How Mussolini Fueled the Mistrust Between Mahatma Gandhi and the British

Public leaders have to be careful in whom they are seen with, more so when the other person has a powerful propaganda machine at his disposal.

- SATISH KUMAR SHARMA

For in the fight for truth, there is no room for underestimating the power of falsehood. Truth may prevail in the end, but meanwhile much damage can be done by lies and half-truths. The disregard of these elementary precautions put even Mahatma Gandhi in a pickle once.

It happened in 1930 in Rome, when led by sheer curiosity, he agreed to meet Mussolini on the latter's invitation. Author Peter Gonsalves has described this episode in some detail in his essay, 'The Mahatma, Il Duce and The Crucifix, Gandhi's Brief Encounter with Mussolini and its Consequences'.

Mahatma Gandhi had become an international figure in 1930 with wide coverage of his Salt Satyagraha by the American press. In less than one year, he was featured twice on the cover of Time Magazine and was chosen its 'person of the year' for 1930.

Mussolini wanted reflected glory of Gandhi's popularity for fascist propaganda. So, Italian Consul in India, Scarpa, invited Gandhi to visit Rome and meet Mussolini. Gandhi did not take it seriously. But when he visited Switzerland, on the invitation of Romain Rolland, after participating in the Second Round Table Conference (RTC) in London, in Sept-Oct 1930, he expressed his wish to spend a day in Rome, on the way back to India, to meet Pope Pius XI and Mussolini.