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This is an archive article published on March 7, 2009

Gandhi’s ancestral home removes his belongings from display

Kaba Gandhi No Delo,the ancestral home turned museum of Mahatma Gandhi in Rajkot,no longer has on display its three prized possessions — a pair of glasses,a copy of the Ramayana and a cap,all believed to have belonged to the Father of the Nation.

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Kaba Gandhi No Delo,the ancestral home turned museum of Mahatma Gandhi in Rajkot,no longer has on display its three prized possessions — a pair of glasses,a copy of the Ramayana and a cap,all believed to have belonged to the Father of the Nation.

Ushakant Mankad,renowned Gandhian and secretary of the Gandhi Smruti Trust,which manages the museum,explained the reason: “Gandhi’s glasses,like the one that went under the hammer in New York,are reverentially preserved at many places including Kirti Mandir (Gandhi’s birthplace in Porbandar) and Kaba Gandhi No Delo. Sabarmati Ashram,however,has declared that the one on display there is only a replica. So,there are several pairs of Mahatma’s glasses on display in Gujarat alone. Was Gandhi such a capitalist to have owned so many pairs of glasses?’’

Mankad said he is in no position to comment on the authenticity of the pair auctioned on Thursday,or those preserved at Kirti Mandir and elsewhere. “But we will redisplay them at Kaba Gandhi No Delo only when we are sure that those really belonged to the Mahatma,” he added.

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Mankad maintained that the copy of the Ramayan,which Putlibai,Gandhi’s mother,is believed to have read out to him,the glasses and the cap,were passed on to the Smruti Trust after the district authorities took over Kaba Gandhi No Delo in 1970,from the erstwhile ruler of Rajkot. The four-room house was used by Karamchand Gandhi,the Diwan of Rajkot state,as his official quarter.

Vaju Parmar,in-charge of Kirti Mandir at Porbandar,also echoed similar views. “We no longer display Gandhi’s glasses in Kirti Mandir. We now keep it in a closet since it may not have belonged to him,” he said.

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