Immortal Soul of Bapu in Peril

Immortal Soul of 
Bapu in Peril

"A man without education is like a brave man without arms. Kings govern men and learned men govern Kings"

By Mukesh Sharma

Come the date of 2nd October, political parties in government are out to float full page ads in newspapers. Clad in starch white kurta pyjama, netas rush to the samadhi of Bapu in the morning to pay floral tribute in full glare of media cameras  - a mere charm offensive. The commoners allege that Mahatma Gandhi is the only iconic man of Indian politics who has been cheated the most in the last 72 years of independence and next comes the hapless people. It seems that Bapu’s immortal soul is in peril.

One of the leading families of Indian politics has become the self declared ‘proprietors’ of surname “Gandhi”, and often beats the drum of seclurism propounded by Bapu. Most of netas have staked claim on the patriotism of Bapu, and now are self-styled “patriots’. Even the walking stick of Bapu has been snatched away and is being used as danda to terrorise the innocent people. A few have laid their hand on the specs of Bapu and are using it in ads for commercial gains. Buck does not stop here, 2000 note that carries the pic of Bapu predominently, adorns the coffers of the rich and corrupt netas who live kingsize life. Perhaps, out of shame, only loin cloth of Bapu has been spared. It is a open secret that the netas pretend to follow Bapu’s principle and philosophy just to ingratiate themselves. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Last night, this journalist/ author happened to have talks with the soul of beloved Bapu in dream. Here are  excerpts of conversation:   

His immortal soul in peril

Author:  Bapu, how is the India of your dream?

Bapu: I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people, an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony . . . . There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability or the curse of intoxicating drinks and drugs . . . . Women will enjoy the same right as men . . . . This is the India of my dream.

Author: Bapu, the rich are getting richer the poor are getting poorer. It has given rise to many social evils and has jeopardised the unity and integrity of India. What is the solution to this problem?

Bapu: The rich can not accumulate wealth without the co-operation of the poor in the society. So non-violent non co-operation and civil disobedience are the right and infallible solution.

As soon as a man looks upon himself  as a servant of  society, earns for its sake, spends for its benefit, then purity enters into his earnings and there is ahimsa in his venture. Moreover, if men’s mind turns towards this way of life, there will come about peaceful revolution in society, and that without any bitterness.

Author: Materialism is on the rise, the rich love to flaunt their wealth through their acquisition. any suggestion?

Bapu: Non-possession is allied to non-stealing.  A thing not originally stolen must neverthless be classified as stolen property if we possess it without needing it. Possession implies provision for the future. A seeker after truth, a follower of the law of love, can’t hold anything against tomorrow. God never stores for the morrow. He never creates more than what is strictly needed for the moment. if, therefore, we repose faith in his providence, we should be assured that he will give us every day our daily bread, measuring everything we require.

Author: Would you throw some light on your Principle of Non-violence?

Bapu: I am not a visionary. I claim to be as practical idealist. The religion of non-violence is not meant merely for the rishis and saints.  It is meant for the common people as well. Non-violence is the law of  our species as violence is the law of the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law - to the strength of the spirit.


Author: Is education necessary for the development of man?

Bapu: A man without education is like a brave man without arms. Kings govern men and learned men govern Kings.

Author: Who is wise?

Bapu: A wise men is not he who considers how he may get out of an evil, but he who sees to it that he doesn’t fall into it.

Author: What is truthfullness?

Bapu: No man’s Religion can be right unless his heart becomes right, nor can his heart become right unless his tongue is right . . . .

Author: Can anyone become Sanyasin by wearing saffaron clothes?

Bapu: A Rishi or Sanyasin is one who has realised himself. Sannyasa according to the Gita is the renunciation of actions prompted by desire.

Author:What is true development?

Bapu: True development consists in reducing  ourselves to a cipher. Selfless service is secret of life. To rise above passion is the highest ideal.


Author: What is God ?

Bapu: Truth is God. This God is living force. That force resides in the body, but is not the body. He who denies the existence of that great force, denies to himself access to its inexhaustible power and remains impotent.

Author: What is Indian Culture?

Bapu: Indian culture is neither Hindu, Islamic, nor any other, wholly. It is a fusion of all. I want culture of all lands to be blown about my house and as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. I refuse to live in other peoples’ houses as an interloper, a beggar or a slave.

