Govts fail to restore legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in Ajmer

JAIPUR: The local administration of Ajmer has failed to identify and restore the places — including two schools and houses owned by Dalits — where the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his three crucial visits to Ajmer between 1921 and 1934. As the country is revisiting the life events of Gandhi, by documenting and building memorials at places visited by Gandhi, the authorities of Ajmer have lost all official accounts of his visits.
OP Sharma, an octogenarian historian based in Ajmer, has documented the visits of Gandhi. Sharma shared that Gandhi arrived here first on November 11, 1921. He visited the National School, located in the narrow lanes of Purani Mandi in the morning, followed by the shrine of Khwaja Garib Nawaz. Here, he presented a chadar at the shrine. The record of his second visit is not available, except for the date, which is March 9, 1922. Several unofficial records say that Gandhi visited Ajmer to address the Ulema body — ‘All India Khilafat Conference’, popularly mentioned in Moinul Arwah, published in 1952.

“While touring the whole of India in connection with the Dalit Uddhar Andolan, Gandhiji’s last visit to Ajmer was on July 5, 1934. He visited Jadugar Harijan Kanya Pathshala at Jadugar Basti. The present site is nowhere to be found. On the final day of the visit, he visited Beawar, where he held a procession inside the Chand Gate and addressed at a Harijan Basti,” said Sharma, who has authored books that are a prime source of history of Merwara region.

Despite visits at multiple places, consecutive governments have made no efforts to restore the legacy of Gandhi in the city. The central government has included Ajmer in HRIDAY (National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme and has allocated crores for conservation of heritage. “I attended the meeting of HRIDAY, but none of the officials have showed interest in doing something for Gandhiji,” said Sharma. TOI repeatedly called Dharmendra Gehlot, mayor of Ajmer, but he didn’t respond. The committee made for chalking out plan and activities to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, has strongly advised that documentation — visual and written — should be made of Gandhiji’s visit and kept at a resource centre in Jaipur.