‘Children in US know more about Gandhi’

Reflecting over the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in the present age, his grandson and historian Rajmohan Gandhi said that school children in the USA know more about the “father of the nation” than their counterparts in India.

Speaking at the launch of the Kannada translation of his book ‘Mohandas-A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire’ here on Friday, Rajmohan said, “We are proud of Mahatma Gandhi and we think we know enough about him. But do we really know enough? I have been teaching in the USA, and children there know Gandhiji’s personal details, his milestones. They know more than children here.”

The former Rajya Sabha member and research professor at University of Illinois (USA), Rajmohan said, “It is important for us to understand that before he became the father of the nation (first coined by Subhash Chandra Bose), he was the son of the nation. He took responsibility on our behalf.”

The Kannada translation, he said, is the first translated version of his book in a regional language. “Contracts for translation of my book were signed in Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. However, I am proud to have it translated in Kannada first as my ancestors had a strong connection with this state,” he said.

He reminisced that Mahatma Gandhi became president of the Indian National Congress just once in 1924 in Belgaum. He added that his father, Devdas Gandhi, first proposed to his mother in Bangalore in 1927.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, after launching the book, said he would issue an order to ensure the book is made available in all libraries across the state.