by Ramesh Kallidai
The muscle man is shown choking, kicking, beating and throwing Gandhi 21 times in an attempt to show how fighting can lead to strength and fitness. The distasteful story calls for “a healthy regimen of violent assaults” and urges readers to teach pacifists and Asians a lesson about aggression. The story urges readers to “ask Gandhi if he can see a change in your physique.”
Many American followers of Gandhi have lodged protests and are seeking a change in Maxim’s attitude.
“My first reaction is, ‘How stupid.’ My next reaction is, ‘How sad,’” said Michelle Naef, administrator of the M K Gandhi Institute in Memphis, Tenn. “How sad it is that they don’t understand how special a person he was.”
O
M
E
The Executive Editor, Michael Hodges claimed that the British edition had no control over what went into the American edition.
“I share the concerns of the British Hindu community. We always avoid anything that can be construed as racist or offensive especially since we live in a multi-cultural society,” he explained.
Expressing anger and dismay about the incident, Bipin Patel from the Hindu Council Brent said, “If a figurehead of non-violence is treated with violence, then surely something is seriously wrong here.”
“The outrage about this offence is immense in Britain,” claimed Dr Giridhari Bhan, President of VHP UK. “We hope that the magazine will think twice before publishing such material again.”
Dr Bhan felt that Mahatma Gandhi’s stature and achievements were beyond description. “On one side he was an apostle of non-violence, but he was never a pacifist as the magazine wrongly claims. Non-violence in itself was a positive action against imperialism and cruelty,” he continued. “To denigrate him through such cartoons can only reflect poorly on the author – it doesn’t take anything away from Mahatma Gandhi.”
Michael Hodges however did not sound convinced there was enough outrage in Britain to justify taking up this matter with his American colleagues. He refused to confirm if he would speak to them and said, “We have no control over what they do. If there is genuine outrage, we may communicate this to the US editors.”
If Dr Bhan’s outrage was not genuine, then what exactly is the real McCoy, Mr Hodges?
The Butt of the Holocaust
I had been invited as the Hindu representative to speak at Brent Council’s commemoration service for victims of the Holocaust and other forms of genocide on 26th January at Brent Town Hall. Speakers at the service included representatives from the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist faiths. There were two moving accounts from Holocaust survivors, Ben Helfgott and Gena Turgel, whose memories of the tortures and horrors at concentration camps were the highlight of the service.
“The ceremony aims to raise awareness of the events surrounding the holocaust and its continuing relevance to the world today,” said Brian McGavin, Press Officer for the Brent Council.
The Rev Robert Buckley who was the Christian speaker, sat next to me. He had an animated discussion with me on the future of the Anglican Church and the moral issues surrounding divorces and marriages. “The Anglican Church does not allow divorced couples to have church weddings,” he said. “And yet who would you rather have married in a Church – a man who was divorced twenty years ago after a hasty teen marriage or a couple who have never been married, but had three relationships and four children out of wedlock? According to present legislation it is the second couple who can have a church wedding.”
“Legislation can become quite ambiguous when it tries to deal with spiritual matters,” I said, and he nodded curtly.
Councillor Ann John, famous for her role in denying car park access to the Neasden Swaminarayan Temple rounded off by saying, “We should be intolerant of intolerance!”
I thought that was a blatantly ironical statement coming from her – if only she had been more tolerant to the minority communities in her own Borough, her statement would have carried more weight.
Students from Copeland School performed an excellent rendering of a tune from Schindlers List, while other pupils from the JFS read out thought-provoking poems. The ceremony ended with a striking prayer in Hebrew by Rev Anthony Wolfson, followed by a minute’s silence. Kudos to the office of the Chief Executive of Brent Council for their excellent organizational skills and appropriate content of the memorial service.
The award for the most embarrassing speaker however must definitely go to the Mayor of Brent, Abdul Sattar Butt. I was not at all sure how the Mayor’s surname was spelt, but Brian McGavin, the Press Officer assured me that this spelling (that reminds one of anatomical underworlds) was indeed the correct spelling.
The Mayor shuffled on to the stage, peered down hurriedly at a sheet of paper, gasped for breath, looked nervously out at the audience, quickly lowered his gaze as if he had just seen Godzilla, and gave the opening speech in a contrite and tense voice, that very few could understand.
To add humour to embarrassment, the Mayor continued to stand on stage after his speech, and refused to come down. Students from different schools went up to light candles, as the visibly confused Mayor continued to watch them, shifting uneasily in utter confusion. I had a feeling he thought he was meant to light the candles too, but was left feeling a bit lost since no one handed him a match. After the final student had lit the last candle and exited the stage, the Mayor still continued to stand there, shuffling from one foot to the other. With one final glance at the Master of Ceremonies, he descended the steps in a great hurry.
However cash strapped Brent Council may be, it seriously needs to invest in public speaking lessons for its Mayor.