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Reminiscences of Kasturba Gandhi
Courageous Wife
- M. K. Gandhi
Thrice in her life my wife narrowly escaped death through
serious illness.The cures were due to household remedies. At the time of
her first attack satyagraha was going on or was about to commence. She had
frequent haemorrhage. A medical friend advised a surgical operation, to which
she agreed after some hesitation. She was extremely emaciated, and the doctor
had to perform the operation without chloroform. It was successful, but she had
to suffer much pain. She, however, went through it with wonderful bravery. The
doctor and his wife who nursed her were all attention. This was in Durban. The
doctor gave me leave to go to Johannesburg, and told me not to have any anxiety
about the patient. In a few days, however, I received a letter to the effect
that Kasturbai was worse, too weak to sit up in bed, and had once become
unconscious. The doctor knew that he might not, without my consent, give her
wines or meat. So he telephoned to me at Johannesburg for permission to give her
beef tea. I replied saying I could not grant the permission, but that, if she
was in a condition to express her wish in the matter she might be consulted, and
she was free to do as she liked. ‘But,’ said the doctor, ‘I refuse to consult
the patient’s wishes in the matter. You must come yourself. If you do not leave
me free to prescribe whatever diet I like, I will not hold myself responsible
for your wife’s life.’ I took the train for Durban the same day, and met the
doctor who quietly broke this news to me : ‘I had already given Mrs. Gandhi beef
tea when I telephoned to you.’ ‘Now, doctor, I call this a fraud,’ said I. ‘No
question of fraud in prescribing medicine or diet for a patient. In fact we
doctors consider it a virtue to deceive patients or their relatives, if thereby
we can save our patients,’ said the doctor with determination. I was deeply
pained, but kept cool. The doctor was a good man and a personal friend. He and
his wife had laid me under a debt of gratitude, but I was not prepared to put up
with his medical morals.
‘Doctor, tell me what you propose to do now. I would never
allow my wife to be given meat or beef, even if the denial meant her death,
unless of course she desired to take it.’ ‘You are welcome to your philosophy. I
tell you that, so long as you keep your wife under my treatment, I must have the
option to give her anything I wish. If you don’t like this, I must regretfully
ask you to remove her. I can’t see her die under my roof.’ ‘Do you mean to say
that I must remove her at once ?’ ‘Whenever did I ask you to remove her ? I only
want to be left entirely free. If you do so, my wife and I will do all that is
possible for her, and you may go back without the least anxiety on her score.
But if you will not understand this simple thing, you will compel me to ask you
to remove your wife from my place.’
I think one of my sons was with me. He entirely agreed
with me, and said his mother should not be given beef tea. I next spoke to
Kasturbai herself. She was really too weak to be consulted in this matter. But I
thought it my painful duty to do so. I told her what had passed between the
doctor and myself. She gave a resolute reply : ‘I will not take beef tea. It is
a rare thing in this world to be born as a human being, and I would far rather
die in your arms than pollute my body with such abominations.
’
I pleaded with her. I told her that she was not bound to
follow me. I cited to her the instances of Hindu friends and acquaintances who
had no scruples about taking meat or wine as medicine. But she was adamant.
‘No,’ said she, ‘pray remove me at once.’ I was delighted. Not without some
agitation I decided to take her away. I informed the doctor of her resolve. He
exclaimed in a rage : ‘What a callous man you are! You should have been ashamed
to broach the matter to her in her present condition. I tell you your wife is
not in a fit state to be removed. She cannot stand the least little hustling. I
shouldn’t be surprised if she were to die on the way. But if you must persist,
you are free to do so. If you will not give her beef tea, I will not take the
risk of keeping her under my roof even for a single day.’
So we decided to leave the place at once. It was drizzling
and the station was some distance. We had to take the train from Durban for
Phoenix, whence our Settlement was reached by a road of two miles and a half. I
was undoubtedly taking a very great risk, but I trusted in God, and proceeded
with my task. I sent a messenger to Phoenix in advance, with a message to West
to receive us at the station with a hammock, a bottle of hot milk and one of hot
water, and six men to carry Kasturbai in the hammock. I got a rickshaw to enable
me to take her by the next available train, put her into it in that dangerous
condition, and marched away. Kasturbai needed no cheering up. On the contrary
she comforted me, saying : ‘Nothing will happen to me. Don’t worry.’ She was
mere skin and bone, having had no nourishment for days. The station platform was
very large, and as the rickshaw could not be taken inside, one had to walk some
distance before one could reach the train. So I carried her in my arms and put
her into the compartment. From Phoenix we carried her in the hammock, and there
she slowly picked up strength under hydropathic treatment. In two or three days
of our arrival at Phoenix a Swami came to our place. He had heard of the
resolute way in which we had rejected the doctor’s advice, and he had, out of
sympathy, come to plead with us. My second and third sons Manilal and Ramdas
were, so far as I can recollect, present when the Swami came. He held forth on
the religious harmlessness of taking meat, citing authorities from Manu. I did
not like his carrying on this disputation in the presence of my wife, but I
suffered him to do so out of courtesy. I knew the verses from the Manusmriti,
I did not need them for my conviction. I knew also that there was a school which
regarded these verses as interpolations : but even if they were not, I held my
views on vegetarianism independently of religious texts, and Kasturbai’s faith
was unshakable. To her the scriptural texts were a sealed book, but the
traditional religion of her forefathers was enough for her. The children swore
by their father’s creed and so they made light of the Swami’s discourse. But
Kasturbai put an end to the dialogue at once. ‘Swamiji’, she said, ‘whatever you
may say, I do not want to recover by means of beef tea. Pray don’t worry me any
more. You may discuss the thing with my husband and children if you like. But my
mind is made up.
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