"Information will always be free on our site," says Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma
Gandhi, about Mahatma.org.in. And it’s going to be exhaustive, considering his aim to create the
most comprehensive electronic archive on Bapuji. "To my generation, for whom Gandhi only has
remote connotations of Khadi and Quit India, I want to reintroduce the man. I want to tell them
things that show why this man, who has been dead for over 50 years, is still alive in the popular
psyche of our country," he explains.
The site is simply structured. Beginning with a personal tribute to Gandhi, an Anthology section has
books, pictures, audio and video clips on him. ‘Last Days’ creates a vivid picture of the weeks
preceding Gandhi’s assassination, again with the help of information, pictures, audio and video
clips.
The site also gives links to interesting Web pages that discuss Gandhi. An Event Announcement
section is a community feature, where users can post Gandhi-related news on seminars, talks or
movies.
The book section features the complete version of his autobiography, ‘The Story of My Experiments
With Truth’. A must-read, here is a honest memoir, self-obsessed but not self-flattering. To a person
who wrote forcefully in contemporary socio-political publications (viz. Indian Opinion, Young India,
The Harijan, etc) -- his great-grandson plans to do full justice. "We're already in the process of (data)
entering all of Bapuji’s writing, which will take over two and a half lakh web pages," informs Tushar.
Cartoons of Gandhi revive pre-independence nostalgia. Culled from the works of both foreign and
Indian cartoonists, one can find witty takes on themes like ‘Exchange of condiments on Dandi
Beach’ and the Britishers’ scorn at ‘Gandhi’s 10 Commandments’ to the ‘South African fear of
South Asians’ (during Gandhi’s association with the country).
While these cartoons are the only exclusive possession of the site for now, Tushar and his team are
in the process of getting more stuff. "We've just got hold of a 1949 private recording of Mohammad
Rafi, a 25-minute biographical song on Bapuji. We're working on enhancing its audio quality and will
soon put it up."
He adds that while the makers of the site already possess most of the information not currently
online, "We don’t want to simply put up the matter. Our aim is to use photographs, video and audio
clips to create a whole picture that will captivate the reader. Besides, we’re concentrating first on
collecting photographs, for these are fast deteriorating." The site’s team is using technology to
reconstruct old photographs and get sharp copies in an electronic format.
Tushar’s focussed endeavour shows passion. Maybe, that's because it's personal.
While the world knows Gandhiji taught non-violence, the most important lesson Tushar says he
learnt from his great grandfather, is that "The rules are same for everyone." He recollects: Bapuji
never allowed anyone
to photograph him or take his autograph for free. Everyone had to pay Rs 5, which went to the
Harijan fund. Once, as a child, Tushar’s father got a box camera and he, too, was refused
permission to click Bapuji’s picture without paying. Refusing to do so, he one day photographed
Bapuji on the sly. When caught, the box camera was confiscated and returned only on payment of
the Rs 5.
"That sense of equality pervades my life even today," says Tushar. You see, there’s a lot more to
tell about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
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