Last week saw Tushar Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, raising funds of approximately 300,000 US dollars to buy back personal items of his grandfather and bring them back to India. He could have approached the government easily instead he wanted a people’s movement for the same. His claim was that the selling of possessions of his grandfather who advocated a humble life of poverty, humility and had very few possessions was not morally right as they belong to the people of India.
Government immediately set up a committee to find out a solution. The committee had various proposals including arranging money through corporate world. The possessions of Gandhiji included his spectacles, sandals, pocket watch, simple brass bowl and plates. Gandhiji himself had given the articles to his attendant, his grand niece and a British Army Colonel on several occasions. Now through a series of successive sales the possessions had reached a private American collector, a documentary producer from Los Angeles named James Otis, and finally up for sale in New York.
Now the latest twist in this case is that an amicable settlement has been reached between Indian government and the auctioneers and the possessions are being given back to Indian Government through a separate deal.
We Indians respect Mahatma Gandhi who brought us freedom using his simple but powerful principles of non-violence, satyagraha and truth. We even celebrate October 2nd as Gandhi Jayanthi. But are we, the present generation, really following his principles?
No we are not!
Instead we are fighting tooth and nail for his belongings . Had Gandhiji been alive, he would have told ”Don’t bother! I had given them away, myself. So please don’t bring up these issues time and again. Instead try to follow my principles and uplift the poor in India”.
It’s time that we worked towards the vision of Mahatma. Principles and vision of Gandhiji shouldn’t remain only in school text books, films and novels. Instead it should be followed by every Indian (at least to some extent).
When can we see an India without corruption, criminal politicians, jobless poor, slum dwellers ? When can we see an India without gender bias and communal riots? The day when India overcomes these, that is the time for owning up Gandhiji’s personal belongings.
Image Credit : Joja Keman
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March 4th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Vigil – your point about following Mr. Gandhi's footsteps is taken, albeit with a pinch of salt! I can't help feeling that his life seems to have become a permanent background score for our lives and the yardstick by which our actions are judged. There was a time for his teachings and perhaps there will be a time in the future again for his wise words, but it is not now. The polarized world that we live in right now is too uncertain and dangerous and I don't want to be guided by the Mahatma's life alone. I also want to carry a gun! of course, I agree that our petty squabbles show us in poor light and it's the Govt's job to set up some sort of historical society to trace and restore our national treasures [please, no Nicholas cage here
]…. thanks anyways for bringing this issue up. I am low on news these days and so didn't know that the Mahatma's artifacts live elsewhere!
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March 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Hi Vigil.. good one.. Well I agree with Raghuram in his comment that in this polarised world we have got accustomed to live in the shadow of the gun.. but there were other Gandhian Principles to which we have forgotten with time..
So when this issue raked up.. I had only one question.. Do we have the moral right to have his belongings? What I think is NO for an answer.. cos if HE were to witness whats happening to this country now..he would have felt guilty for his effort to bring freedom to this country
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March 5th, 2009 at 4:03 am
Hai Raghuram ..Thanks for the comments. As you have rightly said ,in the present world some of his principles may be too tough to follow. Even then there are some practical ones which we can try to follow in our lives, like electing the right politician, saying no to corruption and like that. The Govt inturn can implement the bigger aspects like eradication of poverty , provision of jobs etc..Some steps are already initiated by the government but the effort s are not completely trickling down to the lower level.
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March 5th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Correctly said Kishore..Had Mahatma been now he would have been disappointed by the state of affairs now…but aren't we,Indians, too part of that? We cannot completely absolve ourselves from the responsibility of the present Indian situation. What can we do from now? That's the question we have to ask and proceed ahead …As in the book “Seven habits of highly effective people ” we can concentrate on our circle of influence and see the change.
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March 5th, 2009 at 4:26 am
ok, firstly Gandhiji wouldn't have been sorry… for these is hardly any change in the way the country was to the way country is now.
I am not talking about any technological advances and other stuff, but primarily about the way society is.
In fighting, which he very well witnessed, safety for woman remember his favorite quote (“India is independent when a woman can walk around safely during midnight”). Still doesn't happen for instance look at Bangalore.
Guilty for getting us freedom? He is not selfish to take the whole credit.
Besides, he would have been happy to be here provide us a direction.
I agree with Vigil, we need to look at what change we can bring about. True we cannot change the whole world at a go, but you can definitely change your own small world around you.
Talking about artifacts, we bloody well pay any amount and get them. Call him father of you nation, print his face on all the currency you use, i would say it is not a moral right but a moral responsibility to get them for ourselves.
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March 5th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Thanks for the comments..The government is taking all positive steps to get back the artefacts even an outright bidding for the same. That's the latest what I heard..But now James Otis has put some tough propositions. Read it for yourself http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx….
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March 5th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Also you can read the latest here about Gandhiji's belongings. http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090306/738/tnl-g…
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