Explain why many scholars have written of the months after the independence as being Gandhiji’s ‘finest hours’.
There is no denying the fact that the months after the independence were Gandhiji’s ‘finest hours’. Its base is the struggle done by him for communal harmony. Gandhiji struggled so hard for independence and that independence was achieved with a very heavy price and the country was divided with independence. Hindus and Muslims wanted to kill each other. So Gandhiji called the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims of riot-hit areas of Calcutta (Bengal) to forget the past and built a spirit of mutual trust between them. He also called them to take oath of living in peace with each other. After establishing peace in Bengal, he went over to Delhi. From here he wanted to visit the riot-hit areas of Punjab. While in the capital, his meetings were disrupted by refugees who objected to readings from the Koran. Some shouted slogans asking why he did not speak of the sufferings of those Hindus and Sikhs still living in Pakistan.According to D.G. Tendulkar, “Gandhiji was equally concerned with the sufferings of the minority community in Pakistan. He wanted to go to their succor. But with what face could he now go there, when he could not guarantee full redress to the Muslims in Delhi?” The last result of Gandhiji’s struggle was his death on 30 January, 1948. It was his great sacrifice for the country.
