PM's pic on calendar: An unnecessary row

How should we, as ordinary Indians, react to the brazen announcement from the chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) that there was neither a rule nor the tradition that the image of Gandhiji be on the KVIC calendar it produces each year?

Of course, there isn’t. But the image of the Father of the Nation as the progenitor of khadi to be an instrument of Indian nationalism in the struggle against colonial rule is effervescent. It cannot be usurped by anyone foolish enough to want to replace the Mahatma in the iconography of the history or politics of modern India, or in the hearts of people.

So, there was no rule. But when Gandhi himself wasn’t used as an emblem, something of the story of the charkha — his spinning wheel — with which he wished to clothe his people, was placed on the calendar to remind us what started it all so that we may not forget the warriors of the anti-colonial struggle or their non-violent instruments.

But the KVIC should consult its records and let us know if there was a tradition that the photo of the Prime Minister of the day should be on its calendar or diary.

In this year’s KVIC calendar, the present Prime Minister has been shown in the same exact pose as Mohandas Gandhi on the spinning wheel. The truth is that in the history of the KVIC, no Prime Minister of the country before Mr Modi has been placed on the cover and that too to give the impression that he is Gandhi’s disciple. Truth be told, the stream of political thinking and action to which Mr Modi owes allegiance is anti-Gandhi and was inimical to the independence struggle.

It is not clear whether KVIC put Mr Modi as the “cover story” — to use a journalistic expression — on its own or under instruction. But KVIC is not alone. Another government agency, the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India, has also produced a calendar in which the current Prime Minister looks down from every page.

And on Saturday we had a foolish Haryana minister, Anil Vij, saying that Mr Modi would soon be replacing Gandhi on currency notes as with Gandhi’s image adorning our money the value of the rupee had gone down.

It is not clear if Mr Vij has the authority to make such pronouncements. But if he doesn’t, which is probably the case, then it will be worth watching if he is placed under discipline. But it is a sorry day that we have to encounter such cheap talk from senior functionaries who have not only behaved crudely where the Mahatma is concerned, but also appear to justify themselves in the name of Mr Modi.