Gandhi would have headed for Gaza to free Palestinians had he been alive, says grandson

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation, would have headed for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to fight for the freedom of Palestinians had he been alive, says his 72-year-old grandson.

London, Aug.4 : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation, would have headed for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to fight for the freedom of Palestinians had he been alive, says his 72-year-old grandson.

According to Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, the son of Devdas Gandhi, the Mahatma's youngest son,"If he (Mahatma Gandhi) was around today, my grandfather would have been in the Gaza Strip, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Palestinians. He would have sympathised with their plight, although he would not have agreed with using violence. Mohandas would never have condoned suicide bombings."

"He used to say, 'There are many causes I am prepared to die for, but no causes that I am prepared to kill for'," The Mirror quoted Rajmohan,as saying.

"Bapu, as everyone knew my grandfather, was always in demand. People asked for his advice constantly. He would play with us when he could and he was very gentle and very interested in our development. He would pick up my brother Ramchandra a lot as he was younger than me, but he loved us both very much and let us know it," recalls Raj, a silverhaired 72-year-old professor.

Now, a lecturer in politics at the University of Illinois, Raj says his grandfather's dream for a non-violent campaign to gain India's freedom from the British Empire became overshadowed by the self-interest of others and divisions between the Hindus and Muslims who wanted their own territories.

Faced with the greater evil of civil war, Gandhi reluctantly relented and gave his support to the partition plan, and was spiritually exhausted by the violence.

"At one of his lowest moments, he said he wished not to live another year and see the people suffering."

His wish was granted. Less than a year later, 78-year-old Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu extremist in New Delhi.

Rajmohan describes that tragic day as one of the most awful days of his life, but adds that the family knew it was coming.

"We were all aware of the danger to my grandfather," he says, and adds that when he saw his limp body, all he wanted was for him to "sit up and pick me up in his arms as he often did. I was only 12-and-a-half years old."

Rajmohan was born to journalist Devdas Gandhi, youngest son of Mahatma, and mother Lakshmi in 1935. His early years in Delhi were immersed in the politics of his large family and their supporters.

His book, Gandhi: The Man, His People And The Empire, chronicles Gandhi's life through his education in Britain to the formation of his politics in South Africa and triumph in India.

A father of two, Raj insists the brutal death of his grandfather has not dimmed the spirit of his beliefs.

"The bullets did not kill the spirit that wanted to bless and forgive his assassin and all the grudge-bearers. They only released that Gandhi for the ages and the believers in peace who hold the world together," he says.

ANI