1. Telegram to Rameshwari Nehru 2. Letter to C
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1. TELEGRAM TO RAMESHWARI NEHRU MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 RAMESHWARI NEHRU WARRIS ROAD LAHORE IF THEY WENT FOR VACATION YOU NEED NOT GO BUT USE YOUR JUDGMENT. BAPU From a copy: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 2. LETTER TO C. RAJAGOPALACHARI May 29, 1945 MY DEAR C. R., Yours written on the train. I am overwhelmed with work. Hence the delay, if delay it may be called. I agree with you about the existence of the evil. My diffculty is as to the way to deal with it. I want you to depend upon me to do so as soon as I see the way. Nothing will then stop me. Nor am I unvigilant. I am glad you liked your stay in Mahabaleshwar. I hope Papa and Narasimhan came to you at once and that you are doing well. I am on your latest pamphlet1. Love. BAPU From a photostat: G.N. 2106 1 Presumably Reconciliation VOL. 87: 29 MAY, 1945 - 29 AUGUST, 1945 1 3. LETTER TO POTTI SRIRAMULU May 29, 1945 DEAR SRIRAMULU1, It is more honest to sell your yarn for the required quantity of khadi and take your food from your beggings and devote the rest to the Harijan cause. Let the people know your worth. Yours, BAPU [PS.] Temple entry is not the only way to remove untouchability; it is one of the many ways all of which have to be taken. From a photostat: G.N. 106 4. NOTE TO AMRITLAL V. THAKKAR May 29, 1945 BAPA, This telegram has been received. I have given the reply2 as above. BAPU From the Gujarati original: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 5. LETTER TO SITA GANDHI May 29, 1945 CHI. SITA, Your handwriting is good. write to everybody in the same way. Equally good handwriting for everyone. Shivir agni3 seems all right. 1 A Congressman of Nellore who worked for the cause of untouchability; he fasted unto death for the formation of a separate Andhra State in 1953 2 Vide “Telegram to Rameshwari Nehru”, 29-5-1945; also “Letter to Amritlal V. Thakkar”. 3 Camp fire 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI You can say that on that day we had lighted shivir agni all over the place. Blessings to all from BAPU CHI. SITA GANDHI NANABHAI MASHRUWALA’S BUNGALOW AKOLA, BERAR From a photostat’ of the Gujarati: G.N. 4951 6. LETTER TO JAYAKUNVAR V. DESAI May 29, 1945 CHI. JAYA 1, I have your letter. You may, by all means, marry away Chi. Chandu2. Both seem to be worthy of each other. I cannot, however, welcome this marriage. I feel for that abandoned lady. How will she take it? Manilal is in Bombay. Blessings from BAPU From a microfilm of the Gujarati: M.M.U./23 7. LETTER TO KRISHNAVARMA MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 BHAI KRISHNAVARMA, I have your letter of the 20th. You can certainly let uncle read my letters. We all wish that he should get well. For that he should live under your care till he recovers completely and should do whatever you ask him to do. I hope his health is fast improving. Sailen should come to you in a few days. He will write directly to you. Blessings from BAPU DR. KRISHNAVARMA NATURE CURE CLINIC MALAD From a copy of the Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 1 Gandhiji’s niece, sister of Jaisukhlal A. Gandhi 2 Chandrakala, addressee’s daughter VOL. 87: 29 MAY, 1945 - 29 AUGUST, 1945 3 8. LETTER TO NANJI KALIDAS May 29, 1945 BHAI NANJI, I have your letter. Shantabehn had been here. Now she has gone to Panchgani to make preparations. Neither you nor anyone from your family need come here for my sake. Shantabehn is quite capable of managing everything all by herself. Then, too, I have a big party with me. I leave here on the 31st. Do not worry about me. Look after your health. Blessings from BAPU SHETH NANJI KALIDAS MAHARANA MILLS PORBUNDAR, KATHIAWAR From a copy of the Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 9. LETTER TO RANCHHODDAS MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 BHAI RANCHHODDAS, I have gone through your English letter. I do not want to get involved with the questions raised therein. Had you met me I would have spent some time in talking to you. How can I prevent you from sending to the Press the questions you have raised? What is the significance of those questions without my replies? Hope you are well. Yours, M. K. GANDHI From a copy of the. Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI 10. LETTER TO AMRITLAL V. THAKKAR MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 BAPA, 1. I have your letter. I cannot fall in line with Sir Puru- shottamdas’s opinion. The office should never be in Bombay. How- ever, I do not insist on anything. It is you who have to think over it. 2. It will be very good if some concrete work is taken up. I have welcomed Devdas’s suggestion. I have also said that he should demonstrate it in practice. I have already expressed my opinion that “impatience dose not make a mango tree bear fruit’’1. The work is new. It is like injecting life into a corpse. 3. The farther the money is kept from the shadow of the Government, the better. I have no objection if you keep it with some good firm. 4. I do not want to interfere in small things and also in the schemes. In fact I should have bothered myself only with the principles. 5. What you write about Kamle is correct. BAPU SHRI THAKKAR BAPA SERVANTS OF INDIA SOCIETY POONA CITY From a copy of the Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 11. LETTER TO SHAMALDAS GANDHI MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 CHI. SHAMALDAS, I have received both of your letters. It is all right that you wrote to me a long letter. If the hopes you entertain are fulfilled, then mine also will be fulfilled. Your father2 in his last letter had entrusted all of you to me. He had especially high hopes of Ranchhod3 but he wrote 1 A Gujarati saying 2 Lakshmidas Gandhi, Gandhiji’s brother 3 Ranchhoddas, addressee’s brothers VOL. 87: 29 MAY, 1945 - 29 AUGUST, 1945 5 quite a lot about you and Shanti1. I never met Ranchhod. Let us see how Shanti ultimately fares. For the present I have pinned my hopes on you. B1essings from BAPU From a copy of the Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 12. LETTER TO B. JAGANNATHDAS May 29, 1945 BHAI JAGANNATHDAS, I have your letter. Come over to Panchgani any time you want. It will give me even greater pleasure if Diwan Bahadur also comes. You should understand of course that I shall be staying in somebody’s house at Panchgani. The house is not big. You will therefore have to make arrangements for your lodging somewhere else. Continue the practice of writing in Hindustani. Blessings from M. K. GANDHI From a photostat of the Hindi: C.W. 9760. Courtesy: B. Jagannathdas 13. LETTER TO PIR ILAHIBUKSH May 29, 1945 BHAI PIR SAHEB, I have your letter2. Perhaps you know that I know the Urdu script. There is very little difference between Sindhi and Urdu scripts. You must also be knowing that I call Hindustani that language which rural Hindus and Muslims of North India speak and which they write in the Nagari or Urdu scripts. So, if I may advise you, I would suggest that you teach Hindustani to Hindu and Muslim boys in all the schools in both the scripts. It is an old thing but did not make much progress. Now an association has come into being which propagates this scheme.3 Yours, From the Hindi original: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 1 Santtilal, addressee’s brother. 2 Asking what language should be taught in Sind and how 3 At the end there is the following instruction in Gujarati: “Give a reply on these lines and get my signature.” 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI 14. LETTER TO SUSHILA MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 CHI. SUSHILA, You must firmly refuse to marry the person whom your parents want you to marry. Marry the man with whom you are so much in love after informing your parents. Do not seek my blessings. My advice and hope would be that both of you should devote yourselves to service and forget each other. I know it is difficult. Blessings from M. K. GANDHI [C/O] SHRI GURUPRASAD SRIVASTAVA R. M. S. OFFICE CHARBAGH JUNCTION LUCKNOW From a copy of the Hindi: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal 15. LETTER TO SHYAMLAL MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 BHAI SHYAMLAL, I have received your letter about the office. I agree. I understand Wardha to mean Wardha proper or places around it. The reason is clear. M. K. GANDHI SHYAMLAL KASTURBA TRUST OFFICE BOMBAY From a copy of the Hindi: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal VOL. 87: 29 MAY, 1945 - 29 AUGUST, 1945 7 16. LETTER TO MOHAMMED HAMID-UD-DIN MAHABALESHWAR, May 29, 1945 BHAI MOHAMMED HAMID-UD-DIN, I have your letter. I am very sorry to know that out of your eight children only one, Masud, now four years old, is alive. May Cod give him a long life. May your wish that your son Masud should render service to the country and devote his life to furthering Hindu-Muslim unity bear fruit. Why do you write to one like me in English? And why does your printed address on the letter-paper have to be in English? Yours, M.