Prodigal son of the father of the nation

In the film Delhi-6, one could see a quiet and organised world inside the 1930-built Diwan hall in Chandni Chowk, the bastion of Arya Samaj in the Capital.

What is significant is that in this Diwan hall, an alcoholic Harilal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s eldest son, returned to the fold of Hinduism after his brief tryst with Islam.

“Harilal returned to Hinduism on November 14, 1936, after havan. It was without any fanfare, unlike when he embraced Islam on May 14, 1936, at the Jama Masjid in what was then called Bombay,” informs Dr Ravi Sharma, secretary of Diwan Hall and a prominent Arya Samaj leader.

According to A Annamalai, Director of Gandhi National Museum, New Delhi, “There are many versions as to where Harilal embraced Islam. One version says that he renounced Hinduism and embraced Islam in a Kerala village. Other sources claim that the conversion took place in Nagpur. Nevertheless, he announced his conversion to Islam on May 29, 1936, in Bombay, and changed his name to Abdullah.

It is said that more than Gandhi, his wife Kasturba was very upset over this development. They were also disturbed because of his passion for drinking. Prior to becoming Muslim, Harilal met his parents in Nagpur. He wanted some money but they refused as they knew he would buy liquor. That was the last time they met him before he embraced Islam.

Harilal’s conversion to Islam was a wake-up call for Arya Samaj. Harilal might also have been repentant. Around November 8, 1936, there was talk of him re-entering the Hindu religion. His mother was in Bombay at that time. She tried to persuade him to become a Hindu again. His decision might have been influenced by his love for his mother.

Says Dr Ravi Kant Sharma, “On November 10, 1936, Harilal announced that he was seriously reconsidering his conversion to Islam. After two days he ritually and ceremonially re-entered the Hindu fold at Diwan Hall.” Very few people were there when Harilal came to the Diwan hall to enter the fold of Hinduism once again.

Cut to the present: Arya Samaj converts and re-converts around five people in a month after havan. But all those who wish to shun their religions have to express their intent in an affidavit that they are doing so without any favour or pressure from the Samaj. That is the pre-condition.

And, now returning to Harilal. After a long hiatus, he suddenly appeared at the funeral of his father and the father of the nation on February 1, 1948. When the nation was mourning, he was there at Rajghat under the influence of liquor. No religion could reform him.

The author is former Editor, Somaiya Publications