Lawyers, former diplomats, journalists, scholars and host of eminent Gandhians have written an open letter appealing that the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati not be disturbed. The government has proposed to make it a “world class” tourist destination, taking over the 54 acres near the Sabarmati River, where Gandhi lived between 1917 and 1930. Among the proposals is a VIP lounge, new museums and an amphitheatre – Gandhians are not sure Gandhi would have approved.
Gandhi led the Dandi March from this ashram, and pledged that he would not return there until independence was achieved. After independence, Gandhi’s associates formed a trust to protect the Ashram and its possessions, which were of archival value. The trust also looks after the buildings, including Hriday Kunj, which served as the residence of Gandhi and Kasturba.
In the 1960s, renowned architect Charles Correa designed the museum structure in these premises. The government has now announced a Rs1,200 crore project of improving these premises to make them world class. News reports indicate that the improvement project would be directly under the supervision of the prime minister and the chief minister of Gujarat. Besides the commercialization of this historic site, Gandhian scholars are also worried that the control of Gandhi archives by the government would appropriate the archives: “As Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by elements whose ideology still inspires some of those in power in India, this danger cannot be overlooked,” the letter notes.
At present, visitors – including schoolchildren – have easy access to Hriday Kunj and the whole campus. The large-scale construction proposed would push the original structure into a corner, and food courts and shops would take up a great deal of space. The place has never needed a makeover to attract tourists – it is the simplicity and the humility of Gandhi’s life and legacy that visitors seek out, and any large construction would only destroy the ambience of this space. “If the project goes through the most authentic monument of Gandhi and our freedom struggle would be lost forever to vanity and commercialization,” the letter, signed by Gandhi’s grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, scholar Ram Puniyani, historian Ramachandra Guha, musician TM Krishna, former National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy and retired Admiral L Ramdas said.
In 2017, the Khadi and Village Industries Board, which annually brings out a calendar with an image of Gandhi at the chakra, issued the calendar with Prime Minister Modi spinning yarn at the chakra, causing much consternation over the appropriation of Gandhi and Khadi by the PM Modi, whose long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is well known. When the Goods and Services Tax was first introduced in July 2017, even Khadi products were brought under this regime, and the taxes were later rolled back, amidst protest. Khadi had been free from taxation since independence. For the first time, corporate groups like Raymond and Aditya Birla have engaged in partnerships with the Khadi Board.
Signed by:
Prakash Shah, Journalist, writer and editor Nireekshak
G N Devy, Writer, cultural activist
Anand Patwardhan, Film-maker
Ram Punyani, Writer, activist
Rajmohan Gandhi, Historian, public intellectual
G. G. Parikh, Veteran freedom-fighter
Nayantara Sahgal, Writer
Ramachandra Guha, Historian, public intellectual
Justice AP Shah, Retired High Court Judge
Raosaheb Kasbe, Author, Gandhi-Ambedkar scholar
Dilip Simeon, Public intellectual, writer
Uttam Kamble, Author and activist
Aruna Roy, Former IAS, social activist
Shanta Sinha, Child rights activist
Sanjoy Hazarika, Analyst,commentator
Gulammohammed Sheikh, Artist, poet
Sandeep Pandey, Social activist
Kumar Ketkar, Journalist
P. Sainath, Writer, public intellectual,
Kavitha Lankesh, Film maker
Githa Hariharan, Writer, activist
T M Krishna, Musician, Cultural activist
Laxminarayan Ramdas, Retd. Admiral, Indian Navy
Lalita Ramdas, Social activist
Matheswaran, Retd. Air Marshal, IAF
Rajan Gavas, Writer, professor
Atamjit Singh, Playwright
C. Rammanohar Reddy, Editor, scholar
Vinay Lal, Historian, professor
Ashish Kothari, Environmentalist, activist
Martin Macwan, Human Rights activist
Arun Rodrigues, Concerned citizen
Damodar Maouzo, Writer
Nishikant Kolge, Scholar
Kapil Patil, Rights activist
Harsh Mander, Retd. IAS, Peace activist
Daniya Rehman, Concerned citizen
M. A. Kalam, Anthropologist, education administrator
Datta Naik, Writer
Madan Meena, Indigenous activist, artist
Rajendra Chenny, Public intellectual, activist
Sachin Rao, Gandhan activist
Dakxin Bajrange, Theatre activist, film-maker
Sanjiv Shah, Filmmaker, architect
Apoorvanand, Public intellectual, activist
Anil Sadgopal, Educationist
Subhash Ware, Constitution-norms activist
Nitin Vaidya, Film maker
