President receives Gandhi memorabilia, thanks diaspora

Sumir Kaul
London, Oct 28 (PTI) A rare collection of Mahatma
Gandhi's memorabilia, including a bunch of letters written by
him, was Wednesday presented by two prominent NRIs to Indian
President Pratibha Patil, who said the ideology of the apostle
of peace can be a "powerful instrument" for building a
tolerant world.

Among the items were three letters written in Urdu by
Gandhi to his close associate and 'Khilafat' movement leader
Maulana Abdul Bari, a piece of white Khadi cloth gifted by him
to a South African actress and some autographed postcards.
At a function in the Indian High Commission, the rare
articles were handed over to Patil by NRI entrepreneurs Sir
Gulam K Noon and Nathu Puri, who had procured them from an
auction in July. The President had earlier said receiving
these items would be a "high point" of her visit to the UK.
"...Please advise people be calm and carry out swadeshi,"
wrote Gandhi in one of the letters, asking Bari to work for
calming tensions between Hindus and Muslims in Lucknow. In
another, Gandhi thanked him for gift of cotton for spinning.
The hand-woven cloth with a simple border and signed by
Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu was a gift to actress Moria Listler.
"Gandhi is not the property of India only but the whole
world. His philosophy is relevant in today's world. Even the
UN has accepted the relevance of this philosophy by declaring
October 2 as International Day of Non-violence," Patil said.
"Gandhiji's ideology can be a very powerful instrument
for building a peaceful and a tolerant world," she said at the
function, which was attended by the who's who of Indian
diaspora including Lord Swraj Paul, S P Hinduja and Indian
High Commissioner Nalin Surie, among others. More PTI SKL
ANU


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