Letters to the nation

Another set of historically important letters written by Mahatma Gandhi is on its way back to the country.

THOMAS ABRAHAM
in London

ON July 15, a set of 18 letters written by Mahatma Gandhi, dealing with the themes of Hindu-Muslim unity and non-violence, were purchased for the nation when they were auctioned by Sotheby's in London. The letters were written between 1918 and 1924, at the time of the Khilafat movement, to Maulana Abdul Bari, an Islamic scholar and founder of the Jamiat-e-Ulemai-e-Hind. A good part of the correspondence deals with plans for joint Hindu-Muslim demonstrations in support of the movement. The Ali brothers, Shaukat Ali and Mohammed Ali, who led the Khilafat movement along with Gandhiji, were the Maulana's disciples.

The collection also contains four letters in Urdu, some of which are in the original and some are copies, from Motilal Nehru to Maulana Bari, as well as two letters from Jawaharlal Nehru to the Maulana.

While five of Gandhiji's letters in the collection were in his own hand, several others were written by his secretaries and signed by him. Some letters were written and signed on Gandhiji's behalf by his secretaries. Several of the letters have also been translated into Urdu, either for or by Maulana Bari.

The letters were put up for auction by the Maulana's descendants settled in the United Kingdom. As on previous occasions when letters by the Mahatma were put up for sale, the Indian Government was anxious to acquire them and add them to the existing collections of Gandhiji's correspondence in various museums and archives. However, the Government was unwilling and unable to purchase them directly. An outright purchase by the Government was not feasible as it involved administrative questions such as where the funds should come from. Besides, officials were concerned that if the Government made it known that it was willing to buy all correspondence by Gandhiji, then hordes of other Gandhi letters would come into the market at inflated prices.

The problem of acquiring the set of letters and bringing them to India without direct government involvement was solved by Dr. L.M. Singhvi, India's former Indian High Commissioner in the U.K. Singhvi, who was present in London, used his contacts with non-resident Indian businesspersons and raised the funds for the purchase from two millionaires, G.K Noon and Nat Puri. Apart from the bidder who acted on behalf of Singhvi, there was one more bidder. Although Sotheby's had suggested a price between £10,000 and £15,000 the competitive bidding raised the price to £18,000.

THE HINDU PHOTO LIBRARY
The copyright for all letters written by Mahatma Gandhi rests with the Navajivan Trust in Ahmedabad.

Singhvi is a veteran in the purchase of Gandhi letters and memorabilia. He was involved in earlier purchases of a letter written by Gandhiji on the subject of khadi and a copy of Bhagvad Gita that belonged to the Mahatma. Two years ago Singhvi was involved in the prevention of the sale of a collection of drafts of letters written by the Mahatma, which were in the possession of one of his secretaries, V. Kalyanam (Frontline, November 29, 1996). This was done after doubts were cast on the legal right of the secretary to sell the drafts. That collection was eventually handed over to the Indian Government and is now with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.

In the present case, there are no doubts about the legality of the sale. The sellers were the descendants of the Maulana, to whom the letters had been addressed, and had title to the letters. As Dr. Peter Beale, an expert at Sotheby's, said, the sale that was attempted two years ago related to the drafts of letters that had been retained by someone who had no clear title; this time, the sale related to letters that had been sent by post to a recipient, whose family members were now selling them, as they had a right to do so.

Interestingly, while the recipient of such letters from the Mahatma have the right of ownership to the letters, the copyright for all such letters rests with the Navjivan Trust in Ahmedabad. Under the terms of Gandhiji's will, the copyright for all his written works, published and unpublished, went to the Trust which he founded. This means that owners of letters or anything else written by Gandhiji cannot reproduce them for monetary benefit.

COURTESY: SOTHEBY'S
One of the letters purchased at the auction conducted by Sotheby's in London.

Singhvi said that the letters would probably be given to the Nehru Memorial Museum in New Delhi to be added to its collection of Gandhiji's correspondence. The letters were in poor condition and needed expert archival care if they were to last, he added.

The letters deal with Gandhiji's attempts to build a common Hindu-Muslim front through the Khilafat movement. They also reveal the Mahatma's disappointment in the failure of his ideal of non-violence to take root. In one letter written in 1922 after Gandhiji was forced to call off the civil disobedience movement when it degenerated into violence, he writes: "I am disappointed because I have come away (from Delhi) with a majority that has no faith even in the policy of non-violence...I feel thoroughly helpless...that our opponents magnified our violence and terrorised us is only too true, but we expected no more from them, and no less. Hindus are as bad as Mussalmans, but unfortunately as both are weak our policy depends on hearty cooperation of both..."

He goes on to say: "I am clear that all aggressive activity must be stopped. Our ranks must be purged of all undesirable elements. If really as a result of our experiment we have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to control the mass violence or to convince the majority of our countrymen of the necessity of remaining non-violent, we may revise our programme, but it would be suicidal to delude ourselves into the belief that we are following the policy of non-violence when we are not."

He asks the Maulana for suggestions on ways to re-establish a non-violent programme. "Please think over the matter and let me know what can be done. If we can re-establish a non-violent atmosphere we must be able to work out the constructive programme laid down."

In other letters, Gandhiji discusses his plans for civil disobedience, and his various travels to settle disputes, such as a visit to Hoshangabad to settle a "cow sacrifice dispute". In one letter written in 1921, he asks the Maulana to come to Bombay (Mumbai) to help quell the rioting that had broken out. "Crowds (are) out of control (and) internal strife (is) proceeding," he writes. In a letter from jail, Gandhiji writes that he was "enjoying himself" in "this abode of freedom".

He also suggests that the road to Hindu-Muslim unity is through the spinning of khaddar. "I have come to the conclusion that the only conclusive demonstration of Hindu-Muslim unity is the universal adoption by them of the spinning wheel...Khaddar cannot become universal without both the great communities taking it up....from the very commencement of the struggle we have been wanting boycott of foreign cloth... For me the spinning wheel and Khaddar have a deep religious significance because it means Hindus and Muslim sympathy for the poor people who are dying today from hunger and disease. The Khaddar programme is therefore the greatest and surest I can foresee to the country."

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