ON GANDHIJI'S "EXPENSIVE POVERTY"

A Joke On Gandhiji Blown Out Of Proportion…… 

The statement, "It needs a lot of money to keep Bapu poor" jokingly once made by Dr Sarojini Naidu, doesn't need much cost-benefit-analysis. Dr Naidu could hardly anticipate that her joke would fan controversy and be blown out of proportion and used to cast doubts on Gandhi’s lifestyle!

Gandhiji’s mingling with the common people weren’t just some political stunts as we see today in current politics. Before joining active politics in India, he had travelled across India in those third-class compartments, getting closer to the people, their needs and problems. It made him connect with masses better than any other political leader of the time. No wonder, his movements were not only acknowledged by masses but also supported by them. It was these experiments that converted congress from the party of an elite to the party of the people. And that was something no money could buy.

Second important point to note is, Gandhiji never demanded such expenses should be made for him. There is no evidence to suggest he even knew about those expenditures which were, no doubt, done with good intentions. There is ample evidence that Gandhiji desisted such expenses and always confronted the need for his personal security. He never allowed stringent security for himself and that was one of the prime reasons he became such an easy target to a maniac criminal’s bullet.

Third important point, Gandhiji wasn’t just a political leader. Had it been so, his area of influence would have been limited to politics or at best India, and he wouldn't have become the global phenomenon he is today. 

Gandhi was distressed about the way dairy cows were treated in India so he took a vow to never again drink the milk of cows.

To summarize, vowing to take goat milk to the dairy cow by Gandhiji was due to cruel treatment to milch animals in India. So he took a vow to never again drink the milk of cows. There may have been a cost to keep Gandhiji poor, but *we, along with the whole world, grew up on the trite diet of Gandhi’s austerity* that made him and people connect better and no cost can be attributed to this achievement.