Governor Ravi's clarification came after a Congress protest condemning him for belittling Mahatma Gandhi's role in the freedom struggle.
Governor RN Ravi paying tributes to Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. (Rajbhavan_TN/ X)
With a controversy erupting over some of his Republic Day remarks, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said he didn’t disrespect Mahatma Gandhi while speaking on India’s Independence struggle and asserted that the Father of the Nation has been the guiding light of his life.
Some media reports sought to create “an erroneous impression” that he has been “disrespectful” to Mahatma Gandhi but nothing could be farther from the truth, he said on Saturday, 27 January.
“I did not mean any disrespect to Mahatma Gandhi, whose teachings have been the guiding light of my life,” a Raj Bhavan communique quoting Ravi said referring to his speech at the 127th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 23 January in Chennai.
“I hold Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, in the highest regard and his teachings have been the ideals of my life,” the Governor stated.
His clarification came in the wake of an agitation by the members of the state unit of the Congress in Chennai earlier in the day condemning the Governor for allegedly insulting the Mahatma and belittling his role in the freedom struggle.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief KS Alagiri, Su Thirunavukkarasar, MP, and Congress Legislative Party leader K Selvaperunthagai, were among those who participated in the protest near Raj Bhavan that was attended by some 1,000 party workers.
Condemning Governor Ravi for his remarks on Mahatma Gandhi, Alagiri said: “We (Congress) are not saying that Netaji is not involved in the freedom struggle. As you (RSS and BJP) have no leaders, you are fighting for our leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.
“You have nothing but a history of treachery. You cannot argue, fight and sacrifice with Mahatma Gandhi and win. Gandhi had principles, but RSS had nothing like that.”
In his clarification, Ravi said some media organisations “did cherry-pick” from the speech and “gave it a twist”.
Raj Bhavan Press Release No: 7 pic.twitter.com/txTFt9JOWY
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) January 27, 2024
“In my speech, I sought to elaborate on the point that Netaji’s significant contributions to our nation’s Independence has not been adequately appreciated. I tried to make a point that what accelerated the pace and process of Independence in 1947 were the revolts of the Royal Indian Navy and Air Force in February 1946 — both inspired by Netaji,” the Governor said.
Due to these revolts, the British panicked as they could no longer trust the Indians in uniform for their own safety and security in India.
Following the February revolts, in March the British publicly declared that they would leave India and constituted the Constituent Assembly to demonstrate their sincerity, assuage the feelings of the agitated Indians, and pre-empt potential revolts which could have had existential consequences for the British officers and their families in India, the Governor elaborated.
The Naval and Air Force revolts were greatly inspired by the revolutionary actions of Netaji, including the war of the Indian National Army against the British, he said.
The Quit India Movement of August 1942 that was led by Mahatma Gandhi, after initial success, had lost steam, Ravi contended.
Internecine conflicts in the national freedom movement due to the Muslim League’s vehement insistence on the partition of India and its reactions on the ground kept much of the efforts and energy of the Congress leaders on how to manage the internal conflicts, much to the delight of the British, said Ravi.
“The British could have ruled India for some more years but for Netaji’s armed revolution and its domino effect on the Indian military and security forces. What I have said are facts based on primary documents,” Ravi stated.
(With PTI Inputs)
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