To Goanet - Averthanus D'Souza wrote: >Now that an Indian business tycoon has bought them >for $1.8 million is a paradox of unprecedented magnitude. >Mahatma Gandhi himself, who lived a very frugal and >austere life - he did not even have a house of >his own - would have given these things away for >free to some poor person without a second thought. >The paradox lies in the fact that $1.8 million in foreign >currency has left India to benefit an unscrupulous >American 'collector' who made some very unreasonable >demands of the Government of India as a precondition >to pull the items out of the auction.
Which galaxy is Averthanus D'Souza living in? Let's see - "Indian business tycoon" - booze baron Vijay Mallya - now the owner of Mahatma's personal effects. Mallya is known for everything unGandhian and is unabashedly unGandhian. This is a statement of fact, not a value judgement - I respect Mallya's freedom to choose the life he wants to live. The "unscrupulous American" that Averthanus D'Souza declaims is actually a votary of the peace movement with utmost regard for Gandhi's ideas and life. Averthanus D'Souza speaks of the "unreasonable demands" wanted of the Government of India by this "unscrupulous American." Let us examine what they are: "...to increase government spending on the poor or to create an international traveling exhibit about Gandhi that would include the items that would have been auctioned on Thursday afternoon." http://tinyurl.com/gandhi-auction Gee, mighty unreasonable. I wish the Gandhi memorabilia would have stayed put in America. For Indians have ZERO regard for their own heritage. The only quality Indians show in abundance is self-righteous indignation. Look at the pathetic state of Birla House or the rubbish memorial at Rajghat that overturns everything Gandhi stood for and lived for. Look at the ancient texts rotting in the dusty library shelves or the archival musical recordings mothballed into oblivion in All India Radio's damp dungeons. I say, ship everything to Harvard or Berkeley and it will be preserved. Keep things in India only if you want to turn them to dust. Regards, r
