The collection of 30 letters written by his great grandfather from the Naini Central Prison during the freedom movement is considered an epic.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s letters may not weigh in on such erudite subjects as Jawaharlal Nehru’s Letters from a Father to his Daughter deal with, but the 48-year-old leader seems to have revived an old tradition of the grand old party.
From congratulating Asharam Choudhary, the son of a rag-picker in Madhya Pradesh who cracked the entrance test to study at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, to expressing support for an IAS officer from Kashmir, Shah Faesal, after he was issued a show- cause notice by the Centre for referring to India as ‘Rapistan’ on Twitter, Mr. Gandhi has been prolific.
“It gave me immense pleasure to note how your village doctors and parents inspired you in your journey … I hope one day you will also be in a position to inspire other young children to take the medical profession and serve the people of India. You remind me of Mahatma Gandhi who used to say: ‘Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from the indomitable will’,” Mr. Gandhi said in his letter to Mr. Choudhary.
Open letter
The Congress president, who had written an open letter to citizens on the eve of India’s 69th Republic Day, now plans to write an open letter about the leak of data containing the personal details of students who took the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test earlier this year.
In the past week alone, he has written several letters, including one to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to ensure passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament and another conveying his appreciation to Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat for initiating disabled-friendly measures.
“I write this letter to commend you on an excellent initiative of the Election Commission in Karnataka. The issuance of Braille EPIC cards to visually impaired voters is a step in the right direction, which will make elections and voting accessible. The framers of the Constitution were far ahead of their times when they decided that universal adult franchise should be incorporated in the Constitution of India,” Mr. Gandhi wrote.
Social media storm
His letter of support to the young Kashmiri IAS officer was sharply criticised on social media.
The Congress’s communication chief, Randeep Surjewala, explains the philosophy behind his leader’s penchant for writing letters.
“Letter writing as a tradition still carries that personal and humane touch but it has been missing from the political spectrum for a while. Besides using modern technology, a large section of people appreciate the spirit of receiving a letter and its value for posterity.”
