A tribute to Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, from now on the former Governor of West Bengal, has withdrawn his shadow out of the kingly marbles of the Raj Bhavan, Kolkata. I have collected some articles and kept listening to the revolutionary voice of Shri Gandhi, who is, according to me, an emblem of volition, a true voice of nonviolence and a torchbearer of peace.

1. Gopalkrishna Gandhi bids adieu to West Bengal, given warm send-off
“Gopalkrishna Gandhi today bade adieu to the people of West Bengal with a 'namaskar' and was given a warm send-off, a day after demitting the office of the governor of West Bengal.” (Courtesy: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gopalkrishna-gandhi-bids-adieu-to-west-bengal-given-warm-send-off_1323678)

2. Departure-eve message from Gandhi
“My experience of Life would have been one-sided had my tenure not received the dart of criticism from personalities in our public life. I shall assume that I have deserved such criticism. But I would like to say that I bear no resentment whatsoever about it.

It is a matter of great regret that distrust between different political entities and personalities, as also within institutions such as our universities is disfiguring life in our State. We have to rectify this situation by changing our conditioned mind-sets. The State has known healthy political debates which sparkle but do not ignite. That tradition needs to be maintained.

Our State, which has given the country its national anthem and its national song, almost all its Nobel Laureates, and a galaxy of Bharat Ratnas, is not meant to be anywhere other than in the vanguard of India's greatness. It must confound the worst skeptics. Balancing its intellectual with its cultural heritage, its collective strengths with its individualisms, cannot expend emotional energy on invectives.

The choice before West Bengal should not be between the wrongdoing of one and the counter wrongdoing of another. The choice should not be between the vengeance of one and the return vendetta of another. The choice has to be between chaos and civility, disorder and decorum.

Unless all inter-party, inter-cadre or inter-supporter violence is halted, West Bengal will suffer irretrievable damage. All political organizations must together bring West Bengal out of the debris of bhangchur, bandhs and bomabaji. No party should countenance the use of unauthorized arms. All provocations, in word and deed, across the political spectrum, cease.”

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... And so, how can I leave except with the greatest wrench? I have rarely felt that I belong as I have, here, in the bosom of West Bengal. My parting request to all of you is: Think of me as to a brother whose thoughts and deepest prayers will ever be with you.

As I leave West Bengal, I clasp your hands in love and gratitude.” (Courtesy: http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/departure-eve_message_of_gopalkrishna_gandhi.php)

3. Gopal Krishna Gandhi Ends Tenure as WB Governor
“The police firing at Nandigram on March 14, 2007 which led to death of 14 people, led Gandhi to issue a statement. “I cannot be so casual to the oath I have taken as to restrict reaction to a pious expression of anguish and outrage.

“The news of deaths by police firing in Nandigram has filled me with a sense of cold horror... Was this spilling of human blood not avoidable?” said the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.” (Courtesy: http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?671008)

4. At farewell, Gopalkrishna Gandhi calls for change in mindsets
“Mr. Gandhi’s tenure spanned a rather tumultuous phase in the State’s political history, marred by the violence in Nandigram that continued through much of 2007, the debate over land acquisition that morphed into a movement leading to the shifting of Tata Motors’ small car project from Singur in October 2008 and the inter-party clashes after the April-May Lok Sabha elections.” (Courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/12/14/stories/2009121455311100.htm)

5. Gopal Krishna Gandhi - a people's governor
“While political parties are divided in their opinion on whether Gandhi can be called the best governor the country has ever seen or one who did not do justice to the hallowed office, for the man on the street he was a 'people's governor' who would be remembered for providing humane and sensitive touches to the administration.” (Courtesy: http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-10385.html)

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I wish him a happy life ahead. May Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi bless him.

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