Author: Indians are losing trust in Indian civilization?

Bapu: We are inhabitants of a country which has so long survived with its own civilization. Many a civilization of Europe is destroyed, but India, our country, survives as a witness to its own civilization. All scholars agree in testifying that the civilization of India is the same today as it was thousands years ago. But, now we have reason to suspect that we have no longer faith in our civilization. Every morning we worship, recite the verses composed by our forebears, but we don’t understand their significance. Our faith is turning in another direction.

Author: How do  you judge religion?

Bapu:  After long study and experience I have come to these conclusions:
i) All religions are true.
ii) All religions have some error in them.
iii) All religions are almost as dear to me as my own Hinduism. My veneration for other faiths is the same as for my own faith.

Consequently, the thought of conversion is impossible . . .  Our prayer for others ought never to be:
‘God give them light thou has given to me!’ But: ‘Give them all the light and truth they need for their highest development.’

Author: How can a man be truly religious?

Bapu: A man can be truly religious when he is truly good.

Author: How do you see nationalism?

Bapu: My idea of nationalism is that my country may become free, that if need be whole of the country may die so that humanity race may live. There is no room for race hatred here. Let that be our nationalism.

Author: Do you think that prevailing political system and political powers people’s representatives enjoy can change the life of miserable millions?

Bapu: Political power in my opinion, can’t be our ultimate aim. It is one of the means used by men for their all-round advancement. The power to control national life through national representatives will become unnecessary of the national life becomes so perfect as to be self-controlled. It will then be a state of enlightened anarchy in which each person will become his own ruler . . . . In an, ideal state there will be no political institution and therefore no political power.

Author: Can great reform be achieved without winning political power?

Bapu: The thinker like Thoreau said ‘that government is best which governs the least.’ That means when people come into possession of political power, the interference with the freedom of people is reduced to a minimum. In other words, a nation that runs its affairs smoothly and effectively without much State interference is truly democratic. Where such a condition is absent, the form of government is democratic in name.

Author: How the standard of public life can be raised?

Bapu: We shall never be able to raise the standard of public life through laws. We are not made that way. Only if the lives of the leaders both private and public, are perfect will they be able to produce any effect on the people. Mere preaching will have no effect.

Author: How unity can be brought about?

Bapu: In my opinion unity will come not by one mechanical means but by change of heart and
attitude on the part of the leaders of public opinion.

Author: How can heaven be brought upon earth?

Bapu: Here, I subscribe to the truthful views of Sh. Satish Chandra Mukherjee who says:  ‘If we could erase the Is and Mine’s from religion, politics, economics, etc., we shall soon be free and bring heaven on earth.’

Author: What is your wish?

Bapu: I don’t ask for temporal power, nor do I ask to go to heaven, nor even to attain nirvana, what I ask for is that I may be able to relieve the pain of those who are in pain.

Author: What message you would like to convey to present generation of politicians and people?

Bapu: My life is its own message. If it is not, then nothing I can now say will fulfil the purpose. I have no complain against my assassinator. May god bless him and rest his soul in peace.

Assassinating the body of course doesn’t matter, for, out of my ashes a thousand Gandhi will arise. But what if people assassinate or burn the principle I have lived for?

(Statements of Bapu given here are based on the works of Mahatma Gandhi compiled in the book 'The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, OUP, 1995)

Living Beyond Time

Living Beyond Time

They live by hours and day. Their day begins with rising sun and ends with setting sun. To these hopeless and hapless millions, no month or year exists beyond the devil day

By Mukesh Sharma

The millions die unborn in India. Lucky few come out in fullness of time. Out of this flock, only a few blessed are able to live in time. The majority of unblessed ‘breathing’ human beings are caught in time-warp. To these teeming millions, the time doesn’t move; the time doesn’t exist. The miserable millions are born out of circumstances; they survive in circumstances; their days are numbered in circumstances. To these children of poverty, roti is a luxury; a sound sleep is a celebration. They live by hours and day. Their day begins with rising sun and ends with setting sun. To these hopeless and hapless millions, no month or year exists beyond the devil day. As the stream of the Ganga can’t be divided into time, there is no old or new year in their lives. These calander-less people live beyond time.

