Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma's great grandson, describes American collector James Otis as a sham who may have 'smuggled' Gandhi's blood and ashes out of India
Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma's great grandson, describes American collector James Otis as a sham who may have 'smuggled' Gandhi's blood and ashes out of India
The Mahatma's great grandson Tushar Gandhi is appalled by the report that American collector James Otis holds the sacred blood and ashes of Bapu.
Otis, who lives in Upstate New York, had told MiD DAY yesterday he would release pictures of Gandhi's blood and ashes soon. "It's a shame beyond comprehension for India if a fraud like Otis decides to put the blood-stained earth and the sacred ashes up for auction. Otis spouts platitudes but he does not understand the basis of Bapu's philosophy which is honesty," Tushar said.
Otis sold Gandhi's watch and glasses to beer baron Vijay Mallya for about Rs 9.25 crore on March 5. He is now saying he wants his auctioned items back.
Camera, auction!
Dismissing Otis's claims that he was promoting Gandhian values like peace and non-violence, Tushar remarked, "An auction is an innovative way of promoting Gandhian thought, isn't it, especially because the rest of us know an auction as a way to make money!"u00a0 He described as "reprehensible" that such items of national importance had landed in the possession of Otis. "The greatest danger is not that Otis holds Bapu's possessions but in the way the Indian Government and the Navajivan Trust are playing into his hands," he cautioned. The Navajivan Trust manages the Gandhi estate. "The Indian government should get the stay order on the auction, issued by the Delhi High Court, vacated because Otis is using the order to reclaim the possessions now that he has realised their potential and to further his own greed. The stay order does not ensure that the items will come back to India," he explained.
Otis when contacted early this morning refused tou00a0 react to any of the charges, saying "He's off the press". But added that there has just been a "wonderful resolution with Tony Bedi, representative of Dr Mallya" at the March 5 auction. He handed over the phone to Bedi who was with him. Bedi insisted that everything was positive because Otis has been convinced about Mallya's intentions. "It's only positive from now onwards. The confusion was because he did not know Mallya. Now that he knows that we have no commercial interests in Gandhi's possessions, he is happy and will not reclaim them."
When asked why he didn't contact him earlier, Bedi replied: "We did not know each other.
u00a0
I received a mail from him a few days ago. And we decided to meet."
However, James Otis continues his fast.
Someone could have gifted the items to Otis, or sold it to him
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Unhappy that Vijay Mallya hadn't been able to gain possession of the Gandhi memorabilia that he bought at the auction on March 5, Tushar Gandhi emphasised the need to create public opinion to force the government to act.
"The people who should have been responsible for our heritage are waking up now. Why did they allow such sacred items to be smuggled out of the country?" he demanded.
Law debate
But not everyone is convinced Otis is legally wrong.
Chiranjeev Singh, former Indian ambassador to Unesco, wonders why such a hue and cry is being raised over Otis holding the blood and ashes of the Mahatma.
"Gandhi's ashes were taken to different places and immersed in rivers. If some of the ashes, as Otis claims, are in America, so be it," he told MiD DAY.
However, Singh is "very very surprised" that the Indian government did not bid and buy the Gandhi memorabilia at the March 5 auction, and instead brought a stay order.
"Legally, we are in a contentious area. Return of a country's cultural property remains a perennial topic of discussion at Unesco," he said.
Return treaty
India is a signatory to the international convention of repatriation of stolen and smuggled artefacts but establishing that the artefacts have been stolen or smuggled is a grey area.
"Someone could have gifted the items to Otis, or sold it to him. Therefore, applying the convention would be a huge legal challenge," he said.
Countries like Italy, Greece and Africa, which have lost their cultural treasures, have been demanding stricter regulation of the multi-billion dollar antiques market, Singh said.
But India has been pushing its case only sporadically. "Countries with thriving antique markets naturally oppose stricter regulation, but that should not stop the Indian government from pushing ahead," he urged.
Not Indian?
Feeling emotionally attached to ashes, Singh hinted, is not Indian.
"In any case, the Indian convention is never to bring ashes home but to immerse them in a river," he said.
How did Otis get Gandhi's stuff?
Tushar Gandhi believes he has a fair idea.
"The watch, the plate, the bowl were in possession of Abha Gandhi and from her went to Gita Mehta. The person who got it from them gave them to Otis. I think Otis and his friend have got the blood and the ashes from the same source because Abha kaki was with Bapu in his final moments," he said.u00a0
Abha was Gandhi's niece, and Gita, a writer, was her adopted daughter.
'WONDERFUL RESOLUTION'
Otis when contacted early this morning refused tou00a0 react to any of the charges, saying "He's off the press". But added that there has just been a "wonderful resolution with Tony Bedi, representative of Dr Mallya" at the March 5 auction.
He handed over the phone to Bedi who was with him. Bedi insisted that everything was positive because Otis has been convinced about Mallya's intentions. "It's only positive from now onwards. The confusion was because he did not know Mallya. Now that he knows that we have no commercial interests in Gandhi's possessions, he is happy and will not reclaim them."
When asked why he didn't contact him earlier, Bedi replied: "We did not know each other. I received a mail from him a few days ago. And we decided to meet."
However, James Otis continues his fast.
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