PRESENTATION AND UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT OF MAHATMA GANDHI IN CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

 CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA DEBATES (PROCEEDINGS)-

VOLUME V Thursday, the 28th August 1947

PRESENTATION AND UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT OF MAHATMA GANDHI

Mr. President: Mr. Pattani.

Mr. A. P. Pattani (Western India States) : I this my happy privilege to place the following motion before the House-

 "Resolved that the Constituent Assembly of India do accept the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by Sir Oswald  Birley, bequeathed to the nation by Sir Prabha Shankar Pattani."

 It is not possible to express in words the happiness I feel today, standing in this Constituent Assembly Sir Oswald Birleyy of my country, to discharge a trust and fulfil the wishes of my late father.

The portrait that is to be unveiled presently, was painted by the great portrait painter,, in England during the Second Round Table Conference, and my father purchased it. I may inform the House that Sir Oswald had painted that portrait for himself and lie agreed to part with it, because my, father wanted it and it was for India. When it arrived in India, however, it was put away carefully in its original packing. We were not allowed to see it and neither the family nor friends in England could obtain from him information as to what he intended to do with it. But some time after the Act of 1935 was passed, he told me very privately that he intended to present it to the nation when, the new Government under that Act was inaugurated. Time passed, and there was no hope of that Act, coming into operation. My father, passed away in February 1938; almost within ten minutes of the time when he had planned to fly from Bhavnagar, on the 16th February, to Haripura to meet Mahatmaji. That programme and that meeting were subsequently cancelled by other circumstances. But before his death he had told me two or three times to bear in mind  this portrait and his wishes regarding the same.

As I submitted, Sir, the Act of 1935 did not materialise. But when the new Government war. to be established under the Act of 1947, I spoke of the message of my father--which I shall mention presently--and of the portrait, to our Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. That, in brief, Sir, is the history of this occasion. I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about Mahatmaji. I do so with reverence and great diffidence, for I am conscious that anything I say about Mahatmaji would be like attempting to measure the mountain of Kailas with a footrule, or as it is said in our Shastras trying to, describe the beauty and grandeur of the Himalayas in pen and ink. And yet I myself and some other Honourable Members of this House may be permitted to take a little. pride that we belong to Kathiawar, that land of Sri Krishna, Sudama, Narsi Mehta, Dayananda Saraswati, and Mahatma Gandhi. If we take pride in this fact, we should also try and follow their examples, especially the example of Mahatmaji, whom we have lived with and seen for he has been, and is, a friend of the Princes arid the people. He belongs himself really to no community. He has no country. He has no home. The world is his home, and mankind  the community to o which he belongs. Seeking truth and serving God, he cut across all distinctions and loved all who were honest, upright, and God fearing, and it was this high plane of the spirit that attracted my father and made him a humble follower of the Mahatma. It was Bapu himself who told me that their "sambandh" the English language has no word like 'samband'--begar when my father first wrote to him when he was in South Africa. This was, I believe, in the last century. The great fact of modem life, and in fact of world history, is that the mahatma discovered at the root of all trouble both in India and in England was the influence of foreign rule in this country. Having made this discovery he set himself to solve it; and by leading an unarmed revolt, he brought India to freedom. It is for us all to make a success of' this achievement, so that the fruit that he has given us may nourish everybody and lead us to a better life.In conclusion, it was my father's wish that the picture should be delivered to the nation in his own words; these were:-

"It is a portrait of the saint who laboured more than anyone else for peace and who preached non-violence which is ultimately , the only right way in human affairs." (Applause).

That, Sir, is the message I am to deliver, and there (pointed to where the portrait was installed) is the portrait. I have done my duty. I request that the portrait be unveiled.

(The President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, then unveiled the portrait)