Gandhi and Dalits

“They [professors at the University of Ghana] further accuse Gandhi of perpetuating the caste system; yet no one has done more to stand up for the rights of India’s lower classes,” writes Nitin Mehta (Letters, 14 October).

I take particular umbrage at this statement. Please recall the hunger strike Gandhi undertook in 1932 to prevent the “untouchable” Dalit caste from receiving a reservation of seats in parliament, in order not to weaken his power base in the independence struggle. The British administration was attempting to make this reform due to the poor treatment of the Dalits at the hands of the caste system, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. The British could not be seen to be responsible for Gandhi’s death, so succumbed to his demands.

If anyone deserves the accolade above it should be the social campaigner Dr BR Ambedkar. Gandhi was a hero and a villain in my opinion, but it is easy to understand why some in Ghana would prefer not to have a statue of him on their campus when you read his quotes on Africans. To bring the history of Ghanaian slavery into the conversation is not fair and unrelated.
James H Smith
London