On Shimla visit, Gandhi had called hand-rickshaws an insult to humanity

Mahatma Gandhi had visited Shimla ten times before independence, most of which were to hold meetings with British officials. During his visits, the British owned all the three cars in Shimla, which meant Gandhi had no other option but to travel in hand-pulled rickshaws, which he called an insult to humanity.

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): Shimla, that served as the summer capital of British India between 1864 and 1939, had a special connection with Mahatma Gandhi, as the father of the nation visited the city ten times before independence.

Most of Gandhi's visits were to hold talks with the British administration stationed in Shimla.

Former IAS officer Srinivas Joshi said Gandhi had visited Shimla in 1921, 1931, twice in 1939, four times in 1940, and once each in 1945 and 1946.

Joshi said that at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Shimla's historic Ridge, only eight of Bapu's visits are mentioned. He said that Gandhi's two visits from 1939 have not been mentioned.

The former IAS officer said that though Gandhi loved the nature aspect of Shimla, he was not in favour of making it the summer capital. He was of the opinion that the country could not be run from up above on the mountains. He likened running the administration in Shimla was like watching the view from the 500th floor of a building.

However, the most interesting incident from Gandhi's visits to Shimla, was when he called hand-pulled rickshaws an insult to humanity.

Joshi said that the transport facilities were very bad in Shimla during Gandhi's visits. There were only three cars in the city, all of which belonged to the British, and Indians were not allowed to travel in them.

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The only options for Indians were horses and hand-pulled rickshaws.

Though Gandhi was staunchly opposed to the concept of hand-pulled rickshaws, he had no other option as his health was weakening with every visit to Shimla.

Joshi said that five men were required to operate the rickshaws - while four pulled the cart, the fifth person used to run along, in order to replace a man if he got tired. Gandhi said this was an insult to humanity.

When Gandhi asked the men why they chose to do the job of animals, the rickshaw-pullers replied that there was very limited business in Shimla. Jobs were few, and hence they had no other option but to pull rickshaws.

Gandhi then told the rickshaw-pullers that it was a moment of insult for him, but he had no other option.

Joshi said that post independence, when things began to change, and people increasingly not being in favour of the hand-pulled rickshaws, they eventually became obsolete in Shimla.

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