Gandhi's Son Converted To Islam

It happened 78 years ago. In 1936, the eldest son of Mahatma Gandhi, Harilal, converted to Islam at the Jumma Masjid, Bombay.

Mahatma Gandhi, or 'Bapu', meaning 'father' of the nation, was worried because he felt that he could understand the real reason behind the conversion. Another religion should not be accepted with self-interest alone, he felt, according to thetimesofindia.com.

He wrote to his son, Ramdas Gandhi, the following day, on May 30: "...just read in the paper about Harilal's exploit. There could be no harm in his being converted to Islam with understanding and selfless motives. But he suffers from greed for wealth and sensual pleasures. I shall be spared all mental pain if I find my impression wrong and he turns a new leaf," he wrote.

Bapu said that portions of the letter could be read out to Harilal. Vice-chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, Sudershan Iyengar, explains that Gandhi would have had no objections to the conversion, if Harilal had embraced Islam in the true search of truth and liberation.

"All religions have equal potential to taking a person on the path of truth. But a person should understand it first, said Iyengar.

Bapu wrote that as Harilal had become a Muslim, it did not exactly make him a follower of that religion. He explained that there should be satisfaction if he really practised what was best in that religion. "We should try to understand whatever religion we follow and bring credit to it," he said.

But in November that year, what happened was what Bapu had thought would happen---Harilal reconverted to Hinduism.

Bapu's inability to deal with Harilal was his greatest regret, apart from being unable to convince Jinnah against Partition of India. "Gandhi's stern morality, sexual abstinence and principled stand against Britain" were Harilal's challenge. He was reputedly an alcoholic gambler, dealing with imported British clothes, although his father wanted him to abhor all of them. Harilal's conversion to Islam and change of name to Abdullah before his death in 1948, just months after his father's assassination by a Hindu terrorist, was also lamentable, according to theguardian.com.

Harilal described Gandhi as "the greatest father you can have but the one father I wish I did not have".