Jammu, December 15
Mahatma Gandhi had tried to save Bhagat Singh from the gallows but a Congress leader, Bhai Gopal Dass of Ludhiana, spilled the beans about Mahatma’s efforts before the media. It angered Britishers, who, in turn, wasted no time and hanged Bhagat Singh.

This was claimed by Kanu Gandhi, grandson of Mahtama Gandhi, in an exclusive conversation with The Tribune.

With a few days to go for the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi had a closed-door meeting with Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy in 1931, in a bid to reverse Bhagat Singh’s hanging. After the meeting, Mahatma Gandhi had talked to a few of his close confidants from the Congress, including Bhai Gopal Dass, who leaked information to the media, said Kanu.

“Lord Irwin had even assured Mahatma Gandhi of a positive response from his higher-ups but by then, the damage had been done. News about Gandhi’s efforts to save Bhagat Singh had started appearing in the media in a big way,” added Kanu.

Media’s wide coverage to Gandhi’s veiled attempts to save Bhagat Singh annoyed the British, who wasted no time in hanging Bhagat Singh, he added.

On the films made on Mahatma Gandhi’s life and preachings, he said, “I don’t watch movies made on my grandfather because of the fact that they (filmmakers) actually do not conduct proper research or go through the 
literature available. I don’t think any filmmaker has thoroughly read My Experiments with Truth.”

Kanu also regretted that in movies on Gandhi, many filmmakers had not rightly portrayed Kasturba Gandhi, his wife. “Who are the people they contact and what 
kind of study they do before going for such projects has always been beyond my comprehension,” said Kanu.

Movies apart, he however sees a ray of hope for morals in Indian society, which has been plagued by ills like corruption, poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. “Sooner or later, people will again follow the path shown by Bapu as that is the only resolve for all woes,” he said.

“Bapu had always insisted upon judicious use of resources on the earth. 
But the contemporary society’s greed has been continuously damaging the ecology,” said Kanu, who was on his maiden visit to the temple city.