Gandhi Jayanti tribute: How Madurai played a key role in some big decisions of Gandhi

Madurai: Do you know that the most momentous action of Mahatma Gandhi in giving up his upper garment for the first time happened in the temple town of Madurai? Do you know K. Kamaraj first had a glimpse of Gandhi at Madurai? Do you know that large crowds came to listen to Gandhi whenever he was in Madurai in times of his discomfiture?

In the chequered political life of Mahatma Gandhi, Madurai has played a very vital role that it was inside Meenakshi Amman temple that he was seen overwhelmed by the aura of divinity. “Though Gandhi keep saying he did not believe in idol worship during his travel to Madurai, he was found in complete divinity after entering inside the temple on February 3, 1946,” says A. Ramswamy in his book Tamilnaatil Gandhi (Gandhi in Tamil Nadu) which recollects in details about his five visits to Madurai during the struggle for Indian Independence.

However, in his earlier visit during January 1934 as part of All India Harijin tour, Gandhi went only up to the doorway of the Meenakshi temple. He refused to enter inside the temple when senior Congress leader, late P. Kakkan informed that it was not possible to accompany him inside the temple because he was a Dalit, said K.R. Nanda Rao, Administrative officer, Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai.

“This had resulted in the launch of the temple entry movement led by A. Vaidyanatha Iyer and my father L. Krishnaswamy Bharati among others in Madurai,” said 91-year-old Lakshmikanth Bharathi, the freedom fighter and former Madurai collector.

Bharathi, who was 12-year-old then, got inspired by Gandhi’s simplicity when he visited the temple town. “When I accompanied my father during Gandhi’s village tour, we saw a group of women fighting to fetch water in the public tap. When the Congress workers went to stop them, Gandhi asked them not to do it. Instead he told us let them fight because at least it would embolden them to speak for themselves. Later, we can channel their energy for constructive work,” he recalls.

Gandhi made first visit to this temple city on March 26, 1919 to enroll volunteers for Satyagraha against the Rowlett Act passed in 1919. He stayed in the house of George Joseph located near the Albert Victor Bridge till March 28. “Gandhi was very strict in enrolling Satyagrahis. When a long-time Congress cadre Sangilya Palli, a businessman, met him and expressed his interest for the enrollment, Gandhi strictly told you should be read to sacrifice your life and shouldn’t show interest in money to be a volunteer,” said Nanda Rao.

On his second visit on September 21, 1921, Gandhi made a very significant decision in his political career. “He renounced his upper garment to identify himself with the common man,” said M P Gurusamy, secretary of the Museum.

It was on September 22 Gandhi addressed the weavers meeting in Madurai wearing only ‘dhoti’ which later become a popular symbol across the globe to highlight his commitment to the cause of the downtrodden people, he added.
When Gandhi campaigned for the boycott of foreign clothes, he asked the people to wear Khadi clothes. When people complained that Khadi is expensive and they couldn’t afford it, he advised them to wear coarser variety of clothes (if necessary towel) with satisfaction, said Ramswamy in the book. He visited Madurai in 1927 to raise funds for the Khadi programme.

Though thousands of people participated in the public meeting attended in Madurai during his visits, he was particularly annoyed by the unruliness of the crowd. “He expressed his resentment lying down on the stage without addressing the public during his last visit in February 1946,” said Bharathi.
However, the next day he issued a statement saying, “I behaved like an impatient child, I feel sorry for it,” recalled Bharathi.