Living Beyond Time

According to the Lancet, a global health medical journal, 15.6 million abortions take place every year in India, and 81 per cent of it at home. Of course, unofficial figures are enormously high. Though the unfortunate mothers of these unborn children are mere victims, their fathers are poverty, disease, and illicit relations. Each abortion brings a death to the unborn and the mother is reborn again for another onslaught. No new year exists between a death and rebirth.

The International Children Charity reveals that there are over 20 millions street children in India; these orphans, children of single mother ‘penury’ fight for every crumb of roti (bread) on the busy roads of cities and at railway stations where they wait for the trains for the leftover food. Always busy in roti-hunt, these forlorn kids have no time to look back to old year or look forward to New Year. They continue to wriggle between old year and New Year; the old year never ends and the New Year never sets in.

As per Ministry of Women and Child Development report, there are 3 millions female sex workers in India; 36 per cent of them are yet to attain the age of 18. Since this ancient ‘business’ of flesh trade has gone hi-tech with the advent of internet, the unofficial figure may be four times high. The reported and unreported alleged cases of sexual abuse of minor girls in shelter homes and other ‘centre’s so called Nari Niketan etc. are not being counted here. To these daily ‘wage’ earners, the day begin with the setting sun and ends with the rising sun; it is difficult to distinguish between the rising sun and setting sun. These unfortunate women live on night-to-night basis. Their ‘dayless’ life has no year.

Going by the international poverty line yardstick, 60 per cent populace in India i.e. 763 million live on $3.30 per day or in other words, is below the poverty line. Reported deaths due to starvations and suicides across the country, are the tell-tale sign of crushing poverty in India. These miserable millions can’t see life beyond ‘roti. They are destined to live on day-to-day basis. They can’t think of life in terms of years.

Now the pertinent question is who is responsible for this sorry state of affair. People allege it is grasping netas. The most of the netas are getting richer and richer. The politics is the most lucrative business in India. The Corruption has become a business culture.

In his write up entitled Equal Distribution, published in Harijan Bandhu, Mahtma Gandhi says:

“The rich cannot accumulate wealth without the co-operation of the poor in the society.”

Needless to say, New Year may be matter of celebration for the handful of ‘children’ of Power and Pelf only. To the vast number of ‘kids’ of Hunger and Penury not only in India but across the world, NEW YEAR is just a phrase. They live beyond time. Robert Burns rightly says:

“Man’s inhumanity to man,

 Makes countless mourn”

Confusion, a Quality of the Great Mind

Confusion, a Quality of the Great Mind

Even the God is confused to see that He made man and the man has become Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian; God made earth, man has divided it into countries, and kills one another to live

By Mukesh Sharma

Be it a religious leader, statesman, scientist, writer/poet or any intellectual, all have one thing in common and that is confusion. Study reveals that the most of the great minds of ancient time were confused lot; their chanced creations of thoughts, discoveries and inventions that amazed and changed the world, were the products of their ‘severe’ confusion. The great theoretical physicist who propounded the ‘Theory of Relativity’, Albert Einstein says:

“Confusion of goals and perfectness of means seems to characterize our age.”

The confusion is a state of mind where a confused with a desired goal is not able to decide what to do and how to do in the prevailing present situation because of lack of either past experience or the ability to foresee the future, and it may arise under any situation at any stage of process and at any point of time.

The Confusion

As far as confusion is concerned, only two persons in the world have no confusion –  an ignorant fool and a learned fool. The former is always confirmed in his conviction; he has no doubts or surmises about his abilities and capabilities; he pretends to know everything; he looks at the world through the specs of his ignorance only. The latter is proud of his knowledge collected from various sources; he assesses and assays the world through his ‘acquired’ knowledge only; he cares a damn whether it is fake or genuine.

Moreover, confusion leads to knowledge, and the knowledge further paves the way for the  conviction, and this conviction lays the foundation of creation. The circle moves on and on – from confusion through knowledge and conviction to creation. All the progress and advancement have been made due to this eternally moving circle – from simple wheel to spaceship; from homo erectus to well clad man. Obviously, it is the confusion that has made the progress in the world possible.

Michael Faraday struggled a lot in the shocking confusion before he could stumble upon his invention of Electric Dynamo (in 1831), and that taught the world the practical use of electricity.

Louis Pasteur fought with confusing bacterias and came across the Pasteurization (1864) – the way to prevent the growth of bacterias in substance like wine, beer, and milk in his age.

