When Bombay was burnt and looted by communalists and when women in Surat were gangraped during the communal disturbances, a thought came to many minds - "Where is Gandhi who could have saved people from inhumanity?"

We then remembered Gandhi, who had courageously toured through villages of Noakhali in Bengal in pre-independence days to put down the fires of hatred and destruction stoked by communalism.

We recollected a story narrated by Horace Alexander. During Gandhi's pilgrimage of peace in Noakhali a Muslim stifled Gandhi's throat. While the Mahatma fell down he recited the words of Koran. Those words touched the heart of the Muslim. With tears in his eyes the Muslim promised Gandhi to work with him all his life. Gandhi's advice to the Muslim was to keep his lips sealed on this incident, otherwise there would be a Hindu-Muslim riot. Gandhi rated the value of communal unity higher than his own life.

Touched by Gandhi's brave and successful mission of peace and communal amity in Noakhali in Bengal, Lord Mountbatten, in his letter to Gandhi on 26th August, 1947 said: 'In the Punjab we have 55 thousand soldiers and large scale rioting on our hands. In Bengal our forces consist of one man, and there is no rioting. As a serving officer, as well as an administrator, may I be allowed to pay my tribute to the One Man Boundary Force, not forgetting his second in command, Mr. Suhrawardy.'

When men were burnt alive in the streets of Bombay by communal fires, with arms-wielding police remaining silent and passive spectators, voice came from within - Where is Gandhi, the One Man Boundary Force of Noakhali?

In the recent disturbances not only the citizens were killed in the mass frenzy but some police too had to bear the brunt of death. At that time many remembered Gandhi who suspended the national movement which was at its peak in 1922, following the unfortunate incident at Chauri Chaura where following attack by some police, the policemen were driven to the Chauri Chaura police station which was set on fire by the demonstrators. The national leaders including Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Jinnah and Azad met. Gandhi advised withdrawal of struggle to atone for violence. Gandhi went to the extent of declaring, "If we obtain our freedom by murder and bloodshed I want no part of it." Fretting and fuming Nehru said: "It was one incident." Gandhi's response was, "Tell that to the families of the policemen who died." Jinnah impatiently remarked, "After what they did at the massacre- it is only 'eye for an eye'. Gandhi quickly retorted, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." As we remembered these episodes of history that revealed Gandhi's sensitivity to crimes and cruelties of life unleashed by mass frenzy, once more during the recent disturbances the irksome question came to our mind: Where is Gandhi?

We have now to reconcile to what Albert Einstein had said about Gandhi: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."

Such a Gandhi is not born again and again. Spokesman for the conscience of mankind does not emerge on the horizon with any periodicity. And so to the question 'Where is Gandhi?', the only reply has to be that Gandhi though in exile today can be recaptured collectively through his spirit of communal harmony, tolerance, equality and above all the dignity of man. This alone can be an appropriate tribute to the shining nobility of a dedicated Gandhian and a sensitive socialist like S.M. Joshi on the solemn occasion of his death anniversary. 

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