Nonviolence 02 - Gandhiji Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon

20 January 1948

That morning
a bomb blasted near his prayer hall,
someone tried to kill him;
but Gandhiji continued his sermon undaunted.

Nehru, the new Prime Minister and
Patel, the Home Minister were worried.

Already violence marred
the new-found independence,
the nation cannot bear another catastrophe,
wanted everyone entering his prayer hall frisked.

But Gandhiji would not agree.
After much pressure from all
he agrees to some military presence
outside the house.

'Today Panditji and Sardar
have to take care of many things.
I should not be another cause of worry for them.
I believe Ram is my only protector,
so long as He needs me for work,
He will keep me; if He no longer needs me
He will take me away.

'But the rulers do not have faith in nonviolence,
they only believe in military guards;
with so much of violence around, it seems
I am the only one who believes in nonviolence.
for me it makes no difference
if the military and police stand guard or not;
Ram is my sole protector, the rest are all useless.'

Notes:
Nehru- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India
Patel- Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the Home Minister under Nehru
Panditji- Gandhiji used to refer to Nehru thus
Sardar- Patel
House- During these days, Gandhiji was staying in Birla House, New Delhi.