Explosive
personal letters in which Mahatma Gandhi accuses his eldest son Harilal of
incest and rape are to be auctioned in England next week, according to the
Press Trust of India.
Mullock’s
Auctioneers are hoping to fetch between 50,000 to 60,000 pounds for the set of
three letters written by Mahatma Gandhi in 1935 in which he expresses his
concerns over the behaviour of Harilal.
In one of his letter, Gandhi accuses Hiralal of sexually harassing his daughter Manu.
In the letter, written in June 1935 after Manu had visited her grandfather in Ahmedabad, Gandhi wrote: 'Manu is telling me number of dangerous things about you. She says that you had raped her before eight years and she was so much hurt that medical treatment was also to be taken.'
Another letter, also autographed by Gandhi, urges his son to 'please let me have the pure truth, please tell me if you are still interested in alcohol and debauchery. I wish that you would rather die than resort to alcohol in any manner.'
In another letter, a distraught Gandhi tell Hiralal: 'You should know that your problem has become much more difficult for me even more than our national freedom. Manu is telling me a number of dangerous things about you.'
Harilal had renounced ties with his father in 1911, after Gandhi refused to provide him a western education saying that it would not help in the freedom struggle against the British Raj.
Mullock’s in a statement said: 'The letters are written in Gujarati and are in good condition. These have come via descent from a branch of Gandhi’s family to the present vendor. As far as we are aware they have never before been seen in public and as such they provide remarkable new information on the troubled relationship Gandhi had with his son.'
In one of his letter, Gandhi accuses Hiralal of sexually harassing his daughter Manu.
In the letter, written in June 1935 after Manu had visited her grandfather in Ahmedabad, Gandhi wrote: 'Manu is telling me number of dangerous things about you. She says that you had raped her before eight years and she was so much hurt that medical treatment was also to be taken.'
Another letter, also autographed by Gandhi, urges his son to 'please let me have the pure truth, please tell me if you are still interested in alcohol and debauchery. I wish that you would rather die than resort to alcohol in any manner.'
In another letter, a distraught Gandhi tell Hiralal: 'You should know that your problem has become much more difficult for me even more than our national freedom. Manu is telling me a number of dangerous things about you.'
Harilal had renounced ties with his father in 1911, after Gandhi refused to provide him a western education saying that it would not help in the freedom struggle against the British Raj.
Mullock’s in a statement said: 'The letters are written in Gujarati and are in good condition. These have come via descent from a branch of Gandhi’s family to the present vendor. As far as we are aware they have never before been seen in public and as such they provide remarkable new information on the troubled relationship Gandhi had with his son.'
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