Gandhi Page #37

CHELMSFORD:

(thoughtfully)

Yes -- but it would be wise to be

very cautious for a time. The Anti-

Terrorist Act will remain on the

statutes, but on no account is Gandhi

to be arrested. Whatever mischief he

causes, I have no intention of making

a martyr of him.

It is an instruction they all find correct.

FIELD - EXTERIOR - NIGHT

A roar of approval from a huge crowd. We are featuring two

British soldiers, their faces partially lit by a flickering

torch light that reveals their tense wariness.

Another angle. And we can see its cause. A huge crowd is

gathered around a platform -- torches sprinkled through it --

and their mood is confident, belligerent. As their defiant

roar carries through the night air we see that Gandhi sits

cross-legged on the platform. Nehru is with him. Patel, now

for the first time in an Indian tunic, and Azad, also in an

Indian tunic. Desai, Gandhi's new male secretary, is with

them. But it is Ba who is speaking at the microphone, who

has brought the shout of defiance from the crowd.

BA:

(simple, direct)

...but now something worse is

happening. When Gandhiji and I were

growing up, women wove their own

cloth. But now there are millions

who have no work because those who

can buy all they need from England.

I say with Gandhiji, there is no

beauty in the finest cloth if it

makes hunger and unhappiness.

It is the end of her speech and she makes the pranam and

turns away. There is applause and noise, but Ba does not

acknowledge it; she simply sits cross-legged behind Gandhi,

who is talking with Patel and Nehru. At last he rises, and

the noise and applause increase to something like chaos.

In close shot we see other British soldiers watching on the

perimeter of the crowd and they are now made even more wary

by the enthusiasm of this greeting. Gandhi fiddles with his

glasses, preoccupied; finally he looks out over the crowd

and holds up a hand -- almost lazily -- and gradually, but

quite definitely, the crowd stills.

GANDHI:

My message tonight is the message I

have given to your brothers

everywhere. To gain independence we

must prove worthy of it.

We intercut with the crowd, listening raptly. Gandhi holds

up one finger.

GANDHI:

There must be Hindu-Muslim unity --

always.

(A second finger.)

Secondly, no Indian must be treated

as the English treat us so we must

remove untouchability from our lives,

and from our hearts.

Neither of these goals is easy, and the audience reaction

shows it. Now Gandhi raises a third finger.

GANDHI:

Third -- we must defy the British.

And the crowd breaks into stamping and applause. Gandhi lets

it run for a time, then stills it with the one small gesture

as before.

GANDHI:

Not with violence that will inflame

their will, but with firmness that

will open their eyes.

This has sobered the audience somewhat. Now he looks out

across them as though seeking something. Then

GANDHI:

English factories make the cloth --

that makes our poverty.

(A reaction.)

All those who wish to make the English

see, bring me the cloth from

Manchester and Leeds that you wear

tonight, and we will light a fire

that will be seen in Delhi -- and

London!

There is an excited stir; he silences it.

GANDHI:

And if, like me, you are left with

only one piece of homespun -- wear

it with dignity!

Close shot -- the ground. As suitcoats, shirts, vests,

trousers, are flung into a pile.

Featuring the two British soldiers -- later -- on the edge

of the crowd, staring off, their faces now brightly lit by

darting flames.

Their point of view. A huge triangular pile burns before the

platform, an excited half-naked crowd swirling in the shadows

around it. Resume the two British soldiers. They look at

each other with a kind of fear a rampant crowd can excite in

those who must hold it...

ASHRAM STATION - EXTERIOR - DAY

The small train station near the ashram. Kallenbach stands

by a new (early 1920s) Ford touring car, watching as a train

pulls into the station.

As people start to jump off the train he moves forward.

Featuring Patel, getting out of a compartment marked "Second

Class." He lugs a bedroll and a bag. Despite the Indian tunic

he now wears he cannot help but look and act like the

incisive, patrician lawyer he is under the skin. As he moves

through the crowded platform.

PATEL:

Excuse me -- just let me get out of

your way, please.

(Someone reaches for

his bedroll and bag.)

No, thank you, I'll manage.

He looks up; it is Kallenbach who is the insistent "helper."

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