his willpower. Nowadays, we would call that abuse. Gandhi was all too human to be a saint, India's first prime minister famously said. But the mahatma is treated as a saint here, as the father of the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Oh, father of our nation, you made a sensation when you got us independence without any violence

FRAYER: Nine-year-olds recite Gandhi rhymes at a poetry slam in Mumbai. Gandhi's face is on Indian currency. His portrait hangs in government offices.

SAILAJA GULLAPALLI: So you can see the footprints now. This is exactly the spot where he was assassinated²⁰.

FRAYER: The garden in New Delhi where Gandhi was shot dead in January 1948 - just months after India's independence - is now a memorial. Sailaja Gullapalli gives tours.

GULLAPALLI: When people come here, they get highly emotional. Some of them have tears in their eyes and go back with a very heavy heart.

FRAYER: The man who shot Gandhi was a follower⁵ of Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. He wanted India to be a Hindu country, says Yogesh Kamdar, whose parents were freedom fighters alongside Gandhi.

YOGESH KAMDAR: The Hindutva type of, you know, ideology²¹ considered him to be an enemy because he was talking of secularism²³ and not of Hinduism.

FRAYER: Gandhi's vision won out, and India became a secular²² country. But some Hindu nationalists still don't accept that. And some extremists actually celebrate Gandhi's murder.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Shouting in foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Shouting in foreign language).

FRAYER: Members of a far-right Hindu group shot and burned Gandhi's effigy²⁴ on his death anniversary this year. In May, a parliamentary candidate from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mainstream²⁵ party called Gandhi's assassin a patriot²⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRAGYA THAKUR: (Speaking Hindi).

FRAYER: That shocked the country. Pragya Thakur was forced to apologize but nevertheless won her election. She is an outlier, though. Most Indian politicians admire Gandhi. Kamdar, the son of Indian freedom fighters, says even those who don't still have to tread carefully.

KAMDAR: You know, very grudgingly²⁷, though, and maybe as a part of strategy. They also adopted Gandhi as an icon²⁸. They had to, rather. Otherwise it is very difficult to survive politically.

FRAYER: Prime Minister Modi is headlining events for Gandhi's 150th birthday. The Mahatma's signature round spectacles are the logo for Modi's Clean India campaign - something Gandhi inspired. On weekends in Delhi, crowds pay their respects at the spot where Gandhi was cremated²⁹. Among them is Harsh Parikh (ph), age 17. He and his friends debate the freedom leader's tactics.

HARSH PARIKH: When someone says, like, oh, he was great, there's always some criticism. Like, no, he could have got us freedom way before and all that.

FRAYER: What Harsh and his friends are discussing is at the very heart of Gandhian philosophy, says biographer Guha.

GUHA: His absolute insistence³⁰ on nonviolence, which young men see as pussyfooted and weak-kneed and, dare I say it, feminine and hence not macho enough.

FRAYER: Gandhi's restraint can look naive³¹ to countries struggling to confront terrorism; so can some of his other ideas in today's booming globalized India, like his swadeshi movement, emphasizing small-scale local industries.

(SOUNDBITE OF WHEEL SPINNING)

FRAYER: A 76-year-old man sits with a spinning wheel at the other Gandhi memorial across town. There are so many across India.

Why do you come here? Why do you do this?

MUSADDILAL GUPTA: (Laughter) Because I'm very much impressed with Gandhi and his work. As a tribute to him, every Friday I come here.

FRAYER: Musaddilal Gupta (ph) is a retired³² civil servant who escapes here for an hour a week to spin his own thread as Gandhi taught.

GUPTA: His principle are so strong. You may or may not accept it. But the day will come when (speaking Hindi).

FRAYER: "The day will come when this palace of cards will fall," he says, "and Gandhian principles will remain." Lauren Frayer, NPR News, New Delhi.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEEPAK RAM'S "MOM")

1 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

2 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

5 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

8 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

10 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

11 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

14 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

15 outgrew   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She outgrew the company she worked for and found a better job somewhere else. 她进步很快，不再满足于她所在工作的公司，于是又在别处找到一份更好的工作。
• It'soon outgrew Carthage and became the largest city of the western world. 它很快取代了迦太基成为西方的第一大城市。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

16 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

17 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

18 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

19 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

20 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

21 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

22 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

23 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

24 effigy   

n.肖像

参考例句：

• There the effigy stands,and stares from age to age across the changing ocean.雕像依然耸立在那儿，千秋万载地凝视着那变幻无常的大海。
• The deposed dictator was burned in effigy by the crowd.群众焚烧退位独裁者的模拟像。

25 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

26 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

27 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

28 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

29 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

30 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

31 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

32 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。