THE MAN WHO ADDRESSED THE MAHATMA AS "MOHAN" He was a Christian missionary, educator and social reformer in India who became a close friend of Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. He identified with the cause of India's independence and was instrumental in convincing Gandhi to return to India from South Africa, where Gandhi had been a leading light in the Indian civil rights struggle.
Charles Freer Andrews was affectionately dubbed Christ's Faithful Apostle by Gandhi, based on his initials, C.F.A. For his contributions to the Indian Independence Movement Gandhi and his students at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, named him Deenabandhu (Friend of the Poor). Rev Andrews was born on 12 February 1871 in Newcastle, England. His father was the Bishop of the Catholic Apostolic Church in Birmingham. The family had suffered financial misfortune because of the duplicity of a friend, and had to work hard to make ends meet. During his student years, Andrews moved away from his family's church and was accepted for ordination in the Church of England from whence in 1897, he was ordained a priest. In 1904 he joined the Cambridge Mission to Delhi and arrived there to teach philosophy at St. Stephen's College, where he grew close to many of his Indian colleagues and students. Increasingly dismayed by the racist behaviour and treatment of Indians by some British officials and civilians, he supported Indian political aspirations. Andrews soon became involved in the activities of the Indian National Congress, and he helped to resolve the 1913 cotton workers' strike in Madras. Known for his persuasiveness, intellect and moral rectitude, he was asked by Gopal Krishna Gokhale to visit South Africa and help the Indian community there to resolve their political disputes with the Government. Arriving in January 1914, he met the 44-year-old Gujarati lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi, who was leading the Indian community's efforts against the racial discrimination and police legislation that infringed their civil liberties. Andrews was deeply impressed with Gandhi's knowledge of Christian values and his espousal of the concept of ahimsa (nonviolence) – something that Gandhi mixed with inspiration from elements of Christian anarchism. Andrews served as Gandhi's aide in his negotiations with General Jan Smuts and was responsible for finalizing some of the finer details of their interactions. Following the advice of several Indian Congress leaders, Andrews was instrumental in persuading Gandhi to return to India with him in 1915. Deenabandhu disagreed with Gandhi's attempts to recruit combatants for World War I, believing that this was inconsistent with their views on nonviolence. Andrews developed a dialogue between Christians and Hindus. He spent a lot of time at Shantiniketan in conversation with the poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. He also supported the movement to ban the 'untouchability of outcasts'. In 1919 he joined the famous Vaikom Satyagraha, and in 1933 assisted B.R. Ambedkar in formulating the demands of the Dalits. Charles Freer Andrews accompanied Gandhi to the Second Round Table Conference in London, helping him to negotiate with the British government on matters of Indian autonomy and devolution. It was due to his efforts that the British Colonial Government in 1920 formally abolished the system wherein Indians were transported to Fiji to work as indentured labour. Gandhi considered Charles Freer Andrews as his closest friend. The often quoted saying "I love Christ but not Christians" is misattributed by hatemongers to Gandhi and is something Gandhi never actually said - He was too noble a soul to ever say this. Reverend Andrews was perhaps the only major figure to address Gandhi by his first name, Mohan. Charlie Andrews died on 5 April 1940, during a visit to Calcutta, and is buried in the 'Christian Burial ground' of Lower Circular Road cemetery, Calcutta. He is honored with a feast day (12th February) in the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. In 1971, India issued a commemorative postage stamp to mark the birth centenary of Andrews. Had it not been for Rev Charles Freer Andrews, history would most probably not have seen The Mahatma return to Indian shores to spearhead us to Independence. The irony was that it took The Mahatma to give the Colonials a lesson in Christian principles in action. Andrews was the soul brother of Gandhi whose friendship transformed The Mahatma into spiritually the greatest Christian to walk the earth - inspiring other great leaders like The Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Rev Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela who completed the unfinished work of Gandhi in South Africa. It is said: The memory of the righteous is a blessing. May the platonic friendship of the Reverend & The Mahatma be always remembered. (Credit To Wilfred Gerald Rodrigues) Roland. Toronto.
