Mahatma Gandhi (A Play)

Shri Premshahkar Trivedi was born in a religious and traditional Brahmin family in Rajkot on 22nd March 1905. Being an only child, he received good education. After primary and secondary education in Rajkot, he graduated from Behead in College, Junagadh. He came to Bombay for his Post Graduation Course. He wrote a thesis on “Drink Problems and liquor control in India”. His European examiners appreciated it and gave him first-class in M.A. In 1932 he completed his L.L.B and Bar-Council examinations in Bombay and started legal practice in Rajkot. He served as civil Judge in Valla (Vallbhipul) a small State in Saurashtra and in several places in Gujarat as a Judicial Magistrate. Finally in Ahmedabad he was Civil Judge and Judicial first class magistrate.

He was deeply interested in women’s-education and educated his daughters arid made them self-reliant.

He was proficient in many languages like Gujarati---English-Hindi-Sanskrit and Marathi. He was a regular reader of Penguin and Pelican Series Published from America. He was regular member of British Council library in Bombay.

His nature was simple, honest, frank arid truthful. He was a man of principles.

In these days people believing Gandhiji’s principles and his ideals are dwindling. It has become difficult for a common-man to understand and follow this world-wide personality, though he was most understood and praised by him in His Era. The faith and confidence of this common-man was the dynamic force that inspired the life of Gandhiji. It is difficult to complete this great work in one book. Shri Premshankar Trivedi died on 24th July 1986 at Rajkot. His desire to publish this book during his lifetime remained unfulfilled.

We have great pleasure and deep satisfaction in publishing this book as a tribute on our Father’s 15th death Anniversary which was observed on 24th July 2001. Our Father has written this book in the form of a drama with three acts and twenty five scenes. This play is written in simple language and the book is concerned with life and acts of Mahatma. We hope that this will appeal to readers.

This play was written for a competition for authors organized by “Illinois University” of U.S.A., on 2nd October 1969 on International level.

In these days people believing Gandhiji’s principles and his ideals are dwindling. It has become difficult for a common man to understand and follow this world-wide personality; though he was most understood and praised by the common- man of his era. Faith and confidence in Gandhiji by the common-man at that time was the dynamic force that moved people from all walks of life. To complete this great work in one book is an uphill task and for that purpose our beloved father Shri Premshankar Trivedi studied Mahatmaji’s literary works in detail and made an attempt to show Gandhiji’s influence to society historically and educationally.

We are thankful to Pacoima Bhushan Shri S. Ramakrishnanji for his illuminating Preface and to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, for publishing this play under its Book University Series.

This book is dedicated to our beloved mother Mrs. Mutagens P. Trivedi.

“Hatred ever kills. Love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality, for it increases hatred.

“Do not return madness with madness, but return madness with sanity and the whole situation will be yours.”

The man who spoke and lived these words is no more with us. In fact, half a century has rolled by since that “Apostle of Ahimsa” fell to an assassin’s bullet—on January 30, 1948.

In the post-Gandhi an era, the perennial parade of flag-flaunting, slogan-shouting and stone-heaving marchers has almost become a daily phenomenon in all parts of our mother-land—the birthplace of soul-force and quiet battle.

Yet today this is precisely what is happening. The already polluted atmosphere is being further polluted by the unending ferocious waves of violence and hatred.

Industrialization is to usher in an era of affluence and happiness. It is a means to an end; not an end in itself. Unfortunately in apparent eagerness to raise the people’s standard of living, some politicians are taking steps to raise their standard of lf’.

The professed goal of all our political parties should be to achieve an egalitarian social order in which gross disproportions of power, whether economic, social or political, do not exist. If we aim at a society where institutions and habit patterns are democratic, the means employed must themselves not generate the contrary spirit. As the New Testament points out, one cannot expect to gather figs from a thistle tree.

One of the greatest virtues of Mahatma Gandhi was keeping personal friendship alive, amidst acute differences on public affairs. He was never tired of repeating that it is not given to any two people to agree on all points. He never personally ran down anyone; he never spoke or wrote disparagingly about any person; he never impugned the motive or questioned the integrity of those who did not agree with him.

The Bhavan has the privilege of publishing more than 80 books on our beloved Bapu—the Saint-father of our Nation. Many of them have undergone several reprints and more than a million copies have been sold.

It was Shri P. H. Bhatt and his Sahadharmacharini Smt. Bhanubehn Bhatt who took initiative to see this unique, scintillating play on Mahatma authored by the devoted Gandhian Shri Prem shankar Trivedi, published. The Bhavan is beholden to all of Shri Trivedi’s family members to fulfill his wish to publish his play which had unfortunately remained unfulfilled during his life time.