The political appropriation of Ma- hatma Gandhi’s legacy has been go- ing on for decades. Now the trendfer to the readers an outline, while some other chapters focus on particular issues, e.g., casteism and Ambedkar, Gandhi’s relation-
has spread to unlikely quarters. Gandhi peers at us from posters, sharing space with his ideological opponents. Even artifacts associ- ated with him, like his spectacles, have been used as logo in government propaganda. Commercialization has been a parallel pro- cess, initially for marketing products pur- portedly of cottage industries, and then for a whole range of other things. The powers that be appreciate the brand value of the name Gandhi.
In that sad context Professor Rajmohan Gandhi’s latest book is welcome for it brings a breath of fresh air into the cobwebbed corners of sarkari daftars and the glittering platforms where Gandhi brands are appro- priated or generated by professional market- ing managers.