Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

Less than a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told 'pravasi bharatiyas' or non-resident Indians how Mahatma Gandhi returned to India and changed the country's development course that rings true even today, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and managing trustee of the Navjivan Trust - set up by Mahatma in 1929 - have questioned the Father of the Nation's relevance, leaving Gandhians in a state of complete shock.

"The charkha (spinning wheel) has become a source of noise pollution and does not spread any message, nor encourages anyone to take it into the future," declared Vivek Desai, managing trustee of the Navjivan Trust that publishes Gandhi's works, on the eve of the Mahatma's martyrdom anniversary. He said this at an event on Thursday.

Desai said, "The charkha only has a memento value and nothing beyond this. At best, it spreads the message of hypocrisy. During the morning prayer so many students are made to sit with the spinning wheel, creating so much noise. You neither hear the prayer nor someone who is speaking."

PM Narendra Modi paying floral tribute at Rajghat. PM Narendra Modi paying floral tribute at Rajghat.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said the takli (hand spindle) has become out of date. "He (Gandhi) would himself have chucked it for the computer if he had been here today," Patel said, speaking in Gujarati. "Till when do we hold the takli?" she asked. Adding to what he spoke publicly, Desai told MAIL TODAY on Friday, "This is what happens even during Gandhian functions. Some Gandhians, who may not even have a retiya (spinning wheel) at home, start making a show on the podium and make unnecessary noise."

He asked, "Why do you force students to sit with the retiya when they are not going to have anything to do with it in their entire life? I studied at the Gujarat Vidyapith for two years, but I don't have a retiya. A student once wanted to buy a retiya, I told him to buy it from me for `50 if he was insistent on paying."

Asked if he thought Gandhian thought had no relevance now, Desai asserted, "That's not what I mean. I am against forcing Gandhian ideology or symbols on the students." There is nothing wrong with this opinion, he added.

Expressing no surprise at Desai's opinions, veteran Gandhian and founder of Self-Employed Women's Association Elaben Bhatt told MAIL TODAY, "They can't comprehend Gandhi and khadi and the larger socio-economic perspective behind it. Khadi is a catalyst of selfreliance, collective employment and a source of roti, kapda aur makaan for the poor and the deprived. It is a huge source of home income for women of lakhs of labourers who migrate in search of jobs across the country." Asked about the noise, she countered, "Spinning the charkha is music, but for those who understand its lyrics."

Registrar Rajendra Bhimani of Gandhi's most prestigious institution Gujarat Vidyapith steered clear from countering Desai's argument but sharply taunted saying, "I have just returned from a meeting with representatives of three prominent schools who want us to teach their students to operate the charkha. Many more schools have requested us to hold regular khadi classes. I have nothing to do with anyone's statements."

Veteran journalist and Gandhian, Prakash N. Shah said, "Such statements were not only unwarranted but exposed the ignorance about Gandhi." "This man (Vivek Desai) has zero understanding of Gandhi or his philosophy, forget the charkha. Even in the contemporary world khadi is the most environment-friendly cloth. In fact, at the Vidyapith we have started working on it using solar energy," asserted Sudarshan Iyenger who just demitted office as Gujarat Vidyapith vice-chancellor.