Sheba George, Concerned citizen
Sunita Viswanath, Human Rights activist
Rahamath Tarikere, Public intellectual, scholar
Ashraf Ali Basheer Ali, Communal harmony activist
Nagal Samy, (Retd) Principal Accountant General of Tamil Nadu
Teesta Setalwad, Social activist
Shabnam Hashmi, Social activist
Patricia Mukim, Rights activist
Uttambhai Parmar, Educationist
Manishi Jani, Poet, activist
Sheba Chacchi, Artist, photographer
Ranjit Rai, Historian, Commander
Sati Taneja, Commander (Retired) India Navy
Laxmi Krishnamoorthy, Actress
Primila Lewis, Journalist, writer
Gurveen Kaur, Gandhian scholar
Achin Vanaik, Writer, peace activist
Dr. Hanif Lakdawala, Social activist
Usha Naik, Concerned citizen
Sudhir Naik, Concerned citizen
Maj Gen S G Vombatkere, VSM (Veteran)
Maj Gen T K Kaul PVSM ,AVSM,VSM ( Veteran)
Abha Bhaiya, Womens’rights activist
Nandini Oza, Writer, environmentalist
Rajendra Chenni, Professor
Ramesh Chand, Retired banker
D.B.Kapila, Vice Admiral (Retired)
Maj Priyadarshi Chowdhury, SC (Retd)
Gurmehar Kaur, Journalist & Video Blogger
Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmadgar
Yogendra Yadav, Social activist
Javed Anand, Social activist
Anuradha Bhasin, Senior journalist
Ravi Nitesh, Social activist
Kishore Mariwala, Social activist
Anand Grover, Lawyer
Jaya Iyer, Artist
Amberin Memon, Software professional
S.P. Ambrose , IAS (Retd.), Former Addl Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI
Anand Arni, RAS (Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
Mohinderpal Aulakh, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Punjab
G. Balachandhran, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
Gopalan Balagopal , IAS (Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
Chandrashekhar Balakrishnan , IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
Rana Banerji, RAS(Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
Sharad Behar, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
Aurobindo Behera, IAS (Retd.), Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha
Sundar Burra, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
Rachel Chatterjee, IAS (Retd.), Former Special Chief Secretary, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
Gurjit Singh Cheema, IAS (Retd.), Former Financial Commissioner, Govt. of Punjab
Vibha Puri Das , IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
P.R. Dasgupta, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI
Keshav Desiraju , IAS (Retd.), Former Health Secretary, GoI
M.G. Devasahayam, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
Ravi Vira Gupta , IAS (Retd.), Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Wajahat Habibullah , IAS (Retd.), Former Sec, GoI and Chief Information Commissioner
Subodh Lal, IPoS(Resd), Former Deputy DG, Ministry of Communications, GoI
P.M.S. Malik , IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Myanmar & Special Sec, MEA, GoI
L.L. Mehrotra, IFS (Retd.), Former Special Envoy to the Prime Minister and former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, GoI
Aditi Mehta, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
Sonalini Mirchandani , IFS (Resd.), GoI
Malay Mishra, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Hungary
Deb Mukharji , IFS (Retd.), Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, IFS (Retd.), Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
Gautam Mukhopadhaya, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Myanmar
P.A. Nazareth , IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Egypt and Mexico
P. Joy Oommen, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh
S.K. Pachauri, IAS (Retd.), Former Director General, National Productivity Council, GoI
Amitabha Pande , IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
R. Poornalingam, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI
N.K. Raghupathy , IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
Julio Ribeiro , IPS (Retd.), Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania
A.K. Samanta, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal
G. Sankaran, IC&CES (Retd.), Former President, Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal
A. Selvaraj , IRS (Retd.), Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFoS (Retd.), Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat
Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
Navrekha Sharma , IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Indonesia
Raju Sharma , IAS (Retd.), Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
K.S. Sidhu, IAS (Retd.), Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
A.K. Srivastava, IAS (Retd.), Former Administrative Member, Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal
Geetha Thoopal, IRAS (Retd.), Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata
Hindal Tyabji, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
