Dear Narendra Beta,
Thank you for offering a floral tribute to me at Raj Ghat this morning. I have been observing that ever since you have come to power, you ensure that my birthday is celebrated with great zeal and vigour, and I want to thank you for that. Today, I want to remind you of a movie about me which was made a few years back – “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”. The actor who is playing my role in the film asks the hero to remove my name from the photos, currency notes, hoardings and remove all my statues but remember me in his heart.
I also want to tell you the same, remember me in your heart. I will tell you how you can do that; I am sharing with you the three principles of my life which I want you to follow, and make India better by applying them in the governance of this country.
Truth
It is painful to see all the allegations which are being raised against you in the Rafale deal and you being referred to as a thief by many. It is not the allegations from the opposition which I am concerned about; because the ‘dharma’ of the opposition is to oppose and criticise and no one knows it better than you. Remember your stand on fuel prices when you were in the opposition? My concern is the people of this country who have started doubting your motive in the Rafale deal. I request you to come clean in front of the people of India and steer clear of this controversy. Also, do it yourself and not through your ministers, their temper is too high, and that does not help. This brings me to my second principle.
Non-Violence
Non-violence or Ahimsa is the second principle which will help you to govern better and win the trust of the people. Start this by teaching your student body ABVP to practice non-violence because they recently engaged in violence in the DUSU and JNU student elections. I even saw a video of a professor in Madhya Pradesh touching the feet of ABVP members!
This is not what India stands for, a country where a ‘Guru’ is revered more than the ‘God’. The violence against harijans, minorities and marginalised sections of the society is also increasing every passing day. The hate which incites violence has now started circulating through WhatsApp and Facebook videos, which means that the perpetrators are not even scared of the law and are living in a state of absolute lawlessness. Their will is strengthened when your minister garlands them when they come out of the jail as convicts on bail. Please reprimand such behaviour of your ministers.
Tolerance
This is the third principle I want to share with you so that you can govern this great nation better. Just a few days back a new anti-national was born, his name is Justice DY. Chandrachud, and now I fear for him only because he was carrying out his duties. I know his position would deter the local goons from threatening him as they will get booked for contempt of court, but, many more who are less privileged than him have been terrorised, beaten and threatened for their dissenting views; which should not happen in a democracy.
The most prominent example is my dear friend Sardar Patel and me. We disagreed on many issues, but we worked in the same system and learned from each other. I came to be known as the father of the nation while he got the title of the Iron Man of India. I still have the highest of regards for Sardar Patel and his work for the country. He also respected me despite our differing views, and this is how dissenting views are accommodated in a democracy. I hope this serves as an example for you.
I want to end this letter by making a personal request to you, ask your party members not to politicise historical leaders and freedom fighters for political gains. For example, a member of your party called me a ‘Chatur Baniya’ and time and again tries to take leverage of my Gujarati origin. I know all political parties do it, but I can only request you to stop it in your party. I will also request the other parties to stop politicising our names – when I will write to their leaders.
Thank you once again for the warm birthday wishes, my best wishes are with you for the Swach Bharat Abhiyaan.
Yours Lovingly,
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
P.S: Remember it’s Mohandas and not Mohanlal.