In his confused bid to develop a cheap substitute to ivory billiard balls, John Wesley Hyath happened to develop Plastic (1869) – a moldable versatile material chemically called celluloid, and be it simple carry bag or any other thing, it has become an inevitable need of daily life today.

Facing lots of confusion in teaching the deaf, Alexander Graham Bell, a teacher for the deaf at Boston University, laid his hands on the technique to transmit sound via electricity, and that led to the invention of Telephone (1876), and android mobile is just an upgraded version today, an indispensable need.

Groping in the darkness of confusion, Thomas Edison chanced upon to develop the idea that led to the discovery of light bulb (1879) – the way to illuminate even after sun-setting.

Encircling in confusion around the big wheel of Penny Farthing (world’s first ever cycle) for years, John Kemp Bicycle (1885) came up with the idea of Bicycle with chain called in his time Velocipedes.

Confused by the sound of motors, German Engineer Karl Benz developed Motor Carriage (1895), the first modern automobile, and today the world enjoys F-1 Formula race.

Rolling in confusion of metallic ductability, Charles Martin came to discover Aluminum (1886), the part and parcel of modern life.

Wright Brothers piloted the first ever Aeroplane (1903) of the world because of the confusion created by the flights of the birds, and today the world has supersonic jets.

Loaded with confusion of snail-mail, Ray Tomlinson worked out the concept of e-mail (1972) that changed the world of communication, likewise PC (personal computer) (in 1980s) and mobile in (1980s).

Out of utter confusion Tim Berners Lee, wrote the software for www (World Wide Web), and that changed the world of internet.

Even the greatest poet and dramatist in Sanskrit language, Kalidas emerged after the matrimonial confusion when he was rebuffed by the learned wife Vidyotama. What is more, even the overconfused Tulsidas became Tulsidas after the spousal rebuke, and he penned down the classic story of lord Rama –  the Ramacharitmanas. Even the Gita came into existence out of the confusion of Arjuna.

The confusion created in the mind of Mohan Dass Karamchand Gandhi when he was thrown out of the first class compartment of the train reserved for white-skin people, made him to lead freedom struggle, and he became Mahatma after independence. As a wanderer, Modi is said to have spent prime years of his life in confusion, and today he is the Prime Minister of India. Yet another man, projected by his ‘home-made’ political party – Congress, Rahul Gandh is said to be the most confused man. People have mixed feelings about him (Rahul Gandhi). Some maintain that he may never come out of the chaos of confusion. However, some contend that he would grow out of confusion and emerge as a ‘creator’,  "a future PM of India."

Beyond confusion of mistakes, there is experience; experience is the name given to mistakes. Beyond confused man, there is nature. Beyond confusing nature, there is God. Even God seems to be confused because he made man and he (man) has become Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian etc. He (God) made the earth, man has divided it into countries, and kills one another to live.

Evidently enough, confusion is the quality of the great mind.

Wondrous Boy, The ‘Champion of the Earth’

(Humour)

Wondrous Boy

The ‘Champion of the Earth’

By Mukesh Sharma

W

ith all the elements of exclamations, his life story reads like the pep talks from the book Self Help by Samuel Smiles; it sounds like the contents of Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russel; it reflects the spirit of Ends and Means by Aldous Huxley; it shows the social philosophy of Capital by Karl Marx; it appears like the deft political moves of Chanakya Niti by Acharya Chanakya; it seems like the actions of the Prince  by Niccolo Machiavelli; his well calculated calm against the jibes of political opponents reminds one of the Gita of Lord Krishna.

His intriguing story reads like a travelogue from tea to top; from self to a son of soil; from nonentity to national figure; from RSS pracharak to Prime Minister; from State leader to Statesman.

After incipient FIASCOS, he is a man of scores of FIRSTS.  He was made an accused FIRST for 2002 Gujrat riots and later exculpated by the Supreme Court. He was anointed as chief Minister of Gujrat FIRST and an elected MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) later in 2001. He became PM designate FIRST and an MP (Member of Parliament) later when he sweeped the general election in 2014. He is the FIRST junior BJP leader who has sidelined his seniors against hierarchy rule.

Wondrous Boy

He is the FIRST the most followed Indian leader on twitter (34.6 millions). He is the FIRST Indian politician who interacted with the netizens on live chat on Google Hangout on August 31, 2012.

