Tun dr ismail biography of mahatma gandhi

Married inhe and his wife had six children, born between and These intense family years coincided with his ascendant political career, and his deteriorating health. He suffered from cancer of the naso-pharynx, and the deteriorating heart condition that finally killed him at the age of One is humbled by Tun Dr Ismail's courage and his accomplishments.

The pathos of his short and intense life is presented with great sensitivity by the author when he writes; " Dragged away from his family back into politics by his sense of duty, his intolerance of incompetence and irrelevance appeared to grow to such an extent that most of his subordinates and colleagues came to fear him". The book is divided into two parts.

Part One - Merdeka or Medicine - details Tun Dr Ismail's political career in the s, until his retirement for health reasons, in Part Two - Remaking Malaysia - deals with Tun Dr Ismail's re-entry into politics after the May 13, riots, and the pivotal role he played in rebuilding the nation until his untimely death in There is an interesting sub-text that runs through the book.

The Salt March marked a significant escalation in the struggle for Indian independence, showcasing the power of peaceful protest and civil disobedience. In response, the British authorities arrested Gandhi and thousands of others, further galvanizing the movement and drawing widespread sympathy and support for the cause. The impact of the Salt March was profound and far-reaching.

It succeeded in undermining the moral authority of British rule in India and demonstrated the effectiveness of non-violent resistance. Gandhi vehemently opposed the age-old practice of untouchability in Hindu society, considering it a moral and social evil that needed to be eradicated. He believed that for India to truly gain independence from British rule, it had to first cleanse itself of internal social evils like untouchability.

This stance sometimes put him at odds with traditionalists within the Hindu community, but Gandhi remained unwavering in his belief that social reform was integral to the national movement. By elevating the issue of untouchability, Gandhi sought to unify the Indian people under the banner of tun dr ismail biography of mahatma gandhi justice, making the independence movement a struggle for both political freedom and social equality.

He argued that the segregation and mistreatment of any group of people were against the fundamental principles of justice and non-violence that he stood for. The talks were often contentious, with significant disagreements, particularly regarding the partition of India to create Pakistan, a separate state for Muslims. Gandhi was deeply involved in these discussions, advocating for a united India while striving to alleviate communal tensions.

Despite his efforts, the partition became inevitable due to rising communal violence and political pressures. On August 15,India finally gained its independence from British rule, marking the end of nearly two centuries of colonial dominance. The announcement of independence was met with jubilant celebrations across the country as millions of Indians, who had longed for this moment, rejoiced in their newfound freedom.

Gandhi, though revered for his leadership and moral authority, was personally disheartened by the partition and worked tirelessly to ease the communal strife that followed. His commitment to peace and unity remained steadfast, even as India and the newly formed Pakistan navigated the challenges of independence. The geography of the Indian subcontinent was dramatically altered by the partition, with the creation of Pakistan separating the predominantly Muslim regions in the west and east from the rest of India.

This division led to one of the largest mass migrations in human history, as millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs crossed borders in both directions, seeking safety amidst communal violence. Gandhi spent these crucial moments advocating for peace and communal harmony, trying to heal the wounds of a divided nation. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi married Kasturba Makhanji Kapadia, often referred to as Kasturba Gandhi or Ba, in an arranged marriage inwhen he was just 13 years old.

Kasturba, who was of the same age as Gandhi, became his partner in life and in the struggle for Indian independence. Despite the initial challenges of an arranged marriage, Kasturba and Gandhi grew to share a deep bond of love and mutual respect. Together, they had four sons: Harilal, born in ; Manilal, born in ; Ramdas, born in ; and Devdas, born in Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated because some extremists saw him as too accommodating to Muslims during the partition of India.

He was 78 years old when he died. The assassination occurred on January 30,when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, shot Gandhi at point-blank range in the garden of the Birla House in New Delhi. However, Ismail considered it his duty to assist Abdul Razak as deputy prime minister, and thus refused to resign, delaying the treatment for his neck cancer and refusing an operation on his heart valves to continue working.

Around JulyIsmail suffered three heart attacks over the course of two weeks — a secret he kept from his wife, who was expecting. Ismail told a friend that he planned to resign after Tun Abdul Razak returned from Ottawa in Canada, where he was attending the Commonwealth summit — Ismail had promised to serve as acting prime minister while Razak was away.

After a sudden explosion sound effect, Ismail's daughter, who was watching the event live on television, noticed her dad began to sweat profusely. Nevertheless, afterwards, Ismail visited his wife, who was recovering from the ligation, at the hospital as had been planned. After having his dinner, Ismail retired to his study. Later, he rang the bell for his maid, asking for his daughter and telling her that "I am going to die.

