September 16, 2004

The grand daughter-in-law of Mahatma Gandhi is bowled over by the reception given to her, writes Shanaz Ramzi

Soft-spoken and gentle, attired in a cotton sari, and deep in conversation with her Pakistani counterparts about the social and political conditions in our two countries, Usha Gandhi could easily pass for one of the many peace activists that visit Pakistan every now and then from India. It comes as a pleasant surprise then, to find the unassuming lady to be no other than Mahatma Gandhi’s grand daughter-in-law.

Visiting Pakistan after three years, this time in the company of her friends Suresh and Mala, Gandhi was happy to be in Karachi, visiting it for the first time. On her previous trip, she had only been to Larkana, which is incidentally her hometown, as it is of Suresh’s, while Mala hails from Shikarpur. Interestingly, Mala is also related to Pakistan’s first chief minister of Sindh, Mr Hidayatullah, whose grandson was among the noted people present at the tea party held in the visitors’ honour.

Here on a pleasure trip, Gandhi admits they didn’t have as much problem procuring a visa, thanks to her family background, as people normally do. Her time in Karachi was mostly spent in fraternizing, and the only sight-seeing they managed to get done was enroute to these various house visits. However, Gandhi has no regrets, and was particularly thrilled to have had the opportunity to meet Bilqis Edhi, who she holds in high regard. And, short as their trip was, the group did manage to go crabbing.

Chatting with Gandhi about her views vis-a-vis the ever-changing relationships between India and Pakistan, which she very aptly describes as going “up and down like a yo-yo” one realizes that like many people on either side of the border she is inclined to view the current situation with a benevolent eye.

“There is undeniably the past between us, but above all, we have to look to the future, which is hopefully going to be different from what we have witnessed in the last so many years. We are inching forward in the right direction. While there have been difficulties, we have to see how we can move ahead without dwelling on the past in a negative way,” she said.

Usha claims that both she and her husband feel passionately about the improvement in ties between the two neighbours and in fact, says that has been the “underlying reason for the books my husband’s written.” Usha herself has helped in the research of some of these books. “We believe strongly in building bridges rather than tearing them down,” she says emphatically.

Gandhi is of the opinion, though, that the media needs to play a more significant and powerful role in propagating peace. She was touched to hear that the last minute changes in the script of Main Hoon Na in the light of the new political terms between India and Pakistan, had gone down well with the people of Pakistan, and by the same token conceded that it was not in the interest of peace to continue with Paki-bashing as is still being done in a number of movies.

Speaking about the warmth and hospitality that Gandhi and her friends have received in Karachi she says, “We’ve been completely bowled over. We’ve met many types of people in such a short time and each meeting has been so meaningful. Suresh and Mala have brought their children along, and it has been wonderful for them too.”

Visits from both the sides help to remove misgivings and further an improvement in relations between two neighbours that have eyed each other with suspicion for the better part of post-Independence history. But in order to make that possible, visa procedures have to be made less cumbersome. After all, not everyone has Usha Gandhi’s clout!

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