He is the FIRST Indian leader who has influenced and persuaded Hon’ble Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to go for a magnificent Hindu temple in Riyad, usually, an unheard and unwelcome idea in Muslim States.

He is the FIRST PM who has inked deal for S-400 missile system with elated 56 inch chest with Russia despite the raised eyebrows of US, a devil diplomacy.

He is the FIRST Indian leader who inspired UN General Assembly to declare 21 June as International Day for Yoga and made the world feel and realize the importance of the ancient science of India.

He is the FIRST PM who announced on TV channels the demonetization of Rs500 and Rs1000 currency notes, and declared it invalid tenders to wipe off black money, though it is a moot point in the so called intelligentsia.

Despite all the obstructionist approaches of opposition, he is the FIRST PM who has stuck to his “One Nation, and One Tax”, and has brought GST (Goods & service Tax) in force.

He is the FIRST PM who has challenged the ever bullying bigots, and has gone against the age old apocryphal practice of TRIPLE TALAQ, a disgrace to women folk and assertion of male-chauvinism, and has managed to declare it a cognizable crime now, well against so called Islamic canonical laws  ̶  Shariat and Hadees, much to the chagrin of some  self-styled  netas and vested interests.

He is the FIRST BJP leader who has made it possible to form BJP government in 19 states, after squeezing the ‘divine’ right and rectitude of Congress that has ruled and allegedly “ruined” India where over 50% populace is still below the poverty line, even after 72 years of independence. When India got independence in 1947, China was said to be lagging behind by 60 years but today China is, supposedly, 100 years ahead.

He is the FIRST leader who has forced his opponents to kneel down and allegedly,  seek the help of arch-enemy Pakistan and diplomatic foe China to defeat him in upcoming general election, a political maneuver lesser known to gullible populace.

He is the FIRST BJP leader who has given splitting headache to ‘Gandhis’, seemingly disturbed by his astute design and demagogy, and has made the Scion of Gandhi family to copy his modus Vivendi and modus oprandi  ̶   temple hopping, Mansarovar Yatra,  foreign jaunts to meet and greet Indians diaspora and so on.

He is the FIRST leader who is a fashion icon and makes style statements with his half-sleeves kurta and churidaar pyjama, an elegant but simple sartorial sense.

He is the FIRST Indian leader who has given hugs to the most of the powerful leaders of the world, and has, amusingly, been rated by US media as a “big hugger.”

As a workaholic, he is the FIRST PM who has not taken a single day leave and has worked 18 hours a day in his four and half years of tenure as a PM.

He is the FIRST PM whose kins live in wants at their ancestral  house in Gujrat. He has never mixed his public life with his private life, in contrast, to the most of the kins of netas who  make their pile just in 5 years, once they come to power, and still an, adamantly, single man is surprisingly being singled out for alleged corruption in certain deal for no apparent reason.

Since Election Commission has announced the dates of election in 5 states (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana) in upcoming November 2018, opposition leaders like wolves are out to hunt down the ‘lion’  (his supporters euphemistically call him lion). But they (opposition leaders) intuitively know that it will not be a cakewalk. Bereft of the issue, opposition leaders are busy in girding up their loin and riding up sleeves by spreading alleged lies.  And to the utter disbelief, dismay and distress of the opposition, now he has become the ‘Champion of the Earth’ before the opposition gets wind of his latest achievement (The award was announced on September 26, 2018 on the sidelines of 73^rd UN general Assembly in New York).

If the events continue to roll like that his opponents who are in jittery, believe he may soon become the ‘Champion of the Universe’. No doubt, the ‘world’ is perturbed and perplexed by the mindboggling feats of the FIRST of the Wondrous Boy,  the Champion of the Earth.

Of ‘Gandhi’ Tree

(Humour)

Of ‘Gandhi’ Tree

The clamorous claim on the ‘tree’ has become a nonsensical ‘national’ dispute between Name Changer Gandhis and Game Changer Modi

By Mukesh Sharma

Our learned forefathers had discovered the medicinal and religious importance of plants and trees ages ago. Charak Samhita by rishi Charak, a worldwide acclaimed ancient treatise is authenticated even by modern pathologists and physicians. Among the vast variety of vegetation, the most revered are: tulsi (holy basil), a household name in India; neem’s medicinal properties are known to the world; peepal (sacred fig) has deep cultural significance in India; banyan is worshipped by the Hindu for their strong religious belief, and it is said Mahatma Buddha attained enlightenment under this tree only.

