Today, Mahatma Gandhi is most ignored in his home state Gujarat, says historian Ramachandra Guha

Kolkata, Jan 23: Historian and biographer of Mahatma Gandhi - Ramachandra Guha - and West Bengal's former governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday, January 22, were at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet at Victoria Memorial Hall premises where they discussed various facets of Bengal's relationship with the Mahatma (2019 marks 150 years since his birth).

Guha, who has written a number of masterpieces on the Father of the Nation anchored the session during his conversation with Gopalkrishna, the great grandson of the Mahatma.

The two men, both considered to be authorities on Mahatma Gandhi, spoke on various known and unknown facets of the iconic leader's tryst with the state. Gandhi had come to Bengal during a bloody riot in the mid-1940s even though he could not stop the Partition. However, according to Gopalkrishna, Gandhi could manage to dilute the poison of the Partition.

It was during the discussion that Guha remarked that it is in his home state Gujarat where Gandhi is most ignored now. The Gujarat of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has distanced itself from Gandhi's harmony and environmental awareness, the noted historian opined.

Gandhi is often seen with distrust in Bengal over his rivalry with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who hailed from the state, during the freedom movement.