Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi, founder of the M K Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, which is now housed in the University of Rochester, New York, has slammed those responsible for and those who sponsored the vicious ad in the New York Times on October 8 attacking Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.
Arun told rediff.com that this was an "unwarranted and senseless attack against Sonia Gandhi," and challenged those responsible for the ad, "Who among us is so straightforward as to be able to speak on or about Sonia?"
"All the charges made against Sonia can be levelled against any of us," he said and argued, "Sonia is the elected leader of our nation and has as much right to speak on this occasion as anyone else."
The full-page ad, which declares that Sonia -- who delivered the opening address at the United Nations General Assembly on October 2 on Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace and non-violence -- "is not a representative of Gandhian values," accused the Congress party leader of everything from corruption to deception and self-aggrandisement to religious bias against Hindus.
The ad also took the United Nations to task for inviting Sonia to represent India and deliver the address of Mahtama Gandhi's principles and ideals on the United Nations commemoration of October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence pursuant to the overwhelming approval of a resolution to this effect that was introduced by India.
"Instead of a true Gandhian delivering his message of peace and non-violence, Sonia who is not a representative of Gandhian values was chosen," it said.
Arun, continuing to pillory those who attacked Sonia Gandhi in the ad, told rediff.com, "We all utter empty platitudes to the Father of the Nation since none of us really follows his ideals and principles."
He said that that this ad reveals the "hate" that people have for each other "and that is the one thing that Mahtama Gandhi tried to teach us to remove from our attitudes."
"Hate only begets more hate just as violence begets more violence," he said and recalled, "As Bapuji said, 'Violence will be overcome by violence only when it is proved that darkness can be overcome by darkness.'"
"For 60 years our nation has been foundering in the darkness of Hindu-Muslim and caste violence," Arun said and added," "The 60th anniversary (of India's independence) is the time for us to take a vow to shine a light so that we can dispel the darkness that shrouds our minds."
"Progress should not be measured only in material terms," he added, and quoting the Mahatma again, said, "'Materialism and morality have an inverse relationship. The more materialistic we become, the less moral we are.'"
"There is enough proof of this around the world and in our own country as well," he said.
He exhorted those who funded and sponsored the 'hate-filled' ad against Sonia to "stop throwing stones at each other and embrace each other in love and non-violence."