However, the mainline ‘gangs’ so called national political parties have come out in open to stake claim on this miracle ‘Gandhi’ tree. It has become a more serious property dispute than Ram mandir temple at Ayodhya. Of course, the dispute is beyond petition. Even overactive Oracles of law would not dare to step in. On 2^nd October, the day of the birth of the said tree, the poor populace watched the drama of netas at Sevagram Ashram (where Mahatma Gandhi is said to have spent 11 years of his life).

Though the tree in question is 150 years old which was planted by the respected Gujarati couple一Karamchand Gandhi (father) and Putlibai Gandhi (mother) at Porbander, a coastal town in Kathiawar, Gujarat, the property ‘hawk’ have set their eyes on it (tree) to grab and usurp.

The much talked ‘Gandhis’ stake their claim on the basis of their ‘surname’. But documentary evidences indicate that their claim is not beyond doubt. What is noteworthy, the real ‘Gandhis’ are silent on the issue. In fact the history of Gandhi surname can be traced in Gujrat and Punjab一there are so many renowned Gandhis一Rustom K.S. Gandhi (1924-2014, an Indian Navy Admiral), Sorab K Gandhi (Prof Emeritus at Ranssellaer Polytechnic Institute), Devang  Gandhi (an Indian cricketer) and so on.

Interestingly, the real Gandhis are not the party to this dispute. It is the doubtful ‘Gandhis’ who are the  First Party.

The doubt get credence by the oft-told interesting story and that goes like that:

Thousands of moon ago, a devout Muslim from Junagadhi area of Gujarat, named Faredoon Jehangir marries a Parsi woman after converting her to Islam. In old times, surname used to be the window to day-to-day life of a person. So all the grocers selling grocery, oil, ghee etc would suffix their name with ‘Ghandy’’ derived from Sanskrit  word gandh (smell). So the full name of that Muslim was Faredoon Jehangir Ghandy.  Influenced by the fierce freedom struggle of then Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (now Mahatma Gandhi), young and handsome son of aforesaid muslim Firoz Jehangir Ghandy changes the spelling of his surname from ‘Ghandy’ to ‘Gandhi’. Now historically known as Firoz Gandhi. He marries the daughter of then political star Jawahrlal Nehru, Priyadarshini Nehru. After the marriage, she also changes her maiden name to Indira Gandhi. Out of the wedlock, two baby boys are born - Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. In his youth, the former falls in love with an Italian chic, named Edvige Antonia Albina Maino. K.M. Rao, an author of An Indian Dynasty  alleges: “ the strong crush makes Rajiv Gandhi to change his religion and he embraces Christianity (Catholic) to marry Maino. He becomes Roberto and the marriage is solemnized in church as per Christian custom. The love-birds are blessed with  two kids 一Raul (sonl) and Bianca (daughter). And later for the reasons best known to the family, Raul becomes Rahul Gandhi, Bianca, Priyanka Gandhi, and their respected mother becomes Sonia Gandhi.”

Now the latest news is that overgrown ‘boy’ has become Janaudhari pandit and also a devotee of lord Shiva that too overnight.

Even the chameleon would shy to see the way the netas change their ‘colours’.

Irrespective of vehement claim, made by ‘Gandhis’, the First Party, the common people contend that they are not lawful and rightful claimant to ‘Gandhi Tree’.

 At this juncture, another ‘party’ joins this so called ‘national dispute’ as a Second Party. And they claim that Mahatma Gandhi is Father of Nation, and India is their Bharat Mata. So they are the only legal heir and legitimate claimant to the tree. Taking the wind out of the sail and stealing the march, the Second Party has decided to celebrate 150 years of birth anniversary of the tree in a big way and the celebrations would continue till 2 October, 2020. 

Axiomatically, if the ‘First Party’ is Name Changer, the Second Party’ is Game Changer! The dispute has become a clamorous claim and nonsensical national dispute between Gandhis (the First Party)  and Modi’s BJP (the Second  Party)

However, the common people believe, true to their self, the selfish netas seldom uphold the virtuous values the grand old ‘Gandhi’ Tree stands for. They eye up its national importance based on the reverence and trust of teeming millions in India and across the world.