Please call my doctor and inform Gopal" his private secretary. Ismail had suffered a massive heart attack. Normally, Dr Stewart C. Macpherson, a neighbour of Ismail's and personal doctor to him and Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, would have immediately attended to Ismail. However, Macpherson had accompanied Razak to the summit, forcing Ismail to phone his other doctor, Dr Catterall, who lived in the satellite town of Petaling Jaya.

Upon arrival, Catterall immediately began efforts to resuscitate Ismail, soon being joined by the royal physician, Dr Pillai.

Tun dr ismail biography of mahatma gandhi

Panicked Cabinet members soon arrived, and began discussing the future of politics without Ismail — an incident Ismail's young son found disturbing as Ismail had yet to be declared dead. Catterall laboured for five hours to save Ismail, but to no avail. Ismail's official time of death was later pronounced as 10PM. Without Ismail, the country was momentarily leaderless, without an acting prime minister.

Ismail would be the first to be laid to rest there, and also the first recipient of a Malaysian state funeral. As Ismail's body was transported from his home to the National Mosque, crowds thronged the streets. Razak was provided with a plane by the Canadian government that took him to Copenhagenfrom where he took a commercial flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Ismail's burial was postponed until his arrival. Tun Sardon Jubir attempted to justify his instructions by citing a mufti who had informed him that Muslims could not be buried under a roof. The Tunku was exasperated by this explanation, remarking: "My forefathers are all buried in a mausoleum under a roof! Ismail was particularly known for his non-ethnic approach to political issues.

Expressing concern over racial polarisation in the country, he once asked:. Why did we fight for Merdeka? So that the different races can be divided? That can't be the way, right? That can't be why all these great Malay and Umno leaders fought for this Something is wrong I hope the new discussions will start. Why are we building Malaysia?

What Malaysia are we building? What kind of symbol is Malaysia supposed to be? Although, according to his biographers, Ismail was "usually considered as a very good Malay leader Ismail knew that Malaysia is full of non-Malays. That's it. He was actually a reluctant politician. So he wasn't a politician in the sense that he didn't cultivate 'my people'.

He didn't care whether he made friends or not. That kind of person wasn't very popular". He also supported the establishment of a central bank to quell foreign investment worries about a lack of independence in Malaysian monetary policy. The legacy left behind by Ismail is often viewed in a positive light. It is conventionally held that his sudden death altered the course of Malaysian history — Tun Abdul Razak appointed Hussein Onn as his new deputy, and Hussein Onn would later appoint Mahathir as deputy prime minister after succeeding Razak, setting Mahathir on the course towards becoming prime minister.

Despite this, historians have often overlooked Ismail; one biographer of his has said that:. A thorough understanding of Ismail's contributions has traditionally been made difficult by the fact that he was always the third or the second most powerful man in the country. Historiographic convention has always allowed the Tunku and Razak to overshadow Ismail's achievements, and his name is often mentioned in combination with the other two, and with Tan Siew Sin.

Ismail's eldest son has suggested that Ismail was largely ignored because "Razak didn't want people to know about his illness and he didn't need a prop like Dr Ismail. He had to move out of Dr Ismail's shadow. My father didn't say he was controlling Razak, but people perceived he was doing so, including those who advised Razak. Tycoon Robert Kuoka tun dr ismail biography of mahatma gandhi of Ismail's, would later remark that:.

In my opinion, he was probably the most non-racial, non-racist Malay I have met in my life. And I have met a very wide range of Malays from all parts of Malaysia. Doc was a stickler for total fair play, for correctness; total anathema to him to be anything else. Every Malay colleague feared him because of this, including Mahathir. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In the yearMahatma Gandhi left for London to study law. Thereafter 10 days after arrival, he joined the Inner Temple, one of the four London law colleges, and studied and practiced law. In London, he also joined a Vegetarian Society and was introduced to Bhagavad Gita by some of his vegetarian friends.

Later, Bhagavad Gita set an impression and influenced his life. In May he went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. There he had a first-hand experience of racial discrimination when he was thrown out of the first-class apartment of the train despite holding the first-class ticket because it was reserved for white people only and no Indian or black was allowed to travel in the first class.

This incident had a serious effect on him and he decided to protest against racial discrimination. He further observed that this type of incident was quite common against his fellow Indians who were derogatorily referred to as coolies. In a short period, Gandhi became a leader of the Indian community in South Africa. Tirukkural ancient Indian literature, originally written in Tamil and later translated into various languages.

Gandhiji was also influenced by this ancient book. He was influenced by the idea of Satyagraha which is a devotion to truth and in implemented a non-violent protest. He returned to India inafter spending 21 years of his life in South Africa, and no doubt, there he fought for civil rights and at this time he was transformed into a new person.

Gandhi's first major achievement was in when he led the Champaran and Kheda agitations of Bihar and Gujarat. Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Gandhi identified his overall method of non-violent action as